Double Crochet Scrap Blanket

Can I just tell you that I love Youtube?!?!

For many years I've known how to knit.  My friend, Janna, showed me how and I had a lot of fun making scarves, hats, mittens, and blankets.  There is one problem with knitting…

It's so SLOW!!!

Knitting is beautiful and the finished product is amazing, but I wanted to do something that would produce good results in a shorter period of time.  Crochet, I believed, was the answer.  I had seen many links to really neat projects on Pinterest using crochet and so I just had to learn.

I asked a couple people to show me, but I never brought the supplies or committed time to having them teach me.  So, one day I decided I was just going to give it a go.  I bought some hooks and already had some yarn.  Now all I needed were instructions.

Musings - Did Somebody Say Amway?

On Thursday I posted a recipe for the perfect pizza crust.  Today, well, let me tell you a not-so-perfect pizza story.  It brings me a laugh whenever I think about it and maybe it will do the same for you.

When I was in high school I starred in a well-known local production called Cooking With Jill.  Okay, okay, I may be overstating it a bit.

I suppose I should back up a tad.

My friend, Heather, was enrolled in a videography class and she needed a subject for one of her assignments.  I forget how she came up with the idea or if I volunteered.  The details escape me.  Regardless, she came to the conclusion that she would record me cooking.  I liked the idea.  It sounded like a lot of fun.  I would cook, she would record.  It would be called Cooking with Jill.

For the first episode we had to come up with an idea of what to cook.  We decided on pizza.  I was going to provide the kitchen, the dough and the sauce.  Heather was bringing the cheese and, because we had run out, the cooking spray for the pans.  This was long before I found out about the joy of pizza stones which, incidentally, require no spray.

Heather arrived at my house and we set up my table.  I got on my apron as Heather set up the video equipment.  We laid out all of the ingredients and readied ourselves for filming.  Heather got behind the

Perfect Pizza Crust

Image found here.

I have some recipes that I use all the time.  My family loves them and I hope you do, too.  I figured I'd start a series with these tried-and-true family recipes and provide links on the recipe tab so that they can be easily found at any time.  I hope you enjoy!

Perfect Pizza Crust

This naturally low fat recipe came from a 2009 Taste of Home Magazine.  The recipe is called, Perfect Pizza Crust, and Marie Hattrup from The Dalles, Oregon sent it in.  This crust is definitely a hit on pizza night.  The original recipe calls to mix the dough with a mixer and then knead by hand.  I just throw the ingredients into my bread machine and put it on the dough setting.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Place ingredients in your bread machine in the order in which the machine directions require.

Once the dough cycle is complete, remove the dough and break into two pieces.  Roll or stretch each piece onto a pan, or preferably, pizza stone.  Add sauce, cheese and toppings and bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.

In a short time you will have a delicious meal that will please the entire family.

If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comment section below.

Enjoy!

Image found here.

It's Been a While!

I've been toying with the idea of starting a new blog that encompasses more than just homemade foods and crafts.  For now, though, I'm going to challenge myself to post something at least once per week for a couple of months and see if I can stick with it!  I tend to start and not finish self-initiated projects.  If I'm held accountable or if I'm doing a project for someone else I finish it. I want to change that today and that's why I'm challenging myself to keep with what I've already started.  

So, it's been a couple years...can't hurt to start up again.

In the past two years a lot has changed and yet much has stayed the same.  I plan on posting some of the craft projects that I've been working on or have made in the last two years since I've been posting. So while these things may not be new to me, they'll certainly be new to you.

I hope you like what I have in store.

Photo by Koan - morgueFile free photos