Pizza Crust In The Bread Machine

Pizza Crust

1 1/2 C water
1 1/2 T oil
3 3/4 C flour
1 1/2 T honey or sugar
1 1/2 t. salt
2 t. yeast

Add all to bread machine and hit the dough cycle.  Let rise in the pan.  Roll out into 2 large pizzas.  Poke holes all over.  Bake at 425 until very slightly browned. 

While we're at it.... here's our favorite sauce recipe

1 30oz can tomato sauce
2 T. italian seasoning
2 t. onion powder
1 1/2 T. honey
1/4 t. salt
2 cloves crushed garlic

After adding sauce and toppings then bake a little longer until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  Let sit a few minutes before you cut. 

Bread Machine Recipes Anyone?

My step mom got a fun Christmas present this year.  A bread machine! 

I want to share my favorite bread machine recipes with her but I thought I'd do it blog-style and ask for your help.  Now I know that plenty of you have bread machines and I'm hoping you'll help me to help Nana.  If we all share recipes with her she'll have plenty more....and so will we! 

So over the next few days I'll be posting my favorite recipes and tips.  Will you click on the comments and share yours as well? 

Here goes....

Basic Bread Machine Bread

1 C. Water
2 T. oil
3 T. honey
1 tsp. oil
1 egg
2 C. wheat flour
1 C. bread flour
2 1/2 tsp yeast

Put everything in the bread machine in the order given except the yeast.  Make a little well in the center of the flour and pour in the yeast.  Hit the dough cycle.  Let rise in machine.  Take it out and shape into a loaf.  Let rise again.  Bake at 350 for about 25 minutues.  Turn out onto a cooling rack (or the counter) to cool. 

~You can substitute whatever amounts of wheat/bread flour that you like as long as you end up with the same amount of flour.  I usually do all wheat and sometimes substitute just one cup of bread flour.  Play with it and see what combo you like best. 

~Using bread flour makes for better bread than all-purpose flour.

~Spraying a hot loaf of bread with cool water makes the crust softer.  But don't over spray. 

There are many bread recipes out there and they are all a little bit different.  Sometimes that little difference is what makes it stand out to be a favorite. 

What's your favorite?

Some Christmas Pix

What a wonderful day.  Celebrating the birth of our Savior could not have been better. 

Snow!  In Arkansas.  On Christmas!  Unheard of.  What a gift!!

Thoughtful presents.

Hugs and kisses.

And beautiful smiles.  (This is my new favorite picture.)

Time for sledding!

ZBaby was happy to get to sled by himself.  We probably have about 15 pix of him doing this and every one of them has this pretty smile. 

But then!  Oh no.  A big sledding accident when Bird got taken out by a big brother sledding fast.  Lots of blood and tears.  She's ok now though and all the swelling has disappeared.  Poor Mally.  (And poor Daddy who was on the scene and still plays it back in his mind. )

Mary's Smile

As I'm reading through the gospels this Christmas season, I find myself drawn to Mary. I can't wait to meet her in heaven and see what kind of woman God chose for the mother of His Son.

I bet she has a beautiful countenance. A peaceful smile.

The Bible says, "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19

What did she treasure and ponder? The sweetness. The amazingness of God.

Not the unexpected journey at an inopportune time. Not the hours of excruciating labor on the boney back of a donkey. Not the fact that she had to give birth in a dirty smelly stable, or that her Baby didn't have the best.

Days later, when Simeon held the Baby Jesus in his arms and spoke of God's promises, the Bible says: "The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about Him." Luke 2:33

Marveling, treasuring, and pondering.

"A happy heart makes the face cheerful." Proverbs 15:13
" As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man." Proverbs 27:19

Is your face cheerful this season as you marvel and ponder the wonderfulness of our Savior? I see many that are not. And one lady I met was counting down the days until it was over! It is no surprise that her face was not cheerful.

Lord, I pray that the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen

Christmas In Texas

We just got home from a weekend trip to visit my family for Christmas. I'm so thankful for them! LB and I got to go a bit early to help cook, thanks to my dad and step mom for picking us up. Mom always has everything decorated just so.

Mally with G'ma VivianThis is my grandmother. Can you believe she'll be 80 this year?! Isn't she pretty?

Me and my step mom Mystic. How we got along so many years without her I'll never know.

The kids thanking G'ma for the new field trip shirts. Aren't they great?I can't wait to go somewhere and wear them!

Tis nice to be closer to family and get to do this. And guess what we brought home? A whole ice chest full of hamburger meat from my parents' cow! I wanted to take a picture of that too but it got unloaded before I could get to it. What a blessing!

Thank you to my family for such a great time.

Finally.

Who knew it'd be so hard?

The first time I walked into the revenue office somebody told me all I needed was to give them my CO drivers license and it would be enough to get my AR license. So I took a number. And waited.

Nope. She gave me a list of several things I would need.

The second time I had my folder of paperwork ready. I took a number. And waited.

Nope. A marriage certificate is NOT the same as a marriage license and I needed the license, not the certificate. Whatever.

The third time I took Honey with me b/c he needed to do this too and we'd both have the proper paperwork. Third time is the charm, right? We took a number. And waited.

Well wouldn't you know. I didn't have the right birth certificate. He did. But I didn't. Apparently you must have the one with the raised seal and not the hospital issue. And since that was the only one I had, I needed to send off to the state for the right one.

So I did. And they sent it to the wrong place. And it took awhile but it finally made it's way to my house.

Today I walked into the revenue office for the fourth time. I took a number. And waited.

And prayed.

And now finally it's done. And it only took four times.

Look What's Missing!!

This 'N That

I'm in the mood to blog but just can't think of anything interesting. Since that's never stopped me before, here I go with just a bunch of random boring ramblings....

I'll start with some new pix..

Friends.
Babyest's pretty eyes.

Lane and her puppy.

The never ending kitchen work.

See how cute her braces match?

~Check out my new favorite family picture on Honey's blog.

~In an attempt to be more healthy (and frugal) I've tried yet another homemade laundry soap recipe. I'm hoping this will be the one. So far so good but I've only done one load. It seems to work well in front loaders.

1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap grated
10 C. hot tap water

1/2 C each washing soda and Borax

Dissolve soap in 6 cups of water on the stove, heating on low. Add washing soda and Borax. Stir until dissolved and thick. Add 4 cups of water. Pour into a pitcher and let sit overnight. This will thicken and need to be stirred with a spoon. Use 1/2 cup per load.

~I just finished a great book. A Sane Woman's Guide To Raising A Large Family by Mary Ostyn. Mary is the mom of 10 kids from 3 different countries. I was "introduced" to Mary by her blog and was immediately smitten. I love her practical ways and easy style. When Honey bought me her book, I couldn't wait for a quiet moment to read. This is a great book to pass along to anyone wondering just "how do you do it with so many kids".

~If you have stainless steel appliances don't buy the ss cleaner at Sams. It leaves streaks. Too bad I had to buy 2 cans of it.

~I've decided that Arkansas is colder than Colorado. It's the "wet cold vs. dry cold" that people talk about. Now I know what they mean. I like it though. It should be cold this time of year and I'm learning to enjoy different things about each season.

~Time is my eldest son's love language. I haven't been very good to do this lately so I determined that I would do something special with just him. I called him in my room and we wrapped presents for about an hour. He also helped me with some Christmas cards. When we were finished he said, "Thanks for letting me wrap with you, Mom. I really like doing this!" I liked it too.

~I won a cookbook this week at a brunch w/ my homeschool friends. Thank you Jennifer! My first new recipe will be carrot bread. Doesn't that sound good? The topic of the brunch was healthy eating for 2010. A great reminder for me to lay off the sugar. And you know what I discovered? For some bizarre reason I've been catering to the kids' taste too much. Like making cheese pizza instead of vegetable. Whatever is wrong with me?

~My blender broke. I think I need something between a cheap Walmart kind and a Vitamix. Something that can handle frozen fruit easily but I don't need it to grind grain. Any suggestions? My food processor is messed up too, so I guess I need my new machine to handle that kind of stuff too.

~Guess what!? Meg and I have met the fitness challenge! 6 days of exercising in a row. (We had to modify it b/c exercising on Sunday was too hard.) Last week we got all the way to day 5 and I blew it. Meg was very gracious though.

~My dog, Joey, has had a bad couple of days. I don't know what he ate, but let's just say that new flooring in the living room just got bumped up on the priority list!

Hmm, what else? I guess I'll end with tomorrow's meals...

Breakfast - french toast casserole. I had lotsa pieces of bread left over from a craft with the kids. I was going to make croutons but this works too.

Lunch - leftover vegetable soup

Dinner - spaghetti in the crock pot, salad, bread

Christmas Traditions

~Decorating the Christmas tree. How pretty it is!

~Reading our Christmas advent book.

~Memorizing Christmas Scriptures.

~Shopping with Honey.

~Shopping with kids.

~Wrapping presents in fun paper and recycled bags that we've had forever.

~Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes.

~Christmas Eve service at First Baptist.

~Fudge, cookies, candy, caramel popcorn.

~The annual family picture and Christmas cards.

~Making stuff for G'mas.

~Egg nog night.

~Watching A Christmas Carol. I love this movie. But some years I have to watch it by myself b/c it scares even my big kids!

~Decorating the gingerbread house.


I love Christmas time!!

Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

At my husband's request I'm listening to a new book on my iPod, Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper.

I wish I could write out a thorough review of this book but my best attempt will be only a drop in a bucket. It is one of those that makes you stop and think and reevaluate your current lifestyle.

Piper speaks of a life that glorifies God rather than serves yourself - or (gasp!) only your family. What does that mean? And what does that look like? He takes it beyond the pretty sounding church words to explain how a believer can shift the focus of his life.

It is loaded with Scripture and also quotes from historical minds such as Jonathan Edwards and CS Lewis.

It is piercing and difficult and that's what makes it good. It has caused me to examine my choices carefully in light of what brings honor to my Savior vs. comfort to myself.

One of my favorite lines goes something like this... "There is an old saying that no one will ever say on their deathbed that they wish they had spent more time at the office. Along the same lines, no one will say, "I wish I had spent more time watching TV with my family."

Here I go recommending a book and I haven't even finished it! Unfortunately I'm not a very good listener. I'm much better at feasting my eyes on the written word, underlining and note taking along the way. Consequently, it has taken me a long time to finish and I have nothing tangible to refer back to. (Another thing to add to my Amazon cart!) Listening to it is not enough. This will be one that I'll pull out and pour over again and again.

Some Good Deals And Freebies

Freebies first b/c they are my fave!

Free Johnson's baby shampoo with this printable coupon here. There is no size restriction on this so the travel size is free at Walmart and Target.

Free baby cereal and baby food with coupons here.

Free sample of Aveeno hair products here.

Free subscription of Weight Watchers magazine here. (I love these free magazines. I've done this several times and there really is no catch. )

At Walmart, use the $2/1 coupon for Snuggle fabric softener sheets to get the small box free.

Now for some good deals....

Target has a great promo on crackers right now. Buy 5 boxes of selected crackers and get a $5 Target gift card. The crackers and cookies are on sale for $2 and paired with coupons make them almost free.

Use (5) .75/1 Cheez It coupons to get them for .25 a box! You will have to access multiple computers.

Only one computer? No worries. You can print 2 of those and pair it with these others to still cover 5 boxes.

$1/2 Flipsides cracker coupons here.
$1/2 Keebler Fudge Shoppe coupons here.

Because this is a gift card you can roll this deal multiple times until your coupons run out!

One more...
Wishbone salad dressing .75/1 coupon here. This will make for cheap salad dressing at Walmart.

Thanks MoneySavingMom!
And Happy Shopping!!

Good Soil

"The farmer sows the Word." Mark 4:14

I love this parable in Mark chapter 4. As I read it and thought about it, 2 words kept coming to mind.

Good soil.
Good soil.

I am like the farmer in the lives of my children. God uses me to work with Him to prepare the soil of their hearts for His Word. How can I make the soil of my children's hearts good? I pray for wisdom to be a faithful farmer.

A farmer is a busy man. He is not lazy.
Being a farmer is not glamorous, not showy.
He does the work himself.
He plans ahead.
He adjusts his schedule for the day's work - early to bed, early to rise.
He is willing to get his hands dirty.
He knows that he will not see the fruit of his labor right away.

He works his soil to prepare it for planting. He works in compost and throws out the unhealthy influences of rocks and pulls the weeds. It is a work and doesn't happen on its own.

I've learned something about unhealthy influences: there's usually some good mixed in with the bad. I have to be careful to see it for what it is - a rock/a weed that chokes and hinders.

The farmer doesn't turn the rock over in his hand, exclaiming, "But this one's so pretty, surely it won't do much harm." He throws it out and doesn't look back.

I pray for the wisdom of a farmer. To boldly throw out that which is unhealthy, to do the work, to wait patiently for the reward, and to faithfully trust that what I'm planting is taking root.

Good soil.
Good soil.

I Hate Turkey

So why did I buy so many? B/c they taste ok and you can use them in place of anything chicken. Besides they were forty cents a pound and sometimes my frugality trumps common sense.

It took me years to master cooking a whole chicken without gagging. So why did I think that a turkey would be different? It's just a little bigger right? Wrong. It's A LOT bigger and a A LOT more hassle.

So I start the morning with cheerful determination to cook this huge bird for dinner. I had Honey untangle the legs for me and pull out the bag of guts. (WHY does that have to be there?)
Turns out it was still a bit frozen. I had to go through the thawing process some more.

Ok though b/c I had bread to go in the oven anyway. Turkey would just have to wait his turn.

My new oven has this fancy probe thermometer thing that beeps when the turkey reaches the perfect temperature. No more guess work and it makes me feel better about it being done. I pull out the book and read up on how to do it. Piece of cake.

Turkey is ready, probe is in place, oven set to 325. On with the day....

BEEP. Oh yeah, this probe is neat. The bird is done and I take it out to rest on the counter. It's still early, but dinner is ready and there's time to play football with the kids.

Time to put dinner together and I pull off the top of the roasting pan to discover that the probe LIED! It was decidedly NOT done. What to do? I stuck in back in the oven for another hour and just hoped that was the right thing. I get so worried about all those poultry food poisoning warnings.

My family ate cereal.

It's 6:30 and the turkey's finally done. The kitchen is a mess from previous works and the little kids aren't ready for church in the morning. Honey and my 2 oldest are gone and I have this big yucky bird to deal with by myself.

I start tearing it apart getting it ready for the fridge. And guess what? Surprise! Another bag of who-knows-what was in there all the time. Good grief. So now what? Is it still safe to eat after cooking plastic in it? I have no idea. At this point I'm questioning every step and wondering if we're going to be up all night throwing up. I blame my grumpiness on the kids but it's really this stupid turkey. Well at least I can use the carcass to make broth in the crockpot tonight.

It's finally done and I pull out the crockpot. There is NO WAY this thing will fit in the crockpot. It's huge.

Forget it. I have my son take the bones to the trash.

I suppose I'll have to list this among my New Year's goals. "How to cook a turkey so that no one dies." One thing's for sure....I'm not falling for that forty cents a pound deal next year.

Weekend Plans

It's coooold (not Colorado cold, but cold just the same) and we're staying home, enjoying the beautiful Christmas tree and warming the house with kitchen cooking. Here's what's on my list....

~Sleep in. Did you hear that kids??

~My kitchen is finished! And it's oh so pretty. Pictures tomorrow.

~Orange rolls for breakfast to celebrate our new kitchen! LB made these for us tonight.

~Cook the first of the turkeys that are stored in my freezer. (Sorry Meggy.)

~Bake oatmeal muffins with leftover oatmeal.

~Finish Christmas shopping. Just one more thing....

~Get a start on baking bread for the ladies' Christmas dinner at church.

~Take apart my fridge and clean it really good. (Sounds like a job for my son.)

~Wrap presents so that I can see my closet floor again.

~Hair cuts and baby baths.

~Menu and decide on kid's date night dinner. Honey and I got a free coupon at Marketplace so we're going out!

Today

~My house is such a mess today. The guys are here working on the counter tops and I have all sorts of kitchen stuff in my bedroom...and Christmas wrapping stuff...and presents...you get the idea.

~We had friends over this morning so the afternoon is full of school. Flexibility is a nice thing about homeschooling. No dinner at home tonight b/c we can eat at church. That sure makes the night easier since my kitchen is torn apart.

~I love December! My calendar is filling up fast this month. I have to be extra careful to plan wisely.

~I finished out November $51 under my grocery budget. I don't see how that could be since I bought like 8 extra turkeys for my freezer. Weird, but I'm happy about it. As for December, I've already spent $300.

~My neighbor's dog got hit by a car this week. So sad. Honey was riding bikes with Nate when it happened and I was in the front yard with the little kids. I am thankful that none of the kids actually saw it and we took them in the house afterward. I'm sorry for their family. I know that's a sad thing.

~I think we're getting ready to join the church we've been visiting! Big step.

~We have one more trip to TX planned this year. I've been saving all my free magazines to read in the farm house after the sun goes down. I get a lot of reading done in TX b/c we are out of our usual routine.

~I'm still loving our Scripture memory program. This month we're memorizing Luke 2:7-15. I'm trying to talk Lane into illustrating a book of it for us.

~Meg and I have started a fitness challenge. We each have to exercise 30 minutes a day for 7 days in a row. If one of us misses we start over with day 1. If we make it to 7 days we take each other shopping for the prize. So far we're on day 3.

~Here's one of my new faves.....

Aren't they cute?

Last Night's Dinner

This was very simple and quick since I used left over chicken from Thanksgiving. It's a new recipe I tried from Kraft's Food & Family magazine.

Saucy Mexican Chicken

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast halves

2 Cups salsa

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (I was out of this so I used a can of chili beans)

shredded cheddar

Cook chicken on each side seasoned with salt & pepper. Add salsa and beans. Bring to boil; cover. Simmer on med-low heat 5 min or until chicken is done and everything is bubbly. Top with cheese. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered until cheese is melted.

Frozen french fries. I know, rice would've been better but french fries is sorta a date night tradition with us. This is one of those brownie bowl things. I got it on sale at Aldi and saved it for date night. It was certainly fast and easy and sweet but I don't think I'll get it again.
Here's breakfast. It's our new way to make pancakes b/c it's so much easier. I can't remember where I got it but it's a good one!

Oven Pancake

Grease 9x13 dish. Layer fruit on bottom if desired. Preheat oven to 400.

Mix:

3 eggs

3 T oil

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 C milk

1/2 C honey

1 1/2 C flour

1 tsp salt

dash of nutmeg

Pour into dish and bake 20 minutes.

Decorating The Christmas Tree

A bustle of activity.Just getting started.

See that pretty face reflected in the ball?

Serious business.
Taking a break.
The finishing touch. Ta Da!
My favorite.

Thanksgiving In Pix

Being closer to my family is wonderful. This year we got to spend Thanksgiving with them for the first time ever. The kids and I went a couple of days early and Honey followed on Thanksgiving morning. Here's a tiny glimpse of the fun....minus the yummy food b/c we didn't get many pix of that.

A big car ride.

Making chocolate milk in the farm house. (Dad has the perfect guest house all set up for whenever we come to visit.)

Spending time with G'ma and PawPaw. Meg and LB spent the night and had fun with G'ma doing hair, talking quilts, and cooking.

Skateboard races. On your mark, get set, GO!!

Riding through the pasture.

G'pa and Nana feeding the baby. Isn't he precious?

Shooting guns with G'pa.

Bulls eye!

Thank you to my family for such a fun time!! We love you!

You Know You're Entering A New Phase Of Life When.....

You can lay in bed on Sunday morning until 8:00 and nobody bangs on the door.

You take your Christmas card picture and you don't have to threaten everybody to not throw a fit.

You can listen to an entire sermon without dancing with a baby on your hip.

You can take your Bible to church without worrying about it getting torn up..... maybe.

.....hmmm, I'm feeling a little neglected.

Wet Shoes

Why did I think I would go to Walmart on Saturday? Saturday is always busy but now it is hopping with holiday shoppers as well. I have to admit it's a little bit fun. I love the excitement of the holidays with the decorations, sales, and Christmas music. Just not on a Saturday.

I'm shopping with my 2 littlest and my eldest son. ZBaby is tired and ready to be done. He announces,"My diaper's wet."

"Ok", I say, "We'll take care of it in the car. We're almost finished."

We grab the last few things and head to the checkout.
In line I hear Mally say, "Momma!! ZBaby's shoe is dripping!"

How could his shoe be dripping when he's riding in the cart and can't step in anything?.....Ohhhhhhhhh yuck.

His shoe is dripping alright and making a puddle of pee pee on the floor.
There are enough people around us to make it a bit of a show.

All the older ladies around me rallied around, smiling, and telling ZBaby how sorry they were that he was wet and telling him that he's cute.

I turn to the lady behind us..."You picked the wrong line." I apologized.
I apologized to the checker and asked if there was a mop.

Patient people. Big mess.