Important stuff!

So I tend to post recipes that include tons of sugar, but today I'm posting two very important recipes that need very little sugar!

I'm a big fan of pizza but I've gotten spoiled lately by places like Lola's and Pies and Pints. Last week we finally found the key to great pizzas, a great crust and white sauce.

First off, the crust recipe. Now, when I made this, I did it a bit differently than the instructions. I let it rise, like you normally would with bread, then punched it down, put it in the pans, and let it rise a bit while I made the sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups all-purpose flour 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon white sugar 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water. Spread out on a large pizza pan. Top as desired.
2.	Bake at 375 degrees C (190 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

Next is the white sauce. I had always assumed white pizzas used alfredo sauce. But I tried it and it wasn't quite right. Then I googled white pizza and found this weird recipe on Serious Eats that sounded awful. But we tried it (cause I mean it's Serious Eats, they know what they're talking about) and it was perfect. So here it is.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or marjoram
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 
  
• In a heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 or 6 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute longer. Add the cream, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook for about 3 minutes, or until the cream thickens and reduces slightly.

Remove from the heat, stir in the thyme, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Let cool

completely before using.

Little changes

So it seems like forever since I blogged. And, if it helps, I constantly berate myself for not doing it. But, I also have this whole life I've gotta take care of. LOL

The biggest change that has happened is that I am no longer a car-less punk. It had been getting more and more difficult to share Not-So-Ex's car. He was constantly having to sacrifice so that I would have the car to get the kids and I where we needed to be. So he laid down the law and said I needed a vehicle.

We talked quite a bit about it and decided that what we needed was a new vehicle (a first for me since I've always bought used) that was very basic, had a good reputation, was just big enough for our whole family, and was good on gas.

We narrowed it down online to a few makes and models with Ford Fiesta and Toyota Yaris being our primary interests. We looked at the Fords first and, while they were nice, they were a bit more than I wanted to spend and they weren't dealing much since they're brand new.

Then we checked out the Yaris and, while they were super cute, they were tiny and, although that appeals to me, I do have a husband that's almost 6'6 so that becomes an issue. Plus, there was a little sticker on the window that said the car was 100% made in Japan. I didn't think it would bother me, even though my hubs is a big union, made-in-America guy and so is my Dad, but seeing it printed out like that got to me. And I just couldn't do it.

When we were looking at the Yaris, we looked across the lot and saw what looked like a larger version. Both Not-So-Ex and I liked the look of it, so we checked it out. Turns out, it's called a Matrix and, while it was a little bit more than the Yaris, they were more than happy to deal on it.

After we looked at them that first time, we were both pretty smitten. I came home, did some research and saw that the gas mileage was great, they were 75% made in North America, and they had a pretty good safety record. So that night, Hubs, Hunt, & I checked out a few more and I fell for a bright red one. And we drove it home that night!

Oh the things I do...

So my love of hair dye, bleach, and my recent Manic Panic addiction is well known. But I do believe it got a little out of hand this week.

Last weekend, I put some more blue streaks in my hair, but I wasn't crazy about them. I didn't leave the dye in as long as I should have so the streaks were uneven; some were really dark blue, some were lighter, and some bordered on aqua. Being the rocket scientist that I am, I thought that, since I like lighter hair in the Spring and Summer, I could bleach my hair and lighten it overall and get rid of the blue at the same time.

I was wrong.

I ended up with mostly white hair and light blue areas (I don't think they can even be called streaks anymore). I was understandably freaked out. I've spent the better part of my lifetime as a blonde, but I'm not sure it's ever been THIS blonde.

Me right after the dye job (I'll post better pics later)

While I was definitely freaked, I haven't felt the need to really fix it yet. More than anything, I wanna let my hair rest a bit before I try something else. This week, hot oil, deep conditioners, and toners have been my BFFs.

In other news, the kiddos will be home soon. I can't wait! I've missed my little heatherns. I spent last night babying Lucy the Asthmatic Demon Dog. It appears that, in addition to parvo and asthma, she also has seizures. So far this evening, she seems ok so I'm hoping to get some rest.

Last weekend, Not-So-Ex got a new tattoo. Or at least most of one.

Not-So-Ex's not-so-finished tatt

He was under the needle for three hours straight and, when it still wasn't done, they had to stop with the plan being to let it heal a bit and then finish it in a couple weeks. While his looks great, the best part is that, once his is finished, it's my turn! Right now I'm torn between getting two more on my back or getting a quarter sleeve. Either plan will feature a cupcake though.

Ooh! One other bit of silliness. As everyone knows, I'm sure, entertainment news everywhere has been all Charlie Sheen all the time. And here is my favorite bit. Enjoy folks!

A little this and a little that...

So I haven't written for a while. On one hand, it seems like there's nothing really going on. On the other hand, it seems like I'm too busy to blog. And, yes, I know that doesn't make sense. So here is what's going on.

1. Will he or won't he...

Not-So-Ex has been working at Bayer for a while on the MIC Unit. It's dangerous. It's been insane hours. But it's also been insane pay. But there have been tons of lawsuits, which I completely support, and it's been will he or won't he have a job for quite a while. There have been rumored layoffs, rumored job shut downs, and just about anything else you can think of. Well yesterday he got the word that there would be a big layoff and he would be going. And we were thrilled. We have savings, we have a pretty large tax return, we're good for a while. I started my list of things I wanted him to do around the house and he started his list of things he wanted to do (and number 1 was SLEEP). Then he went to work today and they changed their mind and he's staying. While I appreciate that he has someone at his company (he actually works for a contractor) looking out for him, I still hope his last day at Bayer will be coming very soon.

2. Vacay #1

I just took my kids and my parents to the airport. They're gonna fly to Florida and then board a cruise to the Bahamas. And they're totally psyched. And, while I'm excited for them to have such a good time, I'm sooooooo gonna miss them! On the plus side, I have my parents' car while they're gone so no more getting up super early unless I have to. Plus, on the days when I don't work, I don't even have to leave the house unless I want to! And Not-So-Ex can drive to work every day on his own! Can't beat that. The parents' car also has seat warmers so, no matter where I'm going, my butt will feel amazing!

3. Vacay #2

We've booked our room for New York and our plane tickets have been bought. I was a little worried that the trip would be tough if Not-So-Ex was still laid off but, since he's still working, there's no reason for concern at all. I'm starting to talk to the kids about where all they wanna go and what they want to see. And Not-So-Ex is in charge of picking out all the awesome places where we'll eat. My main thing is to choose which bakeries we'll hit for cupcakes! Clearly I have the most important job. I'm looking forward to meeting up with a blogger friend while I'm there, plus my cousin is an opera singer in the city so I'm excited to see her in her natural habitat (LOL) too. Anyway, clearly I'm quite excited.

4. All things sugary

The bakery is going great! I've had so much support from friends that I can't even begin to go into it. My cupcakes also seem to be creating some fans too. It's also really cool because, when I have a cupcake that everyone loves, I can then turn it into a cake to be sold by the slice at our sister restaurant, Bluegrass Kitchen. Like, right now, I made a cupcake that turned out incredible. It was a Raspberry Truffle Cupcake, a dark chocolate cupcake with soft raspberry truffle filling and a raspberry chocolate frosting. They flew out of the case so I asked Chef about making it for Bluegrass. I had the first Raspberry Truffle Torte at Bluegrass on Tues and they LOVED it!

Well I guess that gets everyone all caught up! Have a great weekend!

I know I'm boring...

A day as beautiful as today makes it hard to stay inside and write a blog. But I know that, since it's supposed to be almost as pretty tomorrow, I'll wanna spend my day off getting ready for Spring and such.

I don't really have too much going on. We've booked our hotel room for the NYC trip. We got a suite right in Times Square. We got our plane tickets Tuesday. We'll actually be flying direct! How cool is that? I mean, it's pretty rare to fly direct to anywhere from WV.

In addition to the NYC trip, my kids are going on a cruise later this month. Lucky little schmucks.

Well I better get off here and get some cleaning up done before I have to go get the kiddo!

One of the best things about Valentines...

So I'm not a huge Valentine's Day person. I did get Not-So-Ex (and the kiddos) some candy and we're going out for a nice dinner at Bluegrass Kitchen tonight, which is always a good time. But probably the BEST thing about Valentine's is that it is the birthday of Jake the Wonder Mutt, our oldest dogger.

Now Jake was a pound puppy, so we don't know his exact birth date but, based on his age and when we got him, Feb 14th is pretty darn close.

This was Jake as a puppy in the pound:

And this is the monstrous snuggler he has turned into.

We've been blessed to have Jake in our home and I can't even begin to think of life without him. So today he will get a little extra loving and maybe, if he's lucky, some scraps from Bluegrass!

Paige's House O' Flu

So I'm sick. But I'm not the only one. Everyone in my house has the flu, except Hunt, my son. That lucky schmuck just happened to be staying the night with his cousin the day we all got sick.

I've been pretty lucky. While I've had the same symptoms as Rena and Not-So-Ex, mine have been pretty mild in comparison. They've both missed all week at work and school cause of their flu. I've still been functioning, just feeling crappy. But now they have antibiotics and cough meds so I'm hoping they'll be up and around like normal soon.

Hunt was NOT happy about having to go to school today while Sis and Dad were home. But the promise of a special dinner made it a little better. He even got to choose a special dessert. It's not surprising that he chose chocolate pie, his Dad's (and his great grandpa's) favorite pie. His great grandpa never got to meet him, but I have no doubts at all that Hunt is cut from the same (wonderful) cloth that Papaw and his Daddy came from. Awesome people all around.

Well I guess I'll get back to watching old episodes of Monk with Sis. Lots of fun on a sicky day!