Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Start with:

One 12-inch pre-baked pizza crust (like Boboli, or par-bake your own recipe)

Spread on:

Your favorite pizza sauce

Then sprinkle with:

A blend of mozzarella, provolone, asiago, parmesan, and fontina cheeses

And:

Cooked, chopped, chicken, that's been mixed with:

Frank's Red Hot Sauce;

Cooked and crumbled bacon, and

Finely diced celery and purple onion.

Bake at 450 F. degrees for about 8-10 min. or until done.

Enjoy!

Happy Spring!

Nothing says "it's spring" like daffodils, and I can never resist these ones from Trader Joe's!

Sew Cute!

The girls have been sewing together some felt animals from an American Girls Craft Kit that I bought at Michael's Craft Store.  It's been so much fun working together on these projects that we are going to make some Angry Birds next.

 But what I really wanted to show you are these heart pins that I found.

 I don't remember how much they cost, but when I saw them at JoAnn's Craft Store, I knew I had to have them!

 They add a lot of charm to any project you're working on, and they are so much easier to put in and pull out than your standard plain old pin.

And with all the colors that they come in, they are sure to be a crafter's delight!

Cheeseburger Cupcakes

I put my cake decorating skills to good use this weekend and made these cute cupcakes!

Happy Holidays

This Christmas we...

...counted down to Christmas on this cute magnetic advent calendar from Hallmark,


attempted to make a snowglobe,


found a tree that would fit in our trailer,


and another one that glitters and sparkles from Target,


hung homemade ornaments on the tree,


decorated giant gingerbread men from Trader Joe's,


that tasted quite disgusting (oh well!),


decorated a gingerbread village,








ate birthday cupcakes,


chatted with Santa,


opened gifts on Christmas Eve,


hung out in the kitchen with good food and good company,


wore matching sweater dresses,


and admired the beautiful dessert table! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Good Things!

Martha Stewart is right: these are good things!

http://www.marthastewart.com/goodthings/gumdrop-pops

Oven-Roasted Butternut Squash With Garlic And Thyme

***Oven-Roasted Butternut Squash With Garlic And Thyme***

1 butternut squash, halved, seeded, peeled and cubed
1-2 onions, peeled and cut into wedges
2-3 cloves of pressed garlic
olive oil
kosher salt
pepper
sprigs of fresh thyme

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spread butternut squash and onions on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a good olive oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper and pressed garlic; use hands to toss together until combined. Add springs of fresh thyme and bake for 35 minutes (or until tender), stirring every so often. Serve immediately.

*NOTE* Peeled and cubed butternut squash is usually available at Trader Joe's, making this dish even easier to make!

Apple Spice Cake

Run, don't walk to your kitchen, and make this cake NOW!!! It's THAT good.


***Apple Spice Cake***

1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3 to 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 12-cup Bundt pan; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs; mix on high speed until lemon yellow.

4. With mixer on medium speed, gradually add in dry ingredients until just incorporated.

5. Add apples to batter; mix to combine. Add vanilla, mixing until incorporated.

6. Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 75 to 90 minutes.

7. Remove from oven, and cool slightly on a wire rack.

8. Invert cake onto rack; turn cake right-side up to cool completely on rack, and serve drizzled with caramel sauce.


***Caramel Sauce***

1 cup light-brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until thickened to desired consistency.

Polka Dots & Picket Fences

I've started another blog that I'm really excited about! It's based on the premise that 10 of us gals separately post on the same topic each week from our different perspectives. To see what we all have to say or share about one subject, just click on any of the topics under "Labels." It's a fun way to garner different ideas! If you're interested in contributing, let me know, and I'll add you on! And please visit our new blog at:

www.polkadotspicketfences.blogspot.com

Bandana Couture

"I don't know what I want to be when I grow up, but I know I want to be the Boss Lady." ~Kara, Real Housewives of Orange County

Biscuits & Gravy

A wonderful Sunday morning breakfast!

~Biscuits~

Stir together:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cut in:
1/2 cup butter

When mixture resembles coarse crumbs, make a well in the center and add:

2/3 cup milk

Stir until moistened. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Quickly knead dough by gently folding and pressing dough 10 to 12 strokes or until nearly smooth. Pat or lightly roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut dough with a floured biscuit cutter. Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.



Meanwhile make this:
(Yes, it has to be this brand because it is the very best!)



Remove biscuits from baking sheet, split open, and serve with hot gravy. Enjoy!

Back To The Basics

Last week, my 30 year-old dryer kicked the bucket (it was a GE, in case you're wondering.) So, in the meantime, I've been drying laundry the old-fashioned way and I've discovered that there's something extremely satisfying about hanging your laundry on a clothesline. I'm not sure what it is, but I think it just feels good not to be reliant on a machine or electricity. Or, it could just be that I am of the rare breed that actually likes to do housework. Whatever the case may be, I will be glad to have a working dryer again, but I think I'll continue using the clothesline until the weather no longer permits. Give it a try...you might like it too!

Caveman Atari

A few weeks ago, while I was on the phone, I noticed that The Buckaroos were playing a newly invented game of theirs.


The Foreman would lay on the ground and roll away from the couch and then towards the couch.


And then away from the couch and then towards the couch again and again.


While the girls tried to jump "over" him.


And I say "over" because they were really trying to jump...


ON him!!!

It didn't take them long to figure out that the possibility of inflicting pain on a sibling makes the game MUCH more entertaining than just simply jumping over them. (And, sickly, I have to agree!)

I'm sure many a caveman child played this very same game back before the invention of Atari and all those other new-fangled video game machines that children play today.

Do My Ears Deceive Me?

I just heard The Foreman say that he wasn't ready to go to bed yet because he didn't get a chance to clean his room...

Really???

...'cause hearing a phrase like THAT gets me excited like few things can!

Guess who gets to stay up late?

My Score

What 9 bags and $241 worth of stuff from Trader Joe's looks like.

Books That My Kids Love

Summer break is almost here (God help us all), and I would like to share some of my kids' favorite books for those of you looking to impress the kid(s) in your life.

Let's start with these. The Diary Of A Wimpy Kid series is an easy read that is in no way challenging, but is very funny. They are guaranteed to get your kid(s) interested in reading in a way that very few books can. My kids have had many a hysterical laughing fit over these. And, okay, I have too.


Then there's this little gem. A follow-up to the series where your kid(s) can create their own funny scenarios. It's like a directive journal if you will.


On this page, the author suggests that the reader make a greeting card. This is The Foreman's greeting to his sister:

(Front:) I'm so sorry Ivy...
(Inside:) ...that you're poisonous, bad tempered, and a bad sport.

Can you feel the love? I can too.


The next book is a grade level activity book that my youngest likes.


I like it too and am thinking about implementing it in my "military homeschool" curriculum this summer.


Gotta keep the kids stimulated.


Another favorite book of ours in this fun coin-collecting album. I originally saw it on the Martha Stewart Show a while back and it really is a "good thing!"


Here is a page for placing pennies in chronological order by the year that they were struck.


A page for all coins made in the year 2000. (It's getting harder to find those!)


And a page for all of the oldest coins that you possess.


This is the state coin section. The best part about this book is that it doesn't really require you to go out and spend a fortune on coins. All of these were coins that we already had, pulled straight out of our piggy banks. It really makes beginning coin-collecting fun and accessible to all kids, and they like learning about the money that they have.