BEST PIZZA EVER!

We have found a few trendy places over the past few years that have amazing pizza, but with a high price tag. Tonight I decided to give it a try myself and I was shocked at how yummy it was. You MUST try this recipe!

Pizza Dough Ingredients:

1. 1 Cup of lukewarm water
2. Dash of sugar
3. 1 packet of Active Dry Yeast
4. 1/2 tsp. salt
5. 1 T. olive oil
6. 3/4 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
   
7. 3/4 tsp. finely chopped fresh basil
8. 2 3/4 c. all purpose flour

Instructions for crust:

1. Combine water, sugar, and yeast.
2. Set aside & let proof for about 10-15 minutes.
3. Mix in salt, oil, rosemary, and herbs.
4. Add 1 cup of flour and once well integrated, add the remaining flour a little at a time.***I use my stand mixer with the dough hook, and it works perfectly.
5. Once all of the flour mixed in, place the dough on a well floured surface.
6. Knead for 2 minutes and form a ball.
   
7. Put dough in well-oiled bowl and turn over so that all of the dough has a slight covering of oil on it.
8. Cover the bowl with wet cloth and set aside to rise for about 30 minutes. ***If your dough doesn't seem to be rising on it's own, it's probably because your home is too cool - try a warmer spot!I turn on my oven for just a minute or two, then turn it off before setting the bowl in there to rise.
9. If you are using a pizza pan, oil it and add a little bit of cornmeal to the top to help the pizza not to stick. I always use stones, so I just add a little bit of flour so that it doesn't stick while I work with it.
10. Preheat oven to 425*.
11. Divide dough in half, and put onto pizza pans. I use one 13" Pampered Chef round stone, and a large (11x16) Pampered Chef bar stone.
12. Work the dough so that all of the surface is covered, it will be thin - don't worry!
13. Cook the dough for about 10 minutes.
14. Add the toppings and bake again for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling!

Alfredo Sauce Ingredients:

1. 1 stick of butter
2. 1 pint of heavy cream
3. 1 c. of freshly grated parmesan cheese
4. 3 cloves of garlic, minced

Instructions for sauce:

1. Melt butter.
2. Stir in cream and allow to simmer for 2 minutes.
   
3. Add garlic and parmesean cheese, stir well.
4. Cook on low/medium - stirring frequently.
5. Once all cheese is melted (after about 10 minutes) consider it done!

Alfredo Cheese Pizza: Spoon sauce over crust, amount is up to you! Add cheese - mozzarella & parmesean was my kids' choice!

**Chicken Spinach Alfredo Pizza: Saute a chicken breast in 1 T. olive oil and 1 minced garlic clove; then slice into fairly thin strips. Spoon Alfredo sauce on pizza crust, add grated mozzarella and parmesan, then add then add the chicken and 3/4 c. of coarsely chopped fresh spinach. PERFECTION!

We are on the Feingold Diet, so rest all of these ingredients are 'approved'..... no artificial chemicals makes for MUCH better food!

Bread made easy

Okay, so since starting Feingold, my kids have hated almost all of the breads I've brought home. I make their lunch every day, so sandwiches are clearly a staple and I had to find a way to get bread without driving to another town. Since I got rid of my bread machine long ago, it was up to me and my hands to make bread my kids will like. I tried the recipe in the Feingold book, and although my kids liked it - I was not impressed. With the help of the internet (of course) I managed to find an amazing recipe that I'd love to share with you.

Yummy Bread:

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F) 2/3 cup white sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 cup vegetable oil 6 cups bread flour

Directions:

1.	In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam. *I do this in my kitchen aid mixing bowl.
2.	Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. *KA mixer with the doughhook is perfect for adding the ingredients!
3.	Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans. *I used a large Wilton loaf pan, and a 9x9 glass pan.
4.	Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

With the help of my Kitchen Aid Mixer - this was a very easy recipe to make! It didn't take very much time at all to add the ingredients, and I was able to get lots of things done around the house during the 'rise time'.

From just one loaf, I was able to make all of the sandwiches for my kids' lunches for the week (12). They are all prepared and safely sitting in the freezer. I just add them to their lunch kits each morning and they are perfectly thawed out by lunchtime. ;)

Feingold Diet Test

Okay, so we started our family on the Feingold Diet a few weeks ago and it really is going well! It is a diet that cuts out all things artificial (flavors, colors, petroleum products, etc.) and after lots of research they've determined that the diet can help cure symptoms of many different disorders & illnesses.
Here's a link to the organization that provides all of the necessary resources to make following this diet very easy: www.feingold.org
From their website:

"The Feingold Program eliminates these additives:

• Artificial (synthetic) coloring
• Artificial (synthetic) flavoring
• Aspartame (Nutrasweet, an artificial sweetener)
• Artificial (synthetic) preservatives BHA, BHT, TBHQ

In the beginning (Stage One) of the Feingold Program, aspirin and some foods containing salicylate (Suh-LIH-Suh-Late) are eliminated. Salicylate is a group of chemicals related to aspirin."

The salicylates rich foods (apples, berries, tomatoes, etc.) are added in after about six weeks, but added in a way to determine what foods might be causing problems. My kids love fruit and I was sad to see that many of their favorite fruits were full of salicylates. In a few weeks, I'm going to start adding those fruits back into their diet BUT only one at a time. Like we all did with baby food, I'll give them one of those food for several days to see if I see a difference.

Following the FD isn't difficult, however using the Feingold Organization's resouces makes it very easy! Since many of the things listed above are not listed as ingredients on foods, the organization has researched many products and they provide a shopping list of food that they know are "Feingold Approved". From milk to chips to lunchmeat - they tell you what products are 'safe'.

The Feingold Diet was created for many reasons, but has gained the most recognition for it's help for children with behavior issues.My kids have NOT been diagnosed with any hyperactivity disorders (ADHD, etc.), but they are VERY active. They behave perfectly at school (never one color change or conduct mark), but all three of them do seem to daydream a little and sometimes have trouble staying still. They usually wake up very grouchy in the morning, no matter how much time they've slept. My little boy doesn't really walk anywhere - he is FULL SPEED AHEAD every where he goes. My daughters still throw temper tantrums occasionally and argue to get their way, even though we never (really NEVER) give in. We would always ask, "do you get your way when you act like this?" They would always respond "No, but..... " They really are GREAT kids and usually behave very well, but sometimes things just set them off and my husband and I are just blown away at how such wonderful kids can suddenly behave in a way they know is not acceptable. It's like sometimes a switch comes on and they become some other children we don't recognize. Since Feingold. . . . they are the wonderful kids we know they are ALL THE TIME!

Not only has the FD been shown to improve behavior problems, but improvement of learning disabilities also been shown as a side effect. My two daughters that are already in school (7 & 6) both read far above their grade level and get nothing but high praises from their teachers - but just imagine if changing their diet can make them soar even further. Anyway - this part of the FD really hasn't effected my kids because they don't have any learning problems, but I'm sure that some kids could really benefit from this!

So, kids are behaving better on this diet worldwide and are able to learn better, and a few other things happen when kids start eating the FD way. . . other health issues disappear! The FD has been known to help with asthma, bedwetting, Eczema, constipation and a whole host of other things. Each of my three children suffer from at least one of the health issues I listed above, so I couldn't resist giving the Feingold Diet a try.

In just doing the FD for 3 weeks, I have seen a HUGE improvement in their behavior! They go to bed easily and get up happy! They don't really seem to argue with me very much at all - when they are told or asked to do something, they gladly do it. They are less frustrated with each other and the sibling fights that have long plauged our home, have virtually disappeared. My always running three year old, walks now (this is a big deal). I took him to the grocery store last week, and he didn't run once!

One of my kids has had a problem wetting the bed, and we've done everything short of put her on medication trying to stop it. After a few days on Feingold - the bedwetting stopped! That is until, she ate the cafeteria lunch one day at school. We didn't do anything differently that day, just the preservative & food coloring filled lunch, and low and behold she wet the bed that night. Needless to say, I was stunned. I really hadn't even connected her bedwetting to her food until that day, thinking it was just a fluke that she's gone so long without doing it. Nope it was Feingold! ;)

I've said all of the above just to tell you why I'm probably going to be blogging a lot about food soon. I thought the FD would have me eating flavorless food, the same flavorless food every day - BUT I WAS WRONG! Most food seems to have more flavor and I'll tell you more about that later. . . but I just had to share about Feingold because it really has changed our life!

Cakes...

Yesterday, I got to thinking about the cakes I've done in the past and I couldn't even remember all of them. They were not professionally done, but they were made with love for my kids.....











If you want to know how I made these, let me know and I can give details!

Christmas Wreath

Fun & EASY Wreath

Supplies:
Hot glue gun (be careful)
Lots of small ornaments (dollar tree is perfect)
Foam circular wreath (I used green)
Ribbon (if a bow is desired)

Directions:
Just hot glue the ornaments in whatever pattern you desire. You can make a large bow and put it on the top, but that's not necessary. I added a little ribbon randomly around the wreath just because, but you don't have to do that either. This took very little time & once I got into a rhythm of placing the ornaments, it went very quickly.

Fruit Christmas Tree

A fun way to present fruit. . . and it's really easy!

For 2nd grade party

Supplies:

Floral Foam Cone (medium)
Lots of toothpicks
Lots of fruit
Plate / platter

Directions:
Wash the plastic cover on the cone & place it on your plate/platter. I recommend using hot glue or even peanut putter to 'glue' your cone to the plate. Cut out a star with a cookie cutter; I used pineapple and it worked very well (especially when I use the center part because it stays in place). Stick a toothpick on the top of your tree, then stick the 'star' on it. For the rest of the fruit, I recommend breaking the toothpicks in half - I've done it both ways, and trust me half the length works MUCH better. Next one by one, stick your toothpicks on the tree then place a piece of fruit on each of them.
Tips:
Make sure all fruit is clean!
Use the prepackaged apples, so they won't brown
Don't use slimy fruit, it doesn't stay on toothpicks well
Start at the top & use lots of color
Use the big fruit first
Fill in the with small fruit at the end (like blueberries)
**Just jump right in & do it, it will all come together at the end! This is fairly easy project, but it does take quit a bit of time, so plan accordingly.

When I brought this into my daughter's 2nd grade class, the kids 'flipped-out'. They thought it was so neat and they actually ate the fruit! I took it to an adult party and they loved it, too.

This one was for an Adult Christmas Party
*In the first picture, I used whole toothpicks that's why it seems to be more full. However, I really liked the way the 1/2 toothpick one came out - plus, it was much easier to push those toothpicks into the foam.

Reindeer Sucker

Supplies:
Jumbo Marshmallows
Chocolate (for making candy)
Wilton Candy Eyes
Sour Cherry candy
Lollipop or Cookie sticks
Pretzels broken in half
Toothpicks
Wax Paper
Bowl (duh)

Directions:
Pre-drill (as my husband would say) for the pretzels / antlers by using the toothpicks. Put chocolate in the microwave and melt it according to package instructions. Put all of your marshmallows onto their sticks and set aside.
Dip Marshmallows into chocolate and remove access by using a spoon. Put on eyes and nose, and insert antlers on it's head ASAP. Don't let the chocolate harden or it won't hold the candy & pretzels. (On my first batch I made the eyes with icing, but I much prefer the candy eyes from Wilton.) Set on wax paper face up and wait until they harden, then you can put them into a piece of floral foam to stand up or wrap them in plastic.
THE KIDS LOVED THESE!