Thursday

Silly boys love to be upside-down (and Benjamin is often shirtless for some reason...); Rhett has been really into coloring in this coloring book lately. He cuts each picture out after coloring and wants me to hang them all on the wall.

Just finished this book

Getting dressed

This is probably the least stupid-looking self portrait I took. I had my hair cut the day before, which is why I include it.

New hair-do for Lucy, too. (She doesn't love it.)

Driving down the Guide by Z's Recycling, on our way to play group

Lucy exploring during play group, with Chase

I don't know if you can see them in this picture, but my boys are up there somewhere

 So I didn't take 12 pictures on the 12th, but here are a few from the 13th to make up the difference.

Beginning to caramelize sugar... (apparently I should have wiped off the stove before I took the picture)

...to which I added these things to make this salted caramel sauce (the ward Boy Scouts were coming over that night to aerate and thatch our lawn in practice for their upcoming fundraiser, followed by pizza and ice cream)

Lucy loves going outside and that day she was picking dandelions (of which we have plenty)

 

The boys have turned this bed by the drain pipe into a sandbox of sorts, resulting in lots of muddy fingers and shoes coming into the house... (Notice our dandelion garden in the background?)

Easter

 Saturday morning egg hunt...

Sunday morning Easter baskets...

Sock bunny

Also...

I pulled a 25-pound turkey out of the freezer to cook for our Easter dinner, and I am now completely sold on the practice of brining poultry. I've been brining our roasting chickens for a little while now, but it was just amazing with the turkey. Totally worth the trouble.

In a couple of pictures you can see some little crocheted chickens. They fit around plastic eggs and I bought them at a fundraiser for our local library (after the boys begged and begged) for what seemed at the time to be a good deal, but five crocheted chickens later I wonder if it was the smartest investment...

Fall has always been my favorite holiday, but Spring is starting to edge it out. I think after these past few years living in the pacific northwest I have come to look forward to spring more since it (hopefully) means an end to the rainy doldrums of winter around here. I have loved planting tulips and snapdragons, and watching our apple trees blossom, and have been generally in awe lately of the beautiful tokens of springtime all around me, symbols of what Easter is really all about.

Pizza Night

Friday nights are typically pizza nights at our house. This is the recipe I've been using lately because it's so quick and easy (and tasty!). (Adapted from America's Test Kitchen)

Crust:

2 1/3 c. all-purpose four (or a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flours)

½ t. salt

1 pkg. instant yeast (2 ¼ t.)

¾ c. warm skim milk

2 T. olive oil

2 t. sugar

Heat oven to 200 degrees F, then turn off.

Mix flour, salt, and yeast in bowl of mixer.  Combine warm milk, olive oil, and sugar and add to dry ingredients with mixer on low speed.   Increase speed to medium-slow and knead till smooth and shiny.  Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl.  Cover and proof in warm oven (turned off) for 30 minutes.

When dough has risen 30 minutes, remove from oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

Sauce:

1 T. olive (or canola) oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

While dough is rising, add minced garlic to olive oil in cold pan.  Cook on low 2 minutes.  Stir in crushed tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 15-30 minutes, until thickened.

Pizza:

4-6 T. olive oil, for pans

4 oz. pepperoni

3 c. mozzarella cheese

Place 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil in each of two 9” round cake pans with 2” sides.  Divide dough in two.  Roll a piece of dough into a 7” circle.  Drape on knuckles and gently pull into a bigger circle of dough that is thinner in the center than the edges, about 9 ½ “.  Place in one oiled pan.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Cover pans and let dough rise a bit.

Working in batches if necessary, pre-cook about 4 oz. pepperoni (20-25 slices per pizza) in microwave, placing slices on a plate between paper towels, for 30 seconds.

For each pizza, spread 2/3 c. sauce within ½” of edge of crust (freeze leftover sauce for later).  Top sauce with 1 ½ c. mozzarella cheese and half of the pepperoni.

Bake  in preheated oven for 20 minutes.  (Bake on bottom rack for a darker, crispier crust.)  Cool in pan 1 minute then remove pizzas to a wire rack to cool further.  Slice and serve.