For someone who likes organization, that’s the one part of home renos that drive me bonkers.  The disarray!

The half bath will get completed this weekend, oh yes, yes it will.  Because I am over wallpaper.

I decided to experiment a little with pizza this week.  Remember last week when I used a bit of beer in the dough?  This week I used all beer in the dough and I’m pretty pleased with the results.

Unfortunately the beer I used was cold and I had to warm it up so that I could add yeast to it.  I think this most definitely effected the rise action and stunted it a little bit.  The dough still rose and acted beautifully, it just didn’t rise as much as I would have liked.

Next week, warm beer!

I made two pizzas this week, I used my basic dough recipe with beer as the liquid and then split the dough right in half when I was ready to bake.

Sidenote: I’ve been doing 1 1/2C AP Flour and 1 1/2C of Wheat Flour lately.

One pizza was all veggie:

• Sauce
• Shredded Mozzarella
• Shredded Carrot
• Spinach
• Red Onion

And the next pizza was the experiment!

Breakfast style pizza!  I’ve been wanting to make a pizza with eggs for ages and last night I finally bit the bullet and made one.  This had:

• Sauce
• Shredded Mozzarella
• Caramelized Onions
• Cooked crumbled breakfast sausage
• 2 eggs

This smelled amazing as it cooked!

I wanted the eggs a little more on the cooked side and less on the runny yolk side but I think I let this go a little too long in the oven.  Next time I’ll pull it out sooner.

I thought that the onions might enhance the flavor of the sausage a little more and I was right, the combo worked perfectly.  Next time I’ll go a little lighter on the onions and sausage though, this pizza was definitely a heavier pie.  I ate a slice with egg and was good.

I loved and hated making two pizzas.  I loved it because the cook time on each was shorter and the crust got super crispy.

I hated it because waiting for that second pizza to cook was torture!  I have a small pizza stone and it can only handle one pizza at a time.

Despite that, I might start making two pizzas more often.  It’s easier to handle getting them onto the stone (I don’t need Scott’s help!) and I liked the crust as a change up.

There’s plenty for leftovers for tonight’s dinner as well!  Which is a relief because there’s work that needs to be done and not having to focus on dinner on a Friday night is a plus.

How’s your week going?

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I have a 9in cast iron skillet which is perfect for some things but not perfect for everything.  A larger one would allow me a little more variety of uses.

Oh Christmas my wish came true and I was gifted with a 12 inch cast iron skillet.  I even got a little handle holder and trivet for it as well!

Every year for Christmas Dinner, Scott and I enjoy a standing rib roast.  It’s our once a year splurge and so worth every penny!

This year, I put my brand new cast iron skillet to work right away by using it for Christmas Dinner.  It worked out perfectly!

It wasn’t long before I used it again to roast some veggies.  Scott was having leftovers and I was in the mood for some veggie action.  I chopped up some:

• Red Onion
• Green Pepper
• Blue Potatos
• Yellow Squash
• Carrots
• Sundried Tomatoes, reconstituted in hot water water

Tossed that with olive oil and seasoned with:

• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Red Pepper Flakes

Roasted at 400 for about half an hour, until the potatoes were tender.  Once the veggies were done, I pulled the pan out of the oven and splashed on a bit of red wine for “sauce”.

Placed the veggies on some cooked barley, topped with shredded parm and dinner was served!

Very easy to put together and super filling!

Dinner and meals don’t always have to be a complicated affair.  A few simple ingredients can go a long way to creating something filling and comforting. Keep it simple!

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I was looking forward to pizza all week!  Our pizzas aren’t ever anything super special but they’re tasty to us.  Plus it provides comfort.  It’s a nice thing to have to look forward to during a week.

Especially a week back to work coming off a two week vacation.

Another thing I’m looking forward to this week is putting away the Christmas decorations.  They’ll be tucked away for another year.

Normally I keep them up for a while because I love having twinkle lights up all over my house.  Turning them on in the evening makes the house feel cozy and inviting.  This year I’m ready for everything to be put away and for things to be cleaned up.

Pizza was pretty simple this week, a little veg and some spicy sausage.

• Homemade dough
• Pizza sauce
• Shredded mozarella (grass-fed)
• Spinach
• Shredded Carrot
• Broccoli
• Mushrooms (Scott’s side)
• Spicy Italian Sausage (Columbus Locals, from The Andersons).

The best part about the pizza this week?

I got a bubble! Whoo!

We kicked it old school last night and got a chance to watch some Antiques Roadshow while we ate.  A lady featured had a staute of a clown playing a lute (French) and it was worth $100,000.  Whoa!  I think that was the biggest take of the evening.

Wine sipped was a lovely pinotage from Camelot.

Looking forward to this weekend as well because along with putting the Christmas decorations, we’ll be tackling some house projects. I am so ready to get this house in order! A few Operation Clean-Up posts should be in the near future!

How was your week? Anything exciting going on this weekend?

Comments: 4

She then talked about her word for 2012 and linked to this article to explain the process.

I immediately fell in love with this idea.

The concept is that you pick a word and you use that word to guide you through the year.  You can choose to focus on it each day or when you see fit.

It’s meant to help guide you through the year and to also help you refocus or regroup when you feel a little lost or overwhelmed by life.

It’s motivation through a word.  It’s a reminder of how you want to live this year.

I think we can all benefit from this type of guidance to help us navigate our way through a year of life.  Sometimes we get frustrated.  Sometimes we get sad.  Sometimes we feel a bit disconnected from things.  Sometimes we feel like the goals we’ve set are too high.  Sometimes we fail.

That’s life and that’s okay.  We shouldn’t let it discourage us and we should recognize it for what it is, a learning experience.

I know that I can easily get distracted by things and let myself stray from goals I want to achieve.  I also tend to become easily overwhelmed by situations and instead of dealing with them, I’ll just retreat and hope everything works out on its own.

This year I am not going to let that happen.  I have picked my word for 2012 to help guide me through the year.

My word is Explore.

By having a word to turn to when I start to feel like I’m floundering a little bit is going to be very helpful to me.  Explore covers a lot of areas.  It will remind me to check out different ways to doing things.  To look at things from other perspectives.

It will also be a reminder to get out of my comfort zone and try something new.  To embrace life fully and to always live in the moment.

For 2012, I will be exploring.

What will your word for 2012 be?

Comments: 15

Starting right before Christmas and ending shortly after the New Year, we take off work.  That gives us plenty of time to regroup, get grounded, and just chill.

This worked out great for several years and then once we moved to Ohio that kind of changed.  We found ourselves with more commitments, more engagements, and with blooming businesses (and brands) for each of us, more time to need to be online and connected.

Not that we’re complaining about that, however, this year after Scott wrapped up his work week ( I finished mine earlier) and we chatted about our plans for break, we realized that we didn’t want to have any plans.

We wanted to take an actual “break” without commitments, without engagements, and without the need to be online.  So we unplugged for a bit.

I was able to stay offline and away from the computer, twitter, and email for 5 days.  In fact the only reason I got back online before my break was over was because I promised a Christmas recap post.

That time away was AMAZING and one of the best things I have done.

Instead of checking email first thing in the morning and all while having my breakfast, I read my book.

That quiet time in the morning was much more peaceful. I felt much more relaxed and calm.

Scott and I plugged-in in a different way over break.  We gamed.  Yes, we’re gamers and gaming actually helps us relax.  Plus since we play together, it’s a bonding experience and a relationship builder.  I realize that might sound odd but it’s true.  Along with being unplugged, we haven’t had a chance to seriously game in quite some time.

So we did just that.  We gamed all day, everyday of our break.  We played Borderlands, which I recommend if you’re looking for a great co-op game.  And we’re still not done with the game!

Now it’s back to a normal routine and back to being busy.

The next few months for us are going to be extremely busy and jam packed as we get ready to take on new changes.  Knowing that and knowing that this holiday break might be our only “down time” for an extended period, we relished in doing nothing.

For 2012, I hope to have more unplugged time.  I’m going to start small and shoot to be offline at least for one full day during the weekend. 

Do you unplug from the computer and online life? Do you think that you should, if you currently do not?

Comments: 6

For multiple reasons I was up at 4:30am yesterday morning.  That’s early and way too early for my body to comfortably handle. Regardless I had to plow on with my day.

One stop was out to the salon for a trim. The best part about going to a salon is that it is completely acceptable to go walking in looking like a hobo.  I appreciate this more than you can imagine. A place where I can wear fuzzy socks and elastic-waist pants?

I am all over it.

But by 4pm that early morning rise was catching up to me and my brain was so fogged that thinking and creating sentences that actually made sense was challenging.  The couch and Law and Order was needed. I snugged with the boxer while the pizza stone heated up and got super hot.

Sticking with the minimalist approach again this week, I kept things simple with this pizza.

• Homemade Dough
• Spiced up tomato sauce
• Shredded grass-fed mozzarella and grated parm
• Spinach
• Chopped broccoli
• Spicy Italian Sausage
• Mushrooms (Scott’s side)

We watched a little TV while we ate our pizza. I forgot just how much I love broccoli on pizza. So good!

I was tucked in bed by 9pm and asleep before 10pm. That makes me a happy happy lady!

Broccoli on pizza and in bed by 9pm, it’s all about the little things.

The last time I was in Whole Foods I noticed these reusable produce bags.  Each one was under $2 which is a really good deal so I purchased two of them.  They are by BringItBags and I was excited to find them.  I’ve looked for reusable produce bags before but the ones I found were always crazy expensive. Ten dollars for a produce bag? Sorry, but no.

I’m curious to see how these work out.  Do you use reusable produce bags?

Comments: 4

For pizza this week, I wanted to keep things simple.  I think this is the least amount of ingredients I’ve put on a pizza.  Usually I like to load it up with all kinds of stuff but this week it was all about minimal ingredients but great flavor.

I kind of feel like that’s how I’m approaching the holidays this year.  Simple and minimalist with the focus being more on the celebration and the moment instead of all the “stuff”.

Yes I still decorated and got out all my trees but I didn’t put out all of my decorations.  In fact a good many of them got packed back up and stored away until after Christmas.  When Scott was returning everything to the basement he kept asking me, “And this too? And these over here?”  ”Yes, all of that stuff can go back.”

I think when I start packing stuff up again, I’m going to weed out a lot of decorations.  My tastes are changing and I’m less inclined to want all kinds of little tchotchkes around, preferring trees, lights, and garland instead.

• Homemade Dough
• Pizza Sauce
• Shredded Moz and Romano
• Spinach
• Spicy Italian Sausage
• Banana Peppers

We watched the Pens game while eating our pizza.  Oh it was a rough game to watch.  Intense and sadly with a loss at the end. Not nearly as many penalty minutes called as I predicted but enough that it got to be ridiculous.  A few of the big guns are missing from the lineup and it’s noticeable.  Especially on power play and penalty killing situations.  When your team can’t score on a 5 on 3 situation, some things need reassessed and addressed.  That’s the amateur coach coming out.

But enough about hockey, tell me about your holidays! Did you go all out with decorating this year or did you keep things simple?

Comments: 4

The day started off with a 2.5 mile run for me while Scotty slept. I tried waking him up but he kind of mumbled, rolled over and went back to sleep.  I was on my own.  The body was a little stiff and sore from all the prep work earlier this week (mostly my back was super achey) so I just did a short run.

Back home to some fantastic coffee and a date and fig coffee cake.  My favorite coffee cake and made with beer! Whoo!

Once Scott got up, I pulled the turkey out of the brine and let it rest on the counter for a bit before setting it in the oven to get roasty and delicious.  I kept the menu simple this year, making a few key items, but experimented along the way.

On the menu we had:

• Bourbon Brined Turkey
• Mashed Potatoes
• Collard Greens
• Stuffing
• Gravy
• Rolls
• Cranberry Sauce

The turkey turned out so flavorful that we could not stop talking about it through dinner.  Both of us declared it the best turkey yet and we’ll probably be having this for years to come.  Tender, juicy, and made you want more and more!

For dessert we had Sweet Potato Pie, made with rum and it had a pecan crumble topping.

We hung out and chatted the day away as the turkey cooked.  Then we hung out some more but with less chatting as we ate because both of us were so focused on the tasty turkey.  When Scott starts gnawing on the bones, I know that things were done right!

Next week I’ll be posting recipes from dinner and talking about what my strategy was this year to keep things simple yet leaving me room to experiment and try different things.

How was your Thanksgiving? Did you try anything new this year? What was your favorite?

Comments: 4

Okay maybe not dandelion.

Leafy greens and I have been best friends this fall and I see a long future for us this winter.

Earlier in the week Scott and I went out to dinner for restaurant week, and the place we picked happened to serve collard greens.  Guess who got a huge side of it as part of her meal?

I brought home the leftovers and when I was thinking about pizza for this week, I knew that I wanted to utilize the greens on my pizza.  I’ve used spinach on pizza plenty of times and I’ve also used kale, so why not collards?

I also wanted a very crispy thin crust as well.  Not my norm at all!  Greens and thin crust it was!

Following my regular pizza dough recipe, I used 2C of Unbleached AP flour and 1C of White Whole Wheat flour.  The crust turned out amazing this week and exactly what I was looking for!  Crispy and crunchy with plenty of chew.

The sauce was some canned fire roasted crushed tomatoes that I added garlic powder, smoked paprika, and chili powder to.  Since I was using greens, I wanted to stick with a more feisty southern inspired taste as opposed to traditional Italian.

I used my leftovers from dinner and I also thawed out some frozen chopped greens for extra kick.  Other toppings were:

• Red Onion
• Banana Peppers
• Mushrooms (Scott’s side)

Cheese was shredded mozerella and shredded grass-fed pepperjack.  Cholula on top!

This pizza completely hit the spot and satisfied all of my cravings.  I’m pretty sure that I’m going to be using greens on pizza a lot more from now on.

Comments: 8

I am such a cold weather baby.  When I step outside in the frosty cool morning I’m completely energized and crave to be outside.  I run back in, not because I’m freezing but because I want to quick change my clothes and go out for a run. Or a walk or whatever, just as long as I’m outside.

This is my prime time of the year.  My runs are better and I enjoy being outside much more.  I really dislike summer running.  The only thing that I like about summer running is that I sweat more and I do enjoy getting a good sweat going for a workout.

Otherwise summer can kiss my butt, I’ll take Fall running over that all the time.

I might not be running very far right now but I’ll take what I can get.

This morning I got out for a 3.5er, which is my max distance at this point.  I hope to be able to increase that mileage soon but I also realize I need to take this recovery super slow and not rush anything.

It was gorgeous out this morning.  The air was crisp and oh so chilly.  We had a hard frost last night and everything had a little crunch to it.  Then it started glistening as the sun started to rise into bright blue skies.

Love! This is when Columbus is at its best.  Fall and Spring can provide such beautiful moments.

I hope we have many more of these before winter fully sets in.

Comments: 4