PIZZA CRUST RECIPE - Low Carb, Keto, BEST EVER RECIPE

This is my BEST EVER all time favorite Pizza Crust recipe. Hands down! 

If you are searching for a HEALTHY alternative to NO GLUTEN, LOWCARBS, NON GMO, KETO FRIENDLY and minimal ingredients, you will LOVE this recipe. 

THE ONLY INGREDIENTS NEEDED for crust:

Mozzarella Cheese

Cream Cheese

Almond Flour

Egg

SUPPLIES: Wax Paper, Seasonings, Toppings

My quest for the prefect crust was something that could withstand multiple toppings and didn't require a fork to eat. 

Search no more! This crust is absolutely delicous. 

CRUST RECIPE:

2 Cups Mazarella Cheese

2 Tablespoons of Cream Cheese

3/4 cups of Almond Flour

1 Egg (or flax seed substitute)

Preheat Mazarella Cheese/Cream Cheese in microwave/oven till melted (careful to not overcook)

Afterwards, Stir in Almond flour and seasonings of choice (I use garlic salt), and egg. 

MIX INGREDIENTS and place on Parchment WAX PAPER. 

*****It is important to place batter on wax paper and add another sheet of paper on top. With rolling pin, carefully roll pizza crust to either med, or thin crust. (the wax paper is important as you don't want your crust to stick)

Carefully remove top sheet of wax paper and set aside.

In this photo, I have used Flax Seed Substitute for my egg. 

BAKE crust in oven at 350 till brown.

Remove pizza crust from oven. Use the same wax paper that was set aside to cover top crust, and place on top, and flip pizza crust over (I use a flat sheet pan to slide under wax paper/crust and place hand on top of wax paper/crust to aid in flipping over)

After crust has been flipped over RETURN TO OVEN and bake for a few minutes.

Remove from oven:

I lightly brush on plain TOMATO SAUCE, and sprinke Parmeson Cheese and Italian Seasonings.

Depending on what I have available, I try to use fresh ingredients: Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms, Spinach, etc.

For meat toppings: Ground Beef, Pepperoni, etc.

 Top ingredients on pizza, and sprinke Mazarella.  I don't usually overload with cheese as the crust itself is already packed with cheese.  RETURN TO OVEN and BAKE till meat/cheese is brown to your preference.

Of all the LOW CARB recipes I have tried for Pizza (Cauliflour, Gluten free flour, etc.) this is absolutely my all time favorite. Not only is this recipe quick and easy to make, but you will feel satisfied with how filling and delicous this recipe is, not to mention, it is so easy to make, and guilt free. After all, you're eating pizza that is good for you!

FLAXSEED EGG SUBSTITUTE - Mom's Pioneer Living Handbook

                                       Mentioned in, Mom's Pioneer Living Handbook 

 The main reason I'm interested in Flaxseed is due to HOW EASY and CONVENIENT it is as an egg replacement for my emergency food supplies.

The important properties that this seed brings to the table are the mucilage gel that resembles egg whites. Not to mention, the health benefits.

1 tablespoon of Flaxseed + 3 tablespoons of water = 1 egg

Ground flaxseed with a mortar and pestle. 

After added water, it sits and thickens within 15-30 min. 

For a long shelf life, purchase these seeds raw in whole form. The oil from pre-ground seeds will go rancid if left in storage. 

BEST IF USED BY expiration date on my recently purchased bag of Bob's Red Mill brand, is 2 years from today. Once bag is opened, I would store the seeds in an airtight mason jar and these handy little seeds will keep us going for a long long time. 

I tried the flaxseed substitute on my homemade corn tortillas recipe, and I must confess, they tasted better than real eggs.  In fact, I doubt I will ever use eggs again for these tortillas. 

This website had a lot of good information on using Flaxseed. 

Especially good to know in case you're planning to substitute for cakes, etc. 

More Flaxseed Info from VEGANBAKING.NET

GRANDMA'S SALTINE CRACKER COOKIES - Mom's Pioneer Living Handbook

                               

Recipe from, Mom's Pioneer Living Handbook

Craving something sweet and not sure what to make? Or is there a box of Saltine crackers going

stale in your cabinet? 

Grandma's Saltine Cracker cookies will be sure to please!

Grandma's Saltine Cracker Cookies

Saltine Crackers
1 cup of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
12oz package of chocolate chips
1 cup of nuts


Line an 11" by 17" cookie sheet with foil, and oil the foil.
Place approximately 45 Saltine crackes on the foil, lined up. (fill any spaces with cracker pieces)

Bring to rolling boil: 1 cup of butter (not margarine) and 1 cup of brown sugar
Boil for 3 mintues then pour onto crackers and bake in oven at 350 for about 5 minutes.

Remove from oven. Crackers may have risen, if so, press down and then sprinkle over top - chocolate chips, spreading evenly as it melts. Sprinkle on top walnuts or pecan. Cool and break into pieces.

For half the recipe, I used 1 stick of butter and 1/2 cup of brown sugar and a small baking pan.

The combination of butter and brown sugar carmelizes as it boils. 

After the quick boil, I poured mixture over the crackers and baked from a toaster convection oven.

As soon as the crackers are removed from oven, spread over the chocolate chips and sprinkle the nuts. This will need to sit for a bit to cool down and for the chocolate to harden. 

I prefer freezing mine to get a head start. 

If you love the combination of salt and chocolate, you will love LOVE these cookies! 

HOMEMADE FRIED TORTILLA CHIPS - Mom's Pioneer Living Handbook

The homemade Corn Tortilla Recipe is from the, Mom's Pioneer Living Handbook

Craving salsa, avocado, or bean dip and out of chips? 

No problem! 

Whip up a quick batch of GRANDMA'S FRIED CORN TORTILLAS 

you only need an egg, cornmeal, flour, salt and water. 

After tortillas are made, slice them into wedges 

Deep fry till brown and crispy

Sprinkle with sea salt and enjoy! 

These chips are like a meal in itself, and very filling. 

GREAT VALUE BEEF FAJITA STRIP - For Food Storage - REVIEW

Ever wondered what the Great Value Fajita Seasoned Beef Strips tasted like? 

I surely did, as this was either going to be a YAY, or a NAY for our food storage. 

Okay, lots of MSG. My bad. I didn't read the label. I literally tossed this in the shopping cart (Walmart) as this can was less than $3 (forgot exact amount)

The main reason I am interested in canned meat is for longterm food storage.

Lot's of "sauce" 

Meat was drained for the beef fajitas 

Initially, the meat did not have the firm texture of fajita strips. The taste of this meat is just like

eating the beef from a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew. If you're not familiar with Dinty Moore,

then the best way to describe this meat is that it is very tender and has a processed (chemical) taste. (Dinty Moore, actually tastes better) 

After trying a piece by iteslf, AND after pan frying with salt, pepper, garlic, and turned into a fajita.... 

This Great Value Beef Fajita Strip meat has earned a score of....

 4.5 out of a possible 10 

(2 opinions sampled this. Spouse scored this a 5, I scored this a 4)  

(Pros - cost, precooked food storage / Cons - overly processed flavor, msg) 

NAY! 

GRANDMA'S FRIED CORN TORTILLAS - Mom's Pioneer Living Handbook

GRANDMA'S FRIED CORN TORTILLAS

Recipe from, Mom's Pioneer Living Handbook 

Soooo easy to make corn tortillas! One of my favorite food storage recipes for off grid cooking.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of cold water
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of cornmeal
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg (or use flax seed substitute)  

Heat 8" skillet over medium heat till hot. Beat all ingredients till smooth. 

Pour a quarter of a cup into the skillet (I lightly greased my iron skillet with cooking oil) 

Immediately rotate skillet till batter is thin.

 (This would probably work best with a teflon skillet but with my heavy cast iron, I used a spatula to spread the batter.) 

Flip and cook the other side till done. That's it! 

This is just like cooking pancakes. Best of all, these tortillas are flexible without tearing. 

I can think of so many meal ideas for these corn tortillas.

Fajita's

breakfast tacos

bean burritos

pizza crust

enchiladas 

I'll be posting more on this recipe! 

MOM'S MEXICAN DIP - Mom's Pioneer Living Handbook

This recipe is from, Mom's Pioneer Living Handbook.

 So easy to make and an excellent meal idea for company, or potlucks!

INGREDIENTS 

1 pound ground beef (cooked and drained)

2 small or 1 large can of refried beans

2-4 cans of condensed cheddar cheese soup (preferably Campbells Fiesta Nacho cheese soup)

1 can of Rotel (hot or mild, undrained)

2-4 cups of grated cheddar cheese

Tortilla chips 

On stove top (or crockpot) combine all of the ingredients and 1/2 of the grated cheese. 

Heat till bubbly, and top with remainder of cheddar cheese. 

That's it!  Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.  

This Mexican dip is a meal in itself. 

MOM'S PIONEER LIVING HANDBOOK

MOM'S PIONEER LIVING HANDBOOK

This handbook was birthed right after my daughter moved to Alaska. Not only did she request recipes from home, but I was also tasked with writing down endless lists for her preps, (which turned out to be no simple feat!) 

Thus this small handbook was born. This booklet is available both in ebook, or paperback, and can be purchased for "free" on a subscription with Kindle Unlimited, or borrowed from the library. Due to Amazon's minimum requirement of .99 cents a download, I technically earn .35 cents a sale. So thank you in advance for your support! 

I hope this handbook gives you ideas for your own preps. If anything, try out these easy recipes. I do plan to demonstrate food storage meals on the blog periodically, along with more food reviews. 

Recipes mentioned in book and updates 

Mom's Mexican Dip 

Grandma's Fried Corn Tortillas 
Beef and Potato Casserole
Artisan Bread 
Cherokee Cornmeal Cookies 
World War II Cake 
Baking Powder Biscuits 
Milkbone Dog Biscuits 
Grandma's Saltine Cracker Cookies
Flaxseed Egg Substitute

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TEXAS - 2019

A drive to South Padre Island, Texas is WELL WORTH the long and stretchful drive to the gorgeous gulf coast. Soft and nearly white sandy beaches, and sand dunes galore! 

 While visiting the sand dunes, you might feel like you're in another country. Well, just a few miles walking/swimming distance from Mexico, that is...  

If you don't like crowds, I highly recommend traveling to South Padre Island during the OFF SEASON. This means, not during spring break, and avoiding the hot summer months, while most visitors are on vacation. Prices are up, and trying to locate a hotel, or place to park can be challenging, if not frustrating. If you don't have a hotel near the beach, you might be paying for a spot. 

We planned our trip JUST before the crowds, arriving right after spring break (end of April) and managed to locate a quaint hotel (with outdoor cafe) ON the beach - which was perfect! 

Okay, I'm letting out of the bag where we stayed....  The Palms Resort. Ssssssshhhh....  Don't tell anyone else, as we'd like to be able to secure a room the next time we book on South Padre! ;-) 

Waking up to enjoy the STUNNING sunrise was well worth it! The beach was nearly vacant except for the occasional jogger, or water gazer like me...  I honestly fell in love with Texas all over again!

Check out this (CRAZY) dude with a fishing pole. Crazy, as if this were me, I'd be hooking myself!

Kites flying over South Padre