I came up with this recipe for fruit pizza because I didn't like how the flavors of the fruit conflicted with the sugary sugar cookie base. So, I made the base more like a crust with less sugar than the sugar cookie base/crust and I made the frosting out of cream cheese (cuz I LOVE cream cheese!) and powdered sugar.
It is yum, yum, yummy!!!
Preheat oven to 350, mix together:
1/2 cup butter or margarine (softened)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
3 Tbsp. water
Empty the mixture onto an ungreased 12" pizza pan (it is crumbly).
Then press and roll (I used a drinking cup to roll it flat) in pizza pan and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Beat and spread on crust:
8 oz pkg softened cream cheese
1/3 cup powdered sugar
Arrange fruit on cream cheese frosting. My youngest daughter (my baby) took over on this part and created the fanciest fruit pizza I've ever seen!
She used cantalope (I've also never seen that done before), pineapple, blueberries, kiwi, mandarin oranges, and boysenberries (they leaked juice on the cream cheese).
Cut into wedges and eat up! As my 2nd oldest daughter is showing so well! Value #7
I feel passionately about what is happening in our wonderful country. That is why I'm dedicating Tuesday posts to "America the Beautiful".
The following is an excerpt or paraphrasing W. Cleon Skousen from his book The Making of America and current Congressman Jason Chaffetz.
Our politicians in the past have gradually drifted away from the Founding Fathers' original success formula which is the Constitution of the United States. Our current politicians are not gradually drifting away from the constitution, they are shredding it.
Here is a review of what the Founding Fathers' did for us:
They created the first free people to survive as a nation in modern times.
They wrote a new kind of Constitution, which is now the oldest in existence.
They worked to develop a civilization that provided freedom, equality, and justice for all.
They created an expansive new cultural climate of prosperity, happiness, success, and free human spirit.
They offered the human race a potential future filled with the ultimate hope of the human heart--a world of universal freedom, universal prosperity, and universal peace.
It would be a disastrous loss to all humanity if these great principles were allowed to become lost. Our current public policies support dependence, they punish industry, they redistribute wealth and limit freedom. We have higher taxes, Czars, corporate bailouts, and a national debt that has gone crazy in the last year and a half.
We now need to work toward (and make sure our own politicians - who are working for us - are working toward) fiscal discipline, limited government, accountability, and a strong national defense. The United States of America is the greatest country on Earth, but we must now take action to preserve our liberties, our freedom, and our Constitution.
What you think about our country? I'd love to hear about your thoughts.
Cooked wheat cereal, oh so good for you. I think it keeps people unbelievably healthy. No more colds or flu or trips to the doctor (hopefully!).
I either buy my cracked wheat at our local organic grocery store, or I grind it myself. For cracked wheat I use my hand grinder because my electric wheat grinder doesn't have a course enough setting.
When my arm gets tired, I let my daughters take turns at working on their biceps and triceps.
Then I get a saucepan and put in 3 parts water to one part wheat and I sprinkle in a little salt. I heat it on medium high until it starts simmering, then I turn the heat down to medium low and let it cook for a long time (I go off and do other things for 15-30 minutes).
If it cooks for longer than a half hour, you may need to add more water. Anyway, it is very forgiving and you will discover what your personal preferences are. Cook longer if you want it mushy and cook for a shorter time if you like it chewy.
Raisins are optional (my 2 youngest daughters hate them in cooked cereal, me and my hubby love them in it!)
I like it best topped with plenty of brown sugar and milk, YUM!!!
Honestly, you should try eating fresh ground cooked wheat cereal for breakfast 2-3 times a week and notice how little you get sick (keeps you regular too! Oops --- I didn't really put that in here --- I'm sure I will delete it later).
Wheat is one of the most nutritious, healthy things you can eat. In fact it's so healthy you have to work into eating it gradually or it will upset your stomach, kind of like pre-natal vitamins. Then if you can use freshly ground wheat it's nutrients haven't expired, so the nutrition level is even greater (and of course I think organic everything is best -- too bad I can't afford all organic!).
Anything from the late 60's and 70's is the trend. Well, these flowers are completely new: felt, sequins, and beads make these retro flowers popular now!
My daughters LOVE them.
My teenage daughter can color coordinate a felt flower with her outfit when she simply clips on a matching felt flower on her favorite crocheted hat. (We'll show you how to make the crocheted hat in a future post)
The felt flowers make darling magnets for your frig AND for my youngest daughter's locker at school (that is when she can keep her friends from playing with it!)
An adorable embellishment for a girl's room: on her curtains, or mirror, or closet door, or dresser drawer (it rhymes!)
With a pin on the back of the flower, you can pin it to your clothing or handbag. With a hair clip on the back you can wear it in you hair.
So, let's get started!
Here are the supplies you'll need for this fffabulous, fffun, ffelt fflower: scissors, small beads, sequins, needle (use a needle with a very small eye, so that it will fit through the beads), thread (or embroidery floss), felt, and pattern. For the back of the flower, depending on what you want to use the cute flower for, you will need either magnets, pins, hair clips or hair bands.
Pattern pieces:
First print out the pattern pieces.
(Hint -- left click on each pattern picture, then right click and select print. Don't right click on the pattern picture and select print because the pattern will print too small, just make sure to left click on the pictures first)
Cut out the 4 paper pattern pieces.
Then cut the 4 pieces out of the felt colors you like best. It helps to either trace around the pattern piece or pin it,
or tape the pattern to the felt, or just hold the pattern and cut (risky though, it might shift).
Thread your needle with 2 strands of floss or thread and knot the end. Stack felt pieces and tuck the long petal tips under the center piece. Sew each long/tucked petal in place by bringing the needle up through the back and through the tucked under petal and flower center, then get a sequin and bead. Bring needle back down through the sequin.
Continue around the flower, tucking the long end of the petal under the center piece and securing it with a sequin and bead.
Place the leaf behind the flower and sew it in place with sequins and beads filling the center of the flower.
The pins had an adhesive back, so it was just a peel and stick. I sewed the hair clips on, but the clip could also be glued on. The magnets were glued on (either hot glue or craft glue work great).
Variations on a theme: The top left flower is done with just beads, no sequins. The top right flower has the long petals pattern in the back (petals not bent over), then flower base, then flower center. The bottom left flower has long petals in back, then two flower bases, then another long petals (bent over), and a flower center. The bottom right flower has a leaf, long petals, and flower center.
Sunday, a day of rest and upliftment (is that a word?), inspiration, and filling your bucket- so to speak- to get through the rest of the week.
Well, here's a verse that makes me feel good and loved:
This bread has so much more flavor than plain white bread and gets eaten as soon as I pull it out of the oven! Warm, moist bread with honey on top -- yum!
I have been baking bread for a long time and have tried several recipes. This one is my favorite. I like to use fresh ground wheat. It is sooo healthy!
I grind hard red wheat and white wheat together. I also grind the wheat outside, it is easier for me to clean up that way.
Mom's Yummy Whole Wheat Bread Recipe:
(I just use my bread machine, so this is the order I put the ingredients into the machine)
2 Tablespoons yeast
5 1/2 cups flour (more if dough is too sticky)
1/4 cup honey
2 Tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup applesauce
2 cups hot water (not boiling, just from the tap)
If you are not using a bread machine or bread mixer then mix dry ingredients first, add oil , honey, applesauce, and water, mix for a minute then add more water if the dough is too dry. Add more flour if it is too moist (the dough should be kind of sticky).
Mix/knead for 10 minutes.
Divide dough in half (in thirds for smaller loaves),
shape into loaves and put in lightly greased bread pans.
Let raise for 25 minutes or until doubled in size. Then bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
I use my bread machine to mix the dough, then when it is done mixing I turn it off and divide the dough in half or thirds and put it in bread pans to bake in the oven.
When I take the bread out of the oven, let it sit until it pulls away from the sides of the pan. I speed up this process by laying the pan on its side. When the top side is loose, I turn the pan to the other side and let it loosen again, then the bread easily falls out of the pan.
Hint: Make sure the bread sits out of the bread pan and thoroughly cools before you put it into a bag. If it is still hot when you wrap it up, it will sweat and have squishy spots :-P
That is if there is any left uneaten to put in a bag!
There's just nothin' better than hot bread out of the oven with butter and honey! YUM!!!
Wow, my new BLOG! I'm not too speedy with technology, but as the blog title says, I am the mother of 5 daughters and they keep me up to date with all the computer stuff. Daughters! There is nothing greater in the whole world. And I'm so excited about this blogging thing to write about this fascinating world.
Awhile ago, I read about making 3 lists, sort of like bucket lists I guess. You were supposed to write down around 50 things on each list. The first list is writing down things you love to do. The second list is putting down all the things you would want to have. The third list is of all the things you would love to be. Anyway, I decided it would be fun to do and I started making the lists. After looking over the lists a few times and adding things here and there, I noticed quite a bit of repetition and similarities. So, then I grouped the similar things together and condensed the lists. I now have a Reader's Digest version with my top desires and values (or things that are important to me), that really sum up the person that I am and what is meaningful in my life.
I want to share my 11 values list with you as a way to introduce myself: The mom of five daughters. 1. Spirituality: faith in God and Jesus Christ, inspiration, love, prayer, trust, becoming a better person.
8. Arts and crafts: creativity, painting/artwork, all needlework/quilting/sewing, holiday and home decor crafts.
9. Outdoors: gardening, orchard, all kinds of trees, walks, travel, animals, nature, FLOWERS.
10. Liberty and freedom: a constitution abiding America.
11. Miscellaneous: music, dancing, Regency era (Pride and Prejudice).
If you decide to do lists like these, just keep them in a place that you can add to them and revise them over your lifetime. It helps to keep focused on what's truly meaningful to you and what matters most!!!
Some Lisa statistics:
Married for 20 years, had 5 most wonderful children (all daughters!).
Lived in Alaska, Arizona, Utah, and Washington. Divorced. Married again to the sweetest man ever, which added two super stepdaughters and two duper stepsons. My two oldest daughters are married, which added two great son-in-laws. Last but definitely not least, I have the cutest grandson from my oldest daughter and two adorable granddaughters from my second oldest daughter.
