Bloglovin'

Now, you can follow me on bloglovin'!

Some summer inspiration...

While making something special for William, I listened to this album on repeat. I forgot how much I love it.

I was really looking forward to making raspberry bars tonight, but realized I didn't have enough. They looked too good to put back in the fridge, so I ate them while crafting.

These are just some of the books on my summer reading list. I just finished Water for Elephants. Although the story was good, I was disappointed in the writing itself. I guess as an English major, I get a little too judgmental, but some of the descriptions in the book were too corny for me.

It's been raining so much lately that today was the first day I actually watered my garden. I meant to take some pictures to document its progress, but completely forgot. While watering, it dawned on me that I've been gardening for four years! I'm so proud of myself and I can't wait for my veggies to start coming in!

Gift Wrapping

I meant to post this last week, but Blogger was acting funky.

My dad's birthday was last Thursday and he already knew what I got him (because he was going to order it himself, so I had to stop him), so I wanted to create some extra special gift wrap for him.

Like me, my dad LOVES the Yankees. I used the sports section in the newspaper as wrapping paper (which happened to be a Derek Jeter pull-out) and wrapped the whole gift with navy blue and white ribbons. He loved it, and it was so simple to do! Using newspaper makes gift wrapping cool and unique, and you're reusing and recycling!

Little Reminders

Right now in my life, some things could be better. My family and I are dealing with some tough things right now, but there's nothing we can do but wait, watch, and take it one day at a time. Don't get me wrong, I really do love my life, who I am, the people I know and what I'm doing, but there are a few things that I wish just weren't so. But there's nothing anyone can do to change those things. Going through these things is part of life, and almost everyone experiences them, too.

However, there are some people out there who have it A LOT worse than I do. There are people starving and living in poverty, without homes or clothing. I found this message on Stumble and was reminded of how lucky I am, and how things could be so much worse. I need to appreciate what and who I have in my life more, and never forget it.

A recipe post

Due to finals, papers, work and school winding down, my posting has been very irregular. But that will all change after Tuesday, when I'm finally done with the semester.

For now, enjoy this recipe post. It's for a sausage bread, a family favorite in my house. I have no idea who was the first to make it, or where the recipe came from, but whenever I make it, William has seconds and requests leftovers. It's a simple recipe, and takes about 30 minutes to cook.

Italian Sausage Bread:

Ingredients:
- Six links of sweet/hot Italian sausage (whatever you desire)
- 3 larger green bell peppers
- 1 large onion
- 1 pizza dough (you can use frozen, make your own, or buy a dough from a pizzeria like I did)
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- Italian seasoning
- shredded mozzarella

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

 Cut the sausage links into little chunks. On high heat, cook the sausage in a pan with olive oil. You can add salt and pepper as you desire.

 Cut the peppers and onions however you like (cube, dice, strips, etc) and add them to a separate pan. Cook on high heat with olive oil, salt/pepper as your desire and about 1 tbs. of Italian seasoning.

 Have your hot boyfriend man these ingredients at the stove. Or you can man (or woman) them yourself, stirring occasionally to avoid burning.

 Roll out your dough into a circle. It doesn't have to be perfect, just circular. I don't see why it can't be rectangular either, so you can shape it however you want. Once your dough is rolled out, place it on a greased cooking sheet.

 Once the sausage is cooked (I usually check it to make sure, but it's okay if it's not cooked all the way because it will cook a bit more in the oven), drain the meat from the oil and place it on the dough.

 Add the peppers on top of the meat once they're done cooking.

 Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella on top of the sausage and peppers. You can add as much/little as you'd like.

 Wrap it all up. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes. The time may vary depending on your oven, but I take it out once the bottom of the bread is golden brown.

 Cut it into pieces and enjoy! (Behold the ooey gooey goodness of this meal above).

A fast and easy meal to feed the family. This bread serves about 6-8 people, depending on how big of a slice everyone wants. It's a flexible dish that you can change up to however you like!