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Perfectly Homemade Pizza Dough

October 10, 2013

 

pizza dough :: Perfectly Homemade Pizza Dough ::

Believe it or not… I actually went about two years without eating pizza {Gasp! I know!}. During my first pregnancy, I didn’t experience food cravings as much as I experienced food aversions. Unfortunately, pizza… was the enemy. I couldn’t handle the taste, smell, or even the word P-I-Z-Z-A. Thankfully with time, the aversion passed {I think Husby was especially grateful for that}! Now… like most of you, I completely savor a good slice of pizza… especially if it’s homemade. Typically my husby picks up some of Trader Joe’s premade pizza dough, on his stop at the market before making his way up the mountain to our home. However, this week, he was home from the fire station for a few days and we didn’t have any dough on hand. I decided to mix up an easy homemade pizza dough {from one of my faves… The Pioneer Woman}, and top it with fresh, organic veggies from my mom’s garden. Yum!

pizza dough  simply happenstance

The best part about making homemade pizza dough, is that there are literally only a few key ingredients needed…. flour, salt, olive oil, water and yeast. It honestly took me less than 5 minutes to make, and only an hour to let rise. 

Homemade Pizza Dough  Simply Happenstance

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Filed Under: Food

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

June 3, 2013

  

:: Strawberry Oatmeal Bars ::

When it comes to baking, you just can’t go wrong with a recipe that calls for a crumbly mixture of butter, brown sugar, and oatmeal {am I right?}! Combine those ingredients with your favorite flavor of jam {yum!} and you are left with a rich and chewy bar that you can enjoy as a snack or even served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! These delicious bars also pack perfectly in kids lunches and would make a nice treat for a friend!

We were fortunate to have a  jar of super sweet homemade strawberry jam that a friend had made for us in our fridge. I used it in this recipe… and I am sure it enhanced the pure tastiness! Although I used strawberry, you can use any flavor of jam of your liking. Peach… raspberry…. blackberry…. whatever you fancy or have readily available! The buttery, brown sugar oatmeal mixture is used for the base of the bar…. and the crumbly topping! It is super easy to make with only one-bowl needed!

The original recipe was taken from one of our favorites {the Pioneer Woman}. Nicole and I love all of her recipes… but as usual, we tend to make a few adaptations based on the ingredients we have on hand. Since my jam was very sweet… I cut back on the brown sugar. I also used half whole wheat flour and half white all-purpose to make it a tad bit healthier {hmm… not sure if that’s possible with all of that butter}!! Any way that you choose to do it… they are sure to come out delicious! Enjoy!  

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Filed Under: Food

{weekend} lovelies

May 25, 2013

:: Weekend Lovelies ::

This weekend lovelies is a glimpse of summer lovin’ and the good old U.S. of A….

 

Oklahoma // The Pioneer Woman

Our hearts and prayers have been with Oklahoma this week.  It’s so hard to wrap our minds around natural disasters.  One of our cooking inspirations is Ree Drummond.  Her photographs have captured the scenery of Oklahoma for many years.  On her blog this week, she has listed ways in which we all can help out.  Click {here} for more information on ways to help Oklahomans during their time of need.

 

 

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Filed Under: Lovelies

Egg-in-a-Hole

April 19, 2013

My kids and I have a secret obsession….. it’s watching the Food Network’s cooking shows! We don’t turn the television on during the week {because we’ve learned we never get homework done otherwise}, but when the weekend strikes… the kids and I do love a little downtime watching a few of our favorites together…. especially the Pioneer Woman, the Barefoot Contessa, and Trisha’s Southern Kitchen {or Ree, Ina & Trisha… as we call them around here}! This recipe is one that I recently tried out from Ree {the Pioneer Woman}. I decided to be a loving wife and make Husby a little breakfast upon coming home from a 48-hour shift at the fire station. I am actually allergic to eggs… so I was not able to sample the dish, but I will say that it smelled heavenly… and Husby did devour two pieces and said he thinks it’s even better than FRENCH TOAST!!

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Filed Under: Food

Baked French Toast

February 12, 2013

 Warm… gooey… sweet…

D  E  L  I  C  I  O  U  S

{Baked French Toast}!

I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t love french toast…

How great would this be on a lazy weekend at home?

This recipe

{adapted from the Pioneer Woman},

 is super simple to make.

You can prepare it the night before and bake in the morning,

waking your family to the smells of this decadent dish!

Or perhaps you can make it during the day,

while the kids are at school,

and surprise them with breakfast for dinner

{our personal favorite around here}!

 

{What You Will Need}

* Butter, for greasing

 * 1 loaf of crusty sourdough or french bread

{or a few mini loafs}

* 6 large eggs

* 2 cups of sweetened vanilla almond milk

{or milk of your choice}

* 1/2 cup brown sugar

* 1/2 cup granulated sugar

* 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

{2 tablespoons vanilla if you used regular milk}

 

{Topping}

* 1/2 cup flour

* 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

* 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice

{or 1 tsp. cinnamon & 1/4 tsp. nutmeg}

* 1 stick of cold butter, cut into pieces

* chopped pecans {optional}

 

{Serve with the Following}

* butter

* warm maple syrup

* fresh berries

 

{Preparation}

For the French toast: Grease the baking pan with butter.

Cut the bread into cubes, and evenly distribute in the pan.

Crack the eggs in a big bowl.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla.

Pour evenly over the bread.

Cover the pan tightly and store in the fridge until needed {preferably overnight}.

 

For the Topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice

{or cinnamon & nutmeg}, salt and pecan pieces in a separate bowl.

Stir together using a fork.

Add the cold pieces of sliced butter with a pastry cutter,

and mix it all together until the mixture resembles fine pebbles.

 

{Note: since I am always looking for ways to make things easier and kid-friendly,

 you can mix the dry ingredients with butter in a zipblock bag.

Use your hands or seal the bag and let the kids mix until topping

is combined and in crumbled pieces}.

Store the topping mixture,

 in the sealed bag,

in the fridge until ready to use.

When you’re ready to bake the casserole,

preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove the casserole from the fridge and sprinkle on the topping.

 

Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture,

or for 1 hour + for a firmer, crisper texture.

Scoop out individual portions.

Top with butter, a drizzle of maple syrup and fresh berries!

  

Without a doubt, this dish is one of my family’s favorites!

I seriously think the kids and I licked our plates clean!

You just can’t go wrong when butter, cinnamon, bread & syrup are in the mix!

E  N  J  O  Y  !

 

{Behind the Scenes}

It’s getting harder and harder to sneak a few photos past my older boys these days

and Mr. Amazing just wasn’t cooperating with the camera,

as you will see {he is nearly two, after-all}!

Here is one of Miss Blue, Pixie {one of our two cats}, & my littlest man… Finn.

 

Filed Under: Food

{weekend} lovelies

December 22, 2012

{#26 Acts of Kindness}

Honoring Those Lost in Newtown

You’ve heard of paying good deeds forward.

This is exactly that.

Amazing to see what everyday Americans are doing to honor those tragically lost.

Hope you will join us in being a part of this inspiring campaign!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{60 Selfless Ways to Pay it Forward}

Really great ideas to help you along your way with the above challenge!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{Katy Perry’s Sweetest Duet}

The music star teamed up with Jodi DiPiazza, a young girl with autism, to sing “Firework”

on stage at Comedy Central’s “Night of Too Many Stars” autism benefit.

This one gave me the chills and brought me to tears {happy tears}… truly INSPIRING!!

{5 Ways to Keep the Magic of Christmas Alive in Kids}

What to do if you have a Santa doubter in your house this Christmas…

{this one is for one of my closest friends who may have suffered from a slight mommy slip in front of her two boys while on the phone with me last night!!!}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{The Truth About Santa}

A moving letter from mother to child explaining the truth behind the man in the big red suit!

 

{Caramel Apple Sticky Buns | Pioneer Woman}

How delicious would this be to wake up to on Christmas morning?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{DIY | Salt Scrub}

Need another last minute gift? Here are a few recipes for homemade salt scrubs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{25 Printable Gift Tags}

Darling {did I mention… free} gift tags that you can print at home to dress up your packages!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{Holiday Milk Punch}

A grown-up only holiday drink!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{Noël | Scandinavian Style}

I honestly couldn’t resist!

This design style just speaks to me!

A beautiful way to end our lovelies…

Have a blessed weekend!

 

Filed Under: Lovelies

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About

bioSara and Nicole are sorority sisters that simply “happened” to end up in the same small town. They have many things in common, which have set the tone of their blog. They hope that you will join them in their journey of motherhood, dreams that may be, the daily life, and their passion for cooking, yoga, fashion, and design!

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