Great Food

I have recently been exploring the art of cooking and thought I would share some recipes that I created to see what everyone else thinks. So here is recipe number one. I love pizza and I love tacos. So, when I went to make tacos tonight and realized I didn't have any tortillas on hand I decided to try combining the two. Now, we all know that taco pizza is not a new concept, but here is my new spin on it. Maybe you've already had it this way, but it's different for me.



First I started with making my own crust. Here's the recipe...

1 yeast packet
1cup warm water
1tsp. sugar
1tsp salt
Combine these and then add...
2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2cups flour
stir til elasticky and smooth and then add
2cups flour
Knead for 5 mins. Put a bit of oil on your hands and smooth around dough. Place dough in oiled bowl and cover with saran wrap. let rise for about 1hr. Punch down the dough and separate into two balls. Roll out onto pizza pans and cook at 375 for 10min. Add toppings and cook an additional 10 mins. This recipe make two medium size crusts
Top pizza crust with salsa, mozzarella cheese, black beans, cooked ground beef (flavored with a guacamole packet), quartered grape tomatoes, & shredded cheddar. after baking top with lettuce of choice.

Ok, so my spin on this pizza is salsa instead of regular pizza sauce, grape tomatoes cause I think they're sweeter, and use a guacamole seasoning packet in the ground beef instead of a taco seasoning packet (it adds a sour creamy flavor and its not as spicey as reg. taco seasoning which keeps it from competing with the other flavors).

Baptism

Hello Ladies - I need your help. Aysia is turning 8 in May and I am contimplating either making her dress or buying one. She won't actually be baptised in the dress, but wear it after and then at church. So, to purchase all the materials I need to make the dress is gonna run me around $70 and I was thinking if I could get a cute one for close to the same price or cheaper then I wouldn't have to go through the trouble of making it. However, I have no idea where to look for a dress. So, if you ladies have any ideas please let me know.

been a long time

For the past two weeks we have been off on vacation. We traveled to Oregon and Idaho to visit with my family and had a good time. We started our vacation in Burley, Idaho visiting with my older sister and her family. The highlights of that visit were the Easter Egg Hunt, and riding around on the 4-wheeler. Aysia and her cousin Emma (who was driving) went off on a ride and turned the 4-wheeler over on them. Luckily no one was hurt too badly, Emma had a few bruises and Aysia walked away without a scrape.


After spending a week there we were off to visit my Dad and Stepmom who are currently serving a service mission for the church as caretakers of a church lodge/girlscamp site in Oregon. The lodge is about 45mins from La Grande, my home town, and we spent an entire week up there. The weather was sooo cold. We also brought my brother's two daughters with us so that Aysia and Amaya would have some entertainment. I think the highest the temp ever reached there was about 40 degrees. The highlights of that visit were a weenie and marshmallow roast and Aqeel and my dad fell some trees to clear camping spots.



We ended our trip in Boise at my closest cousins house. We spent a couple days there and had the opportunity of attending church and I fell in love with their ward. I would love to move there, but the market is much higher than here and I am begining to fall in love with Greenville.

Shower Time

I don't know where Jr learned this, but the boy LOVES to drink from the shower. When he showers with me he sticks out his little tongue and laps up the shower water like a dog. Then he pushes my face into the water so that I too can enjoy the wonderful refreshment. I must say that while warm water is not my favorite, it is so much fun lapping up shower water with Jr! Aren't children great!!!

Caught it

10 years ago I was:
20 yrs old. I lived in an apartment with my childhood best friend and worked at Subway.

Things on my to-do list today:
Clean house from top to bottom, finish my last paper for this term, get groceries, pick up the car from the mechanic, and find some relax time with Aqeel.

Five things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1) Pay off all of our debt, which consists of our house and school loans.
2) Pay off all my siblings student loans and mortgages.
3) Buy Aqeel and I new cars
4) Set up college, missionary, and wedding day savings funds for the kids.
5) Donate a good bit of money to finding a cure for Alzheimer's cause I have the
genes.

Three bad habits:
1) Picking at my finger nails
2) Procrastination, which I don't know if I really view as "bad"
3) over-eating, not controlling portions

Five jobs I have had:
1) Sandwich Artist at Subway
2) Video Store Assistant Manager
3) Merchandising Manager at Victoria's Secret Beauty
4) Receptionist for Answering Service
5) Mother of three

Six things most people don't know about me:
1) I used to pee my pants a lot - if I had a full bladder and someone got me
laughing I had not control over my bladder, but only if it was full.
2) I am an excellent cook. It really comes easy for me.
3) I can sing and not just in the shower, but mostly in the car!
4) I am afraid of nursing homes - when I was little and visiting my grandma in one
this lady grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go. I was crying and the nurses had to
come and pry her hand off of me.
5) Snakes terrify me - even pictures of them. If I see one in a magazine I can't
even touch the page to turn it.
6) When I was a kid, sixth grade I think, I called my friend's mom a B!$@H to her
face and my mom didn't even get mad at me. I guess she agreed with my assessment.

Tag to whoever reads this!

We have now arrived

We have now arrived in South Carolina. Yesterday we had a little visitor. It was a wild racoon. He was dying in our front yard. He wandered around our yard all morning until finally the Department of Natural Resources (because animal control doesn't handle wild animals) came out and shot it right in my grass. I now have a nice bloody spot in my front yard. Too bad no one was barbequing yesterday. They coulda had some good eats!

Can you smell the spring?

I love this time of year! I love the wonderful weather, the beautiful flowers, and the clean crisp smell in the air. I am so excited for this year because I actually have my own garden of flowers blooming. My tulips are sprouting and my pansies are flourishing. I am really learning to enjoy the labors of my own work and it is so much fun.