Random Happenings

These past couple weeks, the weather has warmed up.  School is finished.  The girls are outside from breakfast until supper!  Here is some pictures of the recent happenings.

Michael has required exercise every week.  He went on a jog with the girls one morning.

Michael went to help some guys clean up around someone's home.  Out in the woods, Michael found some of these HUGE feathers.  The girls had a blast with them.  Michael even inserted the inside of a pen in one of the feathers so that he could do his homework with a feather pen (haha... joking).  He did make a feather pen though.  The girls loved writing with it.

GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!!!! 

THE ICE-CREAM SHOP OPENED BACK UP!!!!!!!!!!

Hannah playing out on the playground.

We will be serving our summer ministry at the Inn.  We went to check out the places that were options for housing for us.  The girls played at the edge of the pond catching things.

Here is the cabin.

Here are the frogs.

Here is the crawdad that Michael caught.

We had a work day at the Inn.  We cleaned up around the Inn to get ready for the guests.  The girls and I helped out in the nursery.  We cleaned and painted.  The girls helped some, played some and caught another frog.

The Bible Institute had their end of the year Spring Banquet.  It was fun getting dressed up.

Us.

The girls.

And... we found a HUGE turtle walking across the road.

Pepperoni Pizza Twist

This recipe is one of our favorites.  It is an old Pampered Chef recipe from when I was a consultant.  It quickly became a keeper and I have been making this one for quite a few years now.

You can buy pizza dough in a can (blech....) or you can make your own pizza dough and pizza dipping sauce (Y.U.M.).

Make one reicpe of the pizza crust.

Divide your dough in half.

Roll into a long 'stick' shape.

Using a knife, cut about half way through the dough.  Using your fingers, gently pull the dough open and mash it out into a 'trough' shape.

Here is the recipe for the filling:

1 - 3.5 oz. package of pepperonis

1 cup of mozzarella cheese

2 Tablespoons of all purpose flour

1 garlic clove

1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning

You could can change this around to fit your family's favorite toppings.  If you do not use a meat, then omit the all purpose flour.  This flour just soaks up some of the oil.  You could cut back on the cheese also.

Fill the pizza dough 'troughs' with this filling.

Pick up the sides and wrap around the filling and pinch the dough together on top.

Flip the 'sticks' over so the seam is on the bottom.

Arrange in an X pattern to begin with.

'Twist' the ends.

Make a few little slices in the top so the entire thing does not explode.

Sprinkle with a little cheese.  The recipe calls for parmesan, I only have mozzerella - so I used mozzerella.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Serve with pizza sauce.

Fried Chicken Alfredo with WackyMac

I have already posted on how to make the Fried Chicken Nuggets.  Make some of these.

Then, buy a bag of WackyMac.  These are tri-colored veggie noodles.  Cook according to directions on the bag.  The best time to do this is while your nuggets are in the oven.

While you are boiling your noodles, make the alfredo sauce:

1/4 cup of butter
1 cup of heavy cream
1 clove of garlic
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese
1/4 c. parsley

Put all these ingredients into a pot and heat on medium until it starts to boil slightly.  It is done when all the cheese is melted and it is smooth and creamy. 
Pour over the WackyMac. 

Serve with Fried Chicken Nuggets. 

Y.U.M.!!!  One of my new favorites!!!
I wish I had some pictures to show you.  That would mean that I just made it and was eating some!!!

Lasagna

This is a kind of thrown together sauce and we happened to like it and I tried to remember what I put in it.  Then I wrote it down one day and have made it over and over.  So, I know this one is a keeper in my book.

Sauce:
4 cans of diced tomatoes
3 little cans of tomato paste
1 1/2 cans of tomato sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 Tablespoon of chili powder
1 Tablespoon of minced onions
1 Tablespoon of Italian seasoning
4 Jars of blended spaghetti sauce (whatever you like, roasted garlic, mushroom, etc.)
5 lbs. of browned ground beef

You must let this simmer together for about 1 hour.  This makes all the flavors blend well.

Cook your noodles!!!  Do not put them in your lasagna uncooked!  Cook the noodles according to the directions on the side of the box.  If you happen to know how to make your own noodles, then I think it is safe to assume you know how to cook them too.

In a huge bowl, grate up these cheeses:  8 oz. mozzarella, 8 oz. Parmesan, 8 oz. mild or sharp cheddar, 8 oz. Romano - mix them together well.

It is very important that you buy these in whole blocks of cheese and grate them up yourself.  You will be happy that you did when that ooey gooey yumminess hits your taste buds.  Plus the already grated bagged cheese has sawdust in it to keep it 'fresh'.

Layer in a 9x13 baking dish:  Sauce, Noodles, Cheese, Sauce, Noodles, Cheese.  The last layer of cheese should cover the noodles completely or the noodles will get super crunchy and super crunchy noodles do not make a yummy lasagna.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until the cheese has little brown bubbles on top. 

Enjoy!

Five Friday Food Favorites

1.  Lasagna
2.  Fried Chicken Alfredo & WackyMac
3.  Pepperoni Pizza Twist
4.  Hot Ham & Cheese
5.  Chicken Pie

My plans are to share these recipes to you next week beginning with #1 on Monday and working my way through Friday.  You may or may not be seeing pictures to go along with these recipes.  We are in the process of packing up to move to the Word Of Life Inn for Michael's summer ministry and we are eating up the last morsels of food in the cabin.  So, even though I will be sharing these recipes, I may not be preparing all of them.