This One's For Sandy...

This is a go to dinner for us. Carol will bake up the focaccia and then usually cook a pork loin to slice up and make yummy sandwiches.  We had it last night and I thought I'd share. I especially know that my sister will make it for her catering and it will be a hit!

Carol's Yummy Focaccia Bread

1 t. white sugar

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1/3 C. warm water (110 degrees)

2 C. all-purpose flour

2 T. olive oil

1/2 t. salt

In a small bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 min.

In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with flour & stir well to combine. Stir in additional water one tablespoon at a time until all the flour is absorbed. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly for about 1 min.

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume (about 30 min.).

Preheat over to 475 degrees.

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead briefly, pat or roll the dough into a sheet and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush the dough with oil and sprinkle with salt. 

Bake focaccia in preheated oven for 10-20 minutes, depending on desired crispness. 

**Carol adds yummy cheese crumbles & seasonings to the dough before she bakes it. Then sprinkle the top with some powdered ranch dressing (or other flavor) - delicious!

On My Way

Tomorrow I'm off. I'll be busy creating all weekend. Maybe sneak in a little nature walk or something. I will be in the beautiful mountains of Idaho :) I'll be back on Monday with hopefully a kick in my butt. I've been out of my scrappin' mojo for a bit and hope that this will force it into me. I'll let ya know how it worked!

Mmmm - Cream Puffs

yum. yum. yum.

Have you ever made cream puffs? You gotta do it! It is surprisingly easy and they are delicious! I just used the recipe from my trusty Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook. I bought the bavarian cream filling at Cash & Carry (also known as Smart & Final) but you could use their recipe too. I put on a fudgy chocolate topping (like on doughnuts) but you could use anything! The downside however, is that you want to eat them all! I'm glad it only makes a batch of 12 - after sharing them with our neighbors we weren't able to over do it!

I'm off to a scrapbook girls trip this weekend in Garden Valley, ID. I'm tearing the scrap room apart trying to get all my kits together and be on top of things. I will have a full 64 hours at least do with what I please. If I don't sleep I could get some major scrapping done. I will for sure get some major fun done!

It's Earth Day & Random Stuff

Did you check out the Google image today? It rocks. I have a little obsession with these random different Google images - I totally save them. The one on Dr. Seuss' Birthday rocked too. So I'll share...

today's Earth Day one

Dr. Seuss

St. Patrick's Day

Also, while going thru my blogs and previous downloads I came across this pic... it's funny and makes me smile - must whip up some team Edward/team Jacob cupcakes.

And finally, this is my new scrapbook. I love, love , love this bird fabric and can't wait to organize some scrapbook pages in it. (I should admit that I did pick this fabric for my work so I am a little partial to it.)

you can have one too.. go to the collected memories website

Where Does Time Go?

I'm pretty sure Easter was just yesterday right? I don't know what has happened to several days (possibly lost in a Twilight haze). Let's just pretend that this is the Monday after Easter and here is my recap in photos. 

Coloring Some Eggs

We colored eggs today. Check it out...

...and wha-la! They are done and super cool :)

Now, just because this photo matches the eggs! Check out Kolbi in her fancy shades. I love this pic - showing off some of her new duds from our shopping trip last weekend & looking so cute! 

Butterfinger Cake

I was in the kitchen all day today making yummies for tomorrow. Thought I'd share the Butterfinger cake recipe -mmmmm!

Start the day before. You will need to have these three things (above).

1. - Bake a yellow cake and let cool. Mix up that cake mix to crumbs. 

2. - Take 6 Butterfingers and chop them up.

3. - Make one box of instant vanilla pudding. To that pudding add: 1 package of cream cheese, 3/4c powdered sugar and 1 tub of cool whip.

Now... get a large, deep pan (I used two pie dishes today).

Layer the cake followed by the pudding mix and then the butterfingers. Repeat as many times as you can - at least two. Then refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight. 

It is always a hit, even if you don't like Butterfingers. 

Pics From Boston

I was thinking about my trip to Boston today and remembering how amazing it was. We got to see so much history there. I love old cemeteries and we walked through several and visited the graves of many important historical figures (Samuel Adams, Paul Revere). We toured the USS Constitution and I felt like we were on a real pirate ship! We walked a large portion of the Freedom Trail, visited some cool local stores (Johnny Cupcakes rocks!), saw the Quincy Market and tasted it's yummy foods, walked through Boston Common, stared at millions of beautiful old buildings, drove lots of back-roads so I could drool over houses and even made it to Salem to visit the Witch Trials Memorial. We really did squeeze in a lot of stuff and had so much fun. 

Just To Look Like I'm Busy

I did something (it was a few days ago but oh well). Here's a pic of it. There is way too much for me to do lately and I feel guilty that I haven't posted so this is kind of a filler. 

Once again, I wish I had a better camera! The actual book is way brighter and glittery-er. I've still got to print my Easter pics from last year to fill this book. Those little flowers in the top right corner are possibly my new favorite thing in the world. They are sooooo sparkly and from Petaloo - just in from CHA, I had to use them. I used my Slice on this and will add lots of Slice cut swirls throughout. Ok - blog is crossed off my list now I'm off to work on Easter day food. 

If You're Not Into Twilight - Skip This Post

Real life is no fun this week (or last). So I've been spending a lot of time on the interweb stalking my twilight sites. I must have these....

I thought I just needed the Edward one but now that I think about it a little I probably need all three. If you're crazy too then you might want to go right to this blog. 

We Did Make It Home

Ha! I just realized that my last post was 'not home yet'. Thought I'd better at least post to say we did make it. The plane was 30 mins. late and we were exhausted by the time we got home but we did make it. Want to know a secret? I'm still not unpacked! There has been too much going on this week and I just haven't gotten a hold of unpacking and organizing. Today though, I plan to do that AND put up my Easter decorations. I can't believe I haven't done that yet! This will be a rare post of no photos - I'll do a photo intensive Boston post later. Also, I've been adding some adorable new Easter papers to the work website and am working on a mini scrapbook to show off the new stuff for the work blog. So that's coming soon too. I will rally all my super powers now and be off to get my to do list of about a million things DONE!