Pizza Night!

Like I've mentioned in my previous posts, J and I often make dinners together for our dates.  One of our favorite meals is pizza night.  Who doesn't love a fresh, homemade pizza?!  For Christmas, his parents got him a Pampered Chef pizza stone and a new pizza cutter.  Lucky me since it's not really mine, but I still get to use it! Ha! :)

The other night, we went to the store to get everything we needed: pizza dough mix, pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onions, and mushrooms.  Ugh, mushrooms are gross, so obviously those were for J.  I love the dough mix we bought.  It's so easy to make and it tastes better than restaurant/store bought dough.  If you've never made pizza at home, I definitely recommend trying it.  Ours cost about $10 to make.  On top of that, we have a blast making it together and it's scrumptious!

Here are some pics from the other night, along with the how to's of making pizza yourself:  

1. Dusting your pan/stone with cornmeal is up for debate.  Some people like it, some people don't.  I strongly recommend using it.  It prevents the dough from sticking to your pan/stone, and the taste really pairs well with your pizza.  If you choose to use it, make sure you dust it on well though.  Not enough will leave you hanging with an unevenly baked dough.  And who wants that?  

2.  This next step varies on which type of dough you use.  We use Betty Crocker's Pizza Crust Mix.  For this mix, you just stir in hot water and let it rise for 5 minutes.  (We found a steal on this at Sharp Shopper, a local discount grocery store, for 2/$1!)  Once that's done, you can start spreading it on the pan/stone.  We like to oil our hands with olive oil to keep it from sticking to our fingers.  Then, just bake for a few minutes to help it puff up.  As you can see, we made ours thin.

   
3.  Next, add your sauce and toppings.  We do sauce, then pepperoni and sausage, then cheese, then veggies, and then more cheese.  Can never get enough cheese.  One of the best parts of making your own pizza is choosing what toppings you want and where you want them.  We did half mushroom/half none, since I'm not a fungus fan.   

 4.  Now, you're ready to bake!  Get ready for an awesome smelling kitchen.  We bake ours at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  When it's done, just let it cool and then slice it up!  We, personally, like square slices. :) 

All done and ready to be eaten!

And, that's it!  Pretty simple.  Fun to make with your family and kids, and in my opinion tastes better than any restaurant pizza.  Have fun with it and enjoy the quality time it creates with your family!  

Who Wants Waffles?!

Since I got a new waffle iron for Christmas, and it's a snow day :), I thought I'd share with you my first attempt at making waffles.  Most days either J or I have to work late and aren't able to spend much time together at night.  On those days, we like to get together before work and make some brunch.  I went to the store earlier in the week and found some Krusteaz Waffle Mix on a BOGO sale.  Of course, I had to get it.  Especially since J and I were planning on Friday to play with my new gadget.

I brought it over on Friday morning and we had fun figuring out how to use it.  The Krusteaz mix made it really easy to just whip up the batter and get it cookin'.  All we had to do was plug the waffle maker in, wait for it to light up and beep that it was ready, and spray it with cooking oil.  Once that was done, we just used the handy-dandy measuring cup that came with the maker and poured the batter in the center of iron.  Then we flipped it and waited for the next beep saying it was done and ready to be demolished.

Here you can see my handy new machine cooking the first waffle.  See the handle?  I love how it doesn't stick out like the knobs on most other machines.  In the batter is the measuring cup it came with.

      
J is helping me get the last waffle out below.  I thought I only made enough for 2 waffles, but we somehow got lucky and were able to make 3! Score!

Here's the last picture for you - a lil' somethin' to make you want a waffle right now!

If you're curious about how I like the waffle maker...I love it.  Plain and simple.  It so easy to use.  The cord stores right on the bottom so you never lose it and it never gets in the way.  The iron has browning settings from 1-8.  I used 4 in the pictures above, and it was perfect.  Cleaning up afterwards was a breeze too.  I just had to let it cool and then wipe it down with a damp cloth.  I think the best part though is the light and beep signal when it's at the right temp. and when it's done cooking.  Love it.

Mmm Biscuits

I received so many wonderful gifts during Christmas, I'm still writing about how each one was used first!  My mom and J's mom must have been on the same wavelength when it came to my gifts.  They complimented each other so well. 

From my mom, I got this awesome southern cookbook.  It's called Callie's Biscuits and Southern Traditions.  It has so many recipes I want to try.  But, the one I wanted to try the most was the biscuit recipe.  After I opened this gift, I received a new baking pan and new biscuit cutters.  What a coincidence! ;)  Perfect, since the first recipe I wanted to try was the biscuit one.  A few days after opening those gifts, I opened gifts from J's mom.  She gave me a new apron and a new pastry blender.  I thought it was so funny since I could use it so well with the gifts from my mom.  I should also mention that J got me a gorgeous apron too and my Aunt S gave me a marble rolling pin!  Yep, I'm one spoiled girl.  

I mentioned in an earlier post how I was sick with the flu.  Once I was feeling better I decided there was no better time to play with my new toys.  I brought all the things mentioned above over to J's house.  We often make dinners from scratch together, and that night he wanted to use his new crock pot to make a pot roast.  What a great meal to make homemade biscuits with!

Since the recipe is not mine, I won't post the exact measurements.  Instead, you can read it on Pg. 14 of the cookbook.  The ingredients included self-rising flour, cubed butter, cream cheese, buttermilk, and melted butter.  

When I first mixed the flour, butter, and cream cheese, I didn't realize I had my measurements off.  I'm not used to using J's measuring cups, and his are a little different.  I thought I had grabbed the cup, but apparently I grabbed the 3/4 cup.  Needless to say, my biscuits didn't have all the flour they needed.  They still turned out pretty good though.  And if you're wondering why I didn't just add the extra flour in, it's because I didn't even know I had the wrong measuring cup until it was all said and done.  I was just standing there like an idiot wondering why the dough wasn't quite right. LOL  

Here's some pictures of the process.  The recipe called for the dough to be rolled to 1/2inch thick.  I did this and felt the dough was too thin.  I ended up stacking the dough forming a sort of layered biscuit.  Next time I won't roll it so thin.   

Can you see my awesome gifts?

Buttering the biscuits on my new pan before they go in the oven

Biscuits all done and me wearing the apron J got me!

Even with the hiccups I had, they came out tasting great!  I can't imagine how they'll be when I can read next time and add the right amount of flour.  And just to tease you before I go, here's a picture of the pot roast J made.

J's Pot Roast

Every Seamstress Needs a Pincushion

That day I went to JoAnn's with my sister and sister-in-laws (day after Christmas), we saw some pincushions by the register.  I realized I needed one, but I didn't really like the ones they had or their price.  S got the idea to make one for me instead.  

She used some fabric left over from the pacifier/toy clips I made, cushion material my mom already had, a jar my dad found around the house, and a glue gun.  Putting the cushion on the jar was a neat idea.  It could be used to hold so many loose objects - buttons, thread, etc.  Here's a picture of it:

    S wanted to tie some ribbon around the top of the jar, but we didn't have any on hand.  I'm planning to pick some up at JoAnn's later and add it.  Thanks so much S for my pincushion!  As you can see above, it's already been used :)

Cowboys vs Redskins

Obviously, the Cowboys have proven yet again this season they are better than the Redskins!  With that said, I can now tell you about my next sewing project.  

After I made those clips for my niece, I was trying to figure out what my next project would be.  I quickly remembered J's mom's birthday was coming up on new year's eve and she's (unfortunately) a huge Redskins fan.  J is also a Redskins fan, but I'm slowly conforming him into a Cowboys fan.  And, as I write this he is saying "No, no, a sympathist maybe".  Yeah, we'll see who wins this argument (obviously me).   Anyways, so my idea was to make his mom a Redskins fleece blanket.  

Luckily JoAnn's had some Redskins fabric AND they had some awesome looking flannel Cowboys fleece.  *Idea struck!* - after I make the Redskins blanket, I can make a sort of "house divided" Cowboys/Redskins blanket for J.  That way when I visit, I can flip the blanket to the correct side, AKA Cowboys, and when I'm gone and not looking he can have the ugly side up, ugh Redskins. 

Below are some pictures of the process.  S helped me make J's mom's blanket while we were at my parents house after Christmas.  She took me through it step-by-step, making sure I didn't mess up.  I remembered the steps and made J's blanket on my own --> my 1st official craft I made on my own!  Both blankets have some crooked stitching around the edges, but whatever, I'll get better with time....hopefully.  LOL 

My niece R watching as I try to keep a straight stitch 

    

J's mom's blanket all finished!

 

 

I've been pretty sick with the flu the past couple of weeks.  J was so sweet and offered to let me stay with him so he could take care of me.  That way I could also have some tv to watch since I don't have cable or anything right now.  He blew up his air mattress so I could sleep/lay in front of the tv comfortably.  I brought my sewing machine with me in case I had some energy to make J's blanket.  The last day I stayed there I somehow managed to get enough momentum going to make it AND take pictures of it (lucky you guys!).

After pinning the right sides together and sewing the edges, I began cutting the excess off.

Right sides are flipped out and the edges are being stitched closed.

The finished product!

I gave J's mom her blanket on her birthday.  She seemed to really love it and I think she'll get a lot of great use out of it.  J loves his blanket too.  I caught him cuddling with the ugly side up though.  I guess I'll just have to keep working on teaching him the right way of life -- the Cowboys life baby!

My Very 1st Sewing Project

When I was little I used to watch my mom create new things using her sewing machine.  I was always interested in trying to figure out how that crazy thing worked.  I did a few projects with her help, like making a train overall outfit for my nephew S.  I ended up entering that outfit in a contest or auction or something.  Not really sure what happened to that, but I do remember I did a pretty darn good job! :)  Anyways, to the point.  I received my very first sewing machine this past Christmas.  It's pretty awesome and not really at all what I remember my mom's looking like or sounding like.  It's so easy to work with and very quiet.  You'll see a few pictures of it later.

Since we had a big Christmas this year with everyone being in town, S was able to show me how the machine works.  She diligently (and very patiently) showed me how to make my own bobbin, change the feet, and thread the machine.  Once the tutorial was over, she gave me my first assignment: sew all the different stitch patterns onto some fabric so I could see what each one looked like.

My first assignment: sewing all the stitches

    
After that, it was time for bigger and better things (AKA my first real project).  Earlier in the day, my sister C, sister-in-laws B and S, and I took a trip to JoAnn's to pick everything out for some projects I had in mind.  The first project: sew a pacifier clip and toy clip for my little niece E.  

This was the perfect idea to start out with.  It was small, I could use my favorite color orange, I could use some decorative stitches, and it was going to a pretty little girl named E.  Below are the 2 clips.  The top one is the toy clip and the bottom the pacifier clip.  The pacifier clip S had to help me ruffle the lace on since I'm too special to figure it out on my own.  They came out looking really cute though!  
 

 

Pacifier and toy clips

 

Better view of the decorative top stitch and lace

 Thanks S for taking and sending all the pictures!

Creating New Memories with a New Blog

Hey everyone and welcome to my blog!  This past Christmas ('13) I received a brand new sewing machine and some cool new baking gadgets as gifts.  While I was thinking of all the new projects I could do and yummy treats I could make, my sister-in-law S convinced me to record everything in a blog.  That way I can remember what I've done AND she and other family members can see what I've been up to!  As you can probably tell, the focus of this blog will be on sewing and baking (other random projects will be thrown in here at some point too).  So, hold on tight because it's about to get crafty in here.