Best Spanish Rice

I was looking for a quick and easy recipe for a mexican side dish yesterday and found this recipe!  I made it and then thought..dang it made too much..now I'll have lots of leftovers!  Nope, it was a hit!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup chunky salsa

Directions:
1.  Heal oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Stir in onion and cook until tender.  About 5 minutes.

2.  Mix in rice into skillet, stirring often. When rice begins to brown, stir in chicken broth and salsa.

3.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed.

This recipe comes from allrecipes.com

Fail-Proof Pizza Dough and Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks

I found this recipe on Pinterest (and HERE is the link to it) and had to tried it.  It is so yummy!  This is my new favorite go-to recipe for pizza dough and the bread sticks were yummy also!  Marne told me this is her favorite too...so it is a must try!

INGREDIENTS:

for the pizza dough-
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey {or sugar}
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
3 cups bread flour {give or take 1/2 cup...depending on the heat & humidity}

for the cheesy garlic bread sticks-
1/2 recipe Fail-Proof Pizza Dough from above
2 tablespoons softened salted butter
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese {use the real stuff!}
1/4 pound grated mozzarella cheese
{salt & pepper, if desired}

DIRECTIONS:

For the pizza dough--

1.  In a large mixing bowl, stir yeast and honey into warm water. Sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam. 

2.  Pour in salt, oil and half the flour and mix. Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it it doesn't stick to your hands.

3.   Knead for 6 minutes. Turn a timer on and walk away! Resist the temptation to stop earlier than 6 minutes! That seems to be the magical number. The dough should be smooth and easy to work with. And the bowl should be clean! Lightly grease the bowl & the dough so it doesn't dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours. That's it! Use as desired.

For the Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks-

1.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone inside. {If you don't have a pizza stone, use an upside down cookie sheet...a tip I got from Natalie!}

2.  Mix butter and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.

3.  Spread pizza dough out into a 12-inch circle on parchment paper. {This makes it easier to transfer to the pizza stone.}  ***HOWEVER, I just rolled it out on the hot stone and it worked fine for me ***

4.Spread the butter and garlic mixture over dough and top with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Top with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper, if desired or other spices of your choosing.

5.Bake 9-10 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Remove from oven and cool 1-2 minutes before cutting. Serve hot, with marinara.