My first Pizza

Yesterday was an unexpected snow day, the kids were home and I did not get to go to the supermarket. My mom always thought me to have some key items stocked in the pantry: flour, rice and oil. You could make a bunch of concoctions with these base ingredients. I decided to try my hand at pizza. Guess what it was really good!! I had mozzarella cheese left over from this weeks chicken Parmesan (my attempts anyway) and I had breakfast sausages in the fridge. It was fantastic, my daughters loved it , and I was very proud, I am thinking to perfect it and make all sorts of gourmet pizzas. It really was not that difficult. This is the dough recipe I followed:

Pizza Dough

Packet of Dry yeast
Cup of Warm Water
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt (omit if using self-rising flour)
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Dissolve yeast in warm water in 2 1/2 quart bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients, beat vigorously 20 strokes ( I did not beat very vigorously, just mixed it a couple of times). Let rest 5 minutes.

I rolled it out a little with a floured pin, the cookbook did not specify but I found it necessary. I sprayed some oil spray on my pizza pan and used some of the dough on that pan . I put the rest of the dough in a foil pan.

I tried baking two ways. With the first pizza I actually put the dough in the oven for a little while before adding ingredients. Gave a nice crisp to the crust. For the second I just added the toppings and place in the oven. That crust was a little softer. Both delicious. They did not take more than 15 minutes to bake.

I had 8 ounces of tomato sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic, 2 teaspoons oregano, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt. I did not cook or heat, I just mixed all the ingredients in a Pyrex measuring cup.

For the sausage , I chopped a small onion. I placed the sausage links in microwave for a minute. I chopped the sausage small and placed it in a frying pan with the onions. I cooked for a minute or two, until onion was translucent and sausage had some color.

this is not my pizza,i just wanted to add a picture. I forgot to take a picture and it did not last long

The Visit: From a child's perpective

I had an guests at my house for almost two weeks. It was my sister-in-Law and her youngest son. She was taking a much needed break and ventured to NY from Denver on the train (Kudos to her, I don't think I could have done it) I am always up for guests, and took the time in stride. I was going through my 9 year old's writing journal she keeps at school an I had a hearty laugh at the entries. This is the tale of the visit from a child's perspective:



Entry 1 February 12, (few days after cousin Quinn's arrival)I had a great time with my cousin Quinn, we both played with our DS games. Even my little sister Kayla played. I had to stop to charge my game. We went out and played in the snow and built a snowman . I even made a snow angel. I had a lot of fun with my Auntie Denise too.



Entry 2 February 22 ( after returning to school after her winter break)
My vacation was TERRIFYING!! (this is where I nearly fell of my chair). My cousin Quinn was over and he was very bossy. He kept turning off the TV while I was watching. On the last day before he left , he started to do it again and I grabbed the remote and told him he could not do it it was rude.

A Splash of Orange

Passion Flower

I love orange and in the process of revamping my blog, I had to include orange. I am part of a great networking group called the Sassy Sisters in Sale. One of my sassy sisters is an artist among other things. I used her painting in my banner. She has a great shop on Artfire featuring her work and she really is good. She loves color like myself, she started with making stained glass and fused glass. She learned how to do stained glass while living in Baltimore at a local craft shop. Arlene, has even studied abroad in New Zealand, a well travelled artist.

Regrouping

I have spent a lot of time building up my business blog, and this one well has suffered. I sat down and decided to regroup, and give it another shot. Today was a very instrospective day for me. Due to financial strain and the fact that my business is not picking up as fast as I want it to, I may have to look for a job outside of my home. I am not thrilled, but spending some time in prayer and meditation I told God to allow His will to be done in my life. This is really hard, but necessary when I consider that my life is not my own it is God's. I did remind Him of what He said in His Word, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans not to harm you , but plans to offer a hope and a future". This is the verse that keeps me sane in the midst of chaos and uncertainty.

I have chosen to use this blog as my forum to share my beliefs, my thoughts , my dry sense of humor. So if you are out there follow me on this wonderful journey called life.