My Semi-Homemade Pizza Recipe...

Oh Boy! We are having homemade pizza tonight!! 

I make semi-homemade pizza at least once a week, its so much better than any store bought frozen pizza you can buy. It is a bit more time consuming than a frozen pizza, but honestly its so easy! Non-cookers/bakers can make this too, super easy! I change it up a bit... I learned this from my mom as she made this pizza all the time when I was a kid! Seriously, it is so good!! 

This picture is of my semi-homemade pizza. 

The Recipe:

1 box of Chef Boyardee Cheese Pizza Kit

(I buy the family size, it makes 2 pizza's.)

EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil -several tbsp) 

Pizza Seasoning (in the seasoning section of grocery store)

Crushed Red Pepper (optional)

Basil (fresh or dried)

Parmesan Cheese (the powder kind)

2 Bags of Pizza cheese (it is labeled "Pizza" cheese)

Any toppings you want to add (I like simple, turkey pepperoni and onion)

Directions: 

1. Follow the box directions to make the pizza dough, I subsitute veggie oil for EVOO.

2. Once dough is raised, I spread out the dough one half on a pizza stone (I prefer stone) and the other half of a metal baking sheet (I only have one pizza stone). Then lightly brush EVOO over both pizza doughs, sprinkle the pizza season on the dough along with the a small amount crushed red pepper and parmesan cheese. This part isn't on the box this is my "add-on" step. 

3. Now place in the oven until the dough is bubbly and just starting to brown, about 10-ish mins, but oven times vary. 

4. Now add the pizza sauce (from the box kit)  and all your toppings.  I just add my turkey pepperoni, onion and one bag of pizza cheese per pizza. Now back in the oven until the cheese is bubbling, turning brown on the edges as well as the crust edges are browning.

5. Once out of the oven I sprinkle dried basil on top along with a small bit of the powdered parmesan cheese and let it sit for at least 10 mins for the pizza on the stone and the metal pan only 5-ish mins. 

6. I love to cut the pizza in squares and gobble it down. 

Tip: I use kitchen scissors to cut my pizza, they are better than any pizza slicer, learned this from my momma.  

Now go make semi-homemade PIZZA this weekend!!

(Images from Chef Boyardee website.)

Throwback Thursday!

I love "Throwback Thursday"!

 It is so fun and I love seeing everyones pictures on Facebook and Instagram from back in the day. I have a few here for you too, all these are meaningful to me in one way or another. Let me share the stories...

These two cuties are my uncles, my uncle Steve and uncle Danny. My moms brothers, that I grew up with, loved and adored. (They adored me too!) Here they are holding me, when they came back from Vietnam. These two loved and adorned me daily, they would also use me to pick up ladies too! I don't blame them tho.. LOL! I always felt very loved by them. Sadly, my uncle Steve died a few years ago to a brain aneurysm, he is the one not holding me. He is missed greatly, such a wonderful human being and man.  Kindness descried him 100%!  

So this picture has always cracked me up... the little toe-head boy is my younger brother Ryan and his little neighbor girl friend. Can you see that he has peed his shorts? This child wanted to play 100% of the time and was a wild-child too. I would ask him "Ryan do you need to go to the bathroom?" he'd say "no, sissy. I fine."! Really???  Look at the front of his shorts! I think he needed to go... when I asked him, but he didn't want to stop "play" to go to the bathroom. This is one of my favorite pictures growing up. Love that boy so much to this very day!

This is my little sister Emily, I just love this picture, its framed and up in my kitchen so I can see it everyday. I love my arm around her, love our similes and just love her!! 

This is my very first friend, and best friend for years. We were neighbors and went to school together, and our moms where the best of friend too! We both were casted for the Bambi play here in Springfield. I was the skunk and she was the rabbit. 

Sharon Arnold and Nikki Kinney in 1977.

I really need to scrapbook these and tell the stories so I'll always remember and so other will know the stories behind them. 

Have a great day!

Remembering Hailey

I'm sure most of you have heard about the sweet little 10 yr old girl that was kidnapped and murdered within 3 hours of her adduction here in my hometown. It was so heartbreaking but our community has come together like nothing I've ever experienced before.  

This is my candle at the walk.

At the end of the walk people that had carried candles in jars left them at the feet of Hailey's family at the vigil. 

My city thought a couple of thousand might show up but we had more than 10,000 people show up! 

Also a few motorcycle groups showed up from around the country to support the family and also keep some of the protesters away. (I don't want to say the name of the protesters because I don't want to give them a name or any publicity for the dishonorable thing they are doing.) The motorcycle men and women lined up their motorcycles and made a human chain so no one could get by them and the vigil would be protected. These riders are wonderful and so refreshing knowing they are on the side of good.  

Here are a couple of my girlfriends, Tina and Kim that went with me to the candlelight walk and vigil last Saturday night. We are so thankful to be from a city that has stepped up in every way possible for the grieving family of Hialey Owens. 

If you would like to contribute to the memorial fund our local bank Empire Bank is taking donations. Here is the link if you'd like to donate some money. 

Thank You!

Lake Dog!

We have a Yorkie that thinks she's a water dog! Bella-Blue my little Yorkie would kill herself going for a duck in the lake! She's actually a great little swimmer but she won't come back to the shore when called so she has to wear a life jacket and someone (mainly my husband) has to be willing to go out in the lake to get her if you won't come back. She can be real difficult at times! LOL! I had to create a layout about our lake adventures with her this last summer. 

These black letter stickers are so old I don't even know where they came from but I "faked" stitched with white pen to give them a new life. I think it worked!

Products used: MME, Crate Paper, Bella Blvd, American Crafts, Glue Arts, ColorBox, Jillibean Soup,  Fancy Pants, Sketch: Scrapbook Generation. *Also thanks to Katrina Hunt for giving me some of the embellishments for this layout while at a crop!! ;) 

Thanks for stopping by today! I'm working really hard at blogging at least 3 times a week. Trying to get in some kind of schedule for scrapbooking and blogging! Two of my favorite things!

Have a great weekend! 

Do you scrapbook yourself?

When I use to teach scrapbooking classes around the country I would "lecture" everyone the importance of scrapbooking yourself. We are always so busy taking pictures of our family and scrapbooking them, we forget about us! (Story of your life, right!) LOL!

Every year I create a single page layout with the title "Me at... 41" (or however old I am that year) then I journal about my life at that age along with a picture of me at that age too. 

I just completed my layout for this last year at age 41.

This is a pretty "clean" layout for me, but I didn't need a lot on it as it has a nice flow with all my journaling boxes. 

Products used: MME, Crate Paper, Jilliebean Soup, Nikki Sivils, American Crafts, Colorbox, Glue Arts, DMC Floss, Bella Blvd.

My different journaling titles are:

Reading

Cooking

Enjoying

Working

Drinking

Feeling 

Wanting 

Needing

These are things that are either my favorite things at the moment like under "drinks" I have Diet Dr Pepper (I can't get enough of it), or what I'm feeling and wanting (like loose weight). So you get the point, I'm sure, and you can choose anything of course. I love looking back even just 5 years ago and reading what I liked then and what my thoughts and feeling were that year. I wish I had one of these layouts of my grandma and mom every year that they had made of them selves. Wouldn't you love to look back and see what your mom or grandma thought and felt at different stages of their life.

I challenge, all you scrapbookers and crafters out there to start doing this, just one layout a year that's just about you. Tell your family how feel this year and what your favorite things are. You won't regret this and years from now you will have left a wonderful gift to your children's, children. 

HAPPY HUMP-DAY!!

My Valentine's Day and Date

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was good, uneventful but nice. 

Friday, however was very eventful! 

My husband sent me Chocolate Covered Strawberries for Valentines's Day (he was traveling and not in town). "Sherrie's Berries" and they were fantastic!!

Also in the box were 3 chocolate covered cookies! YUM!!

I had my father-in-law over for lunch on Valentine's Day. He had a doctors apt. and I was his ride so we had a nice Valentine lunch, with some coffee and nice conversation in my home. 

Henry went to the LPA (ladies pay all) dance Friday evening, this is us before his date picked him up.  

Henry's date... she was just adorable!  

My Poor niece, Taylor sent most of Valentine's Day in the hospital with bronchitis and having to take breathing treatments. Taylor was home resting well that evening and feeling much better now. 

Then later that evening I had a date with my sweet 10 yr old nephew, Cade!

We went to see the Lego movie but it sold-out while we were in line to get tickets so we went to see Robo Cop and it was really good! I was surprised I liked it as much as I did.

I have to say, of all the Valentine's I received, this one from my nephew was the highlight of my day!!

Right before we left Cade's house to go to the movie he handed me a handmade paper flower an a letter. This was better than any store bought card!! 

My cup runth-over with love on this special Valentine's day!

Right before bed I had to take a "selfie" with my little Bella-Blue! 

Hope you have a great week! 

Happy Valentines Day!

Ahh... Valentine's Day! 

This one will be a bit different this year. Dan will not be around tonight, so my nephew, Cade (11 yrs old) will be my Valentine Date. We are going to eat dinner at Steak-n-Shake, then going to see the movie "Nut Job", I can't wait, we will have a great time together! 

I should be showing off some beautiful Valentine cards that I made, but I haven't made any yet! Oops! Hopefully, I can whip a few up here in a bit! However, I do love making cards, always have! A small canvas to work on and a quick project that you can accomplish in just a short period of time. 

Here are a couple of cards I made for "winter-time" for my dear friend, Lanie, who is battling the fight of her life with cancer. 

Both these cards I created for Lanie are featured in Create Magazine's, January issue. 

Products (both cards): all Bella Blvd except the snowman and snowballs which were EK Success. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day! 

(And if you get to see a movie on your Valentine Date, I recommend "Labor Day", it was so good!!)

A little "Puppuccino" with my Alfred!

HAPPY HUMP-DAY!

I can't help but think of that darn camel every time I see or read anything "hump-day"! I love that commercial! So, so funny! 

I have a little layout I created for the Create Magazine, January's issue, that I wanted to share. It was a little heartbreaking to make this layout because I had to put my Alfred down last August. God, that was hard! Anyway, that little fella, loved Starbucks "Puppuccions" and yes, its a real thing for dogs that go to Starbucks. Who wouldn't love a little cup filled with whip cream!! 

Products used: Bella Blvd papers, stickers, blue letter stickers and flags; Jillibean Soup felt flowers and red alpha; Doodble Bug blue mini straws.  

Hope you enjoyed my layout and my little Alfred! Miss him so much!

Have a nice rest of the week!