What to Cook Wednesday - Stromboli Freezer Meals!

And for the first day in summer, I'm posting on time. :)

To celebrate this momentous occasion, I bring you my family's NEW most bestest favoritist freezer meal, STROMBOLI! (It's so good, I had to make up words!)

It is literally oozing yumminess. Literally.

I got the original recipe from 40 Freezer Meals in 4 Hours on JoelandKitty.com (another great Pinterest find)!  Since it's just Chris and I eating people food (sadly the fur children cannot partake), I typically only make two of these meals at a time, and now just one since we have a stocked freezer going.

The best thing to do is to make the topping first. This batch will cover all four Strombolis.  This recipe smells like a pizzaria!  Here's the topping recipe, from OurBestBites:

Garlic Bread Seasoning
Recipe by Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

1/2 c. powdered Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. marjoram
2 tsp. parsley

Instructions: 

Combine ingredients in a jar (preferably one with a sprinkle top) and shake. 

Mine looks like this and it's scrumptious. 

I then make the Stromboli one at a time, but with my own modifications. We start the same:

1. Stromboli:

1 package provolone

1 bag spinach

2 packs pepperoni

8 cups mozzarella

4 balls of pizza dough.  (Author doubled this recipe to make 4 strombolis, see below for buying fresh)

This ingredient list will cover all four Strombolis. If you know me, you know I'm NOT going to make my own pizza dough. Ain't nobody got time for THAT. Instead, I go to Publix and in the bakery section is this glorious display:

Homemade pizza, all in one cooler!

Keep in mind - use the dough within 24 hours. The first time I did not. I'm still finding dough balls in my fridge. So, yeah.

Here are the steps you need to repeat for each Stromboli. My notes are after the original directions.

 Make dough into rectangle.  This takes the longest, but it's worth it!  I use a cookie sheet as a size reference. I actually stretch my dough instead of rolling to help break down some of the elasticity. Flour is your friend if the dough is too sticky.

This part always reminds me of Cassandra from Doctor Who

Layer cheese and pepperoni and spinach.  

I layer Mozz, spinach, provolone, then pepperoni.

Wrap it up and then brush olive oil on top.Then add this topping for top of crust   This part takes the most patience, but it can be done!

Any leftover cheese is fair game for snacking. 

I add a step here.  I cut my Stromboli in half because A) it's easier to manage and B) it's just two of us eating dinner and C) it won't fit in my fridge if I don't. 

Wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum.

Plastic wrap, THEN aluminum. Not in the order above. 

After I wrap them, I can fit 3 packages into a large Freezer bag, labeled with the baking instructions. I get 8 Stromboli halves in 3 freezer bags.

The only bag where my handwriting looked human.

The author recommends: Day of Cooking: Defrost fully. Place in warm oven to encourage the dough to rise. Crank the heat up to 375 (best if cooked on a pizza stone) and bake till bottom of the dough is cooked.
My oven heats up REALLY fast, so we do this for each package (half of an original Stromboli):  Unwrap fully, place on cookie sheet in oven. Set oven for 175 & heat for about a half hour. Crank heat up to 375 for another 30 minutes and enjoy!

If you try this recipe and LOVE IT, let me know in the comments!  I'd love to know how it turns out!

Happy Cooking!

Time to Read Tuesday - The Giver

Posting this tonight because it CANNOT wait - and it's Tuesday anyway.

I just finished The Giver by Lois Lowry. And it was PERFECTION.

179 pages of AMAZINGNESS.

We chose this book for my book club because there is a moving coming out this year of this story. DO NOT RESEARCH THE MOVIE unless you have read the book, or you will be in Spoiler City. Instead, the back of the book is sufficient:

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. 
When Jonas turns twelve he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now it's time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

I was drawn to this book the same way I was for The Hunger Games or the Divergent books. There's something about the "what if" of Dystopia that gets my attention, but then the "how did they get to that point?" that holds me for the rest of the book.  I loved this book for the way the Community was revealed to the reader. Things that are common place for them become major talking points for The Giver and Jonas.   There are also parts of the Community that really don't seem bad at all - mandatory volunteer hours for the students so they can figure out their aptitude, for example - until you consider what is required (or excluded) to keep the system working.

This book was my unexpected delight of the summer. What books have become your unexpected treasures?

Make Something Monday - Kitchen Hacks

Happy Tuesday Night!

I really need to change Make Something Monday, because honestly, I can't get my shenanigans in gear on on Monday to make it and blog it. For example, it takes more than a day to make a scrapbook.  It also takes more than two days to make a scrapbook. Who knew?  Oh, everyone but me?  Ok.

So, instead, I decided to share some old things I've done to make my kitchen life easier. I combined two posts to make the best kitchen cabinet organizer ever.

Hanging measuring cups with cork board behind!

Hanging measuring spoons, AND cork, AND conversion charts!!

No more missing measuring things!  I used to lose these ALL THE TIME.  First we put up corkboard squares (super cheap from any office supply store/craft store/Target). Then we* (*for the remainder of this part, "we" will be played by "my husband") painted paint sticks to match the rest of the kitchen, and screwed them into the cabinet edges, making sure we didn't put them the same height as the shelves inside. A few eye hooks later, and VOILA!  It makes cooking, baking, AND putting the dishes away SO MUCH EASIER.

Cork board idea website no longer exists, but here's the pin for the hangers:  Ultimate Storage Solution for Your Measuring Cups.  The top chart I copied from the website, but made it on my own computer and laminated it at the local teacher supply store. The bottom chart I got HERE (that is my own pinterest page, the original, yet again, no longer exists).

I have another chart on my washer and dryer I got HERE.

I have had to use this chart more than I care to admit. 

My favorite kitchen hack, which my mom thought was so clever, is the over the door shoe holders!

Cleaning supplies I forget how to use.

 Here is the one I have in the kitchen for cleaning supplies. I also have one in the coat closet for scarves and gloves I'll never wear again because I live in GEORGIA.  I want to get a third one for art and craft supplies (colored pencils, markers, my 80 bajillion colored sharpies and highlighters) so I can use my linen closet for its intended purpose.

What are some of YOUR favorite life hacks?  Let me know in the comments!

What to Cook Wednesday - Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Happy Wednesday/Friday!

Last night for dinner I made this amazing Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole Recipe from the Six Sister's Stuff Blog.  Chris has asked it stay in the rotation!

Here's my finished product!  (Minus the extra stuffing I ate...)

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole Recipe: (By Six Sisters Stuff)

Ingredients:

1 (6 oz) pkg. chicken flavored stuffing mix
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 tablespoon prepared, Dijon mustard
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-size pieces (I boiled mine)
3 cups fresh broccoli florets
2 cups cooked, chopped ham
6 slices of extra thin Swiss cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Prepare stuffing as directed on package.  Mix soup and mustard in medium bowl; stir in chicken, broccoli and ham. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with cheese slices and stuffing.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until heated through.

(Recipe adapted from Kraft Recipes)

I found it on Pinterest when I signed up to take a meal to a new mommy, and her one request was "No Tomatoes." This ruled out 99.99% of the recipes I had, so it was time to try something new!  It's a good travel size recipe, but you will have leftover stuffing. Oh darn. :)

The most time intensive part is cooking the chicken and ham ahead of time. I bought the cubed cured ham and it worked just fine. In the future, I would love to try this recipe as a post-Thanksgiving meal when there are leftover turkey and ham clogging precious refrigerator space.

Please check out the rest of www.sixsistersstuff.com, and let me know how yours turns out!

Time to Read Tuesday - Wuthering Heights

Time to Read Tuesday

Yup, still two days instead of one day behind. Oh well.  The delay this time was finishing my current summer book, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (published 1847).

Big, hardcover wordy book.  I look shmart.

It is almost impossible to summarize this book, since it was over 200 pages of "Why is everyone putting up with this guy?"  or "Wait, who's the narrator again?"  This may also be because I haven't had to write a book summary since 2002.  Regardless, I loved it so I will try.

No seriously, someone tell me how to rotate my photos in Blogger and I'll give you a cookie. 

The book opens from the point of view of Mr. Lockwood in 1801. He is the renter at Thrushcross Grange, and wants to know more about the mysterious owner living at Wuthering Heights, Mr. Heathcliff. The majority of the book is then told through the housekeeper Nelly's eyes, as she gives an account of Mr. Heathcliff and how he turned upside-down the lives of the two families that occupied both properties.  What follows is a dramatic tale of obsession and revenge that spans two generations.

I could not put this book down, as the action and character development kept me guessing.  I was annoyed and intrigued at the same time, wondering how the characters would find contentment and happiness in the end. I also loved reading about the wild landscape of the moors that lie between the two homes.

I picked this book because back when I was reading Twilight, Bella makes several references to her relationship with Edward being like that of Catherine and Heathcliff.  If she means that Edward was super controlling and manipulative, then yes. If she meant that she was passionate and beautiful and energetic as Catherine, then that is a giant no. While Catherine and Bella both had to choose between two suitors, it is a great disservice to Catherine to equate Bella's awkward shyness with Catherine's vibrant magnetism. But, you know, hooray for Bella recommending good literature. (Also, someone else has blogged about this HERE.)

Confession:  I had to use SparkNotes to keep track of all the details in the action. The switching of lovers and marriages and the family tree made me wish I was slightly smarter, but I'm chalking it up to summer brain.  SparkNotes pointed out the use of pairs and opposites as symbolism throughout (two properties, two families, two generations), which helped center the action better for me as the reader.

I would highly recommend this book if you want something to stretch your brain, while giving you the same passion of a romance novel. And if you like literature about 1800 England. And interwoven family trees. Good times.

Who is your favorite Wuthering Heights character and why?  Let me know!

Make Something Monday...on Wednesday

Hello!

I hope you didn't think I abondoned this project already.  I mean, I did let six days of radio silence go by!  Anyway, my original plan was to celebrate "Make Something Monday" (yup, from Pinterest) by actually making something, then posting about it the next day. And I promptly forgot. So, without further delay, here is my first project - The Food Passport!

Ta-Da!

The original link to the Food Passport was faulty, but the idea was pretty clear. First, get your favorite colored pens, and a mini notebook. For reference, the size is between an iPhone and an iPad Mini.  The pens I had, the notebook was $4.99 at Hobby Lobby, AKA my new time blackhole.

This is only half of them. 

This one felt kind of "Mischief Managed" to me...

Then, I harassed the kind people of Facebook - "Where are your favorite restaurants around town?"
And they answered.
And it was awesome.

Sample page (Google, why won't you let me rotate the photo??)

Each restaurant gets its own page, and when we eat there, some sort of congratulatory stamp or sticker will go in the box.  Lists are more fun if you have a way of checking them off.

I'm a teacher. Gold Stars are my life. 

There was only one casualty in this endeavor - my favorite teal blue sparkle pen. It has written many a Christmas Card, and I'm sad to see it go.

Of course the end exploded while I'm wearing pale pink pants. Stupid blue ink. 

So thanks to the internet, and my own driving around, my Alpharetta-ish Restaurants, in no particular order, are:
Hop Alley
SmokeJack
Milton's
Village Tavern
Mugs on Milton
Collet French Pastry and Cafe
5 Seasons
Zola Italian Bistro
Ippolito's
Cans
Another Broken Egg
Pure
Flying Biscuit
Alpine Bakery
DaVinci's Donuts
Sage
Crust
Cafe Efendi
Union
Salt Factory
Sip Wine & Tapas
Casa Nuova
Mambo's

Clearly we have room for more ideas, because I think I may have just filled less than 25% of this thing.

The filled pages are below the bookmark. Seriously, more ideas needed!

So internet, which places did I forget?  Which places would you include from your hometown?  Fill those comments, and Happy Eating!

I Made A Blog!

Happy Summer!

In order to avoid the usual atrophy that happens to my brain during these warm, humid, southern summer months, I have proclaimed this summer to be the "Make Stuff Summer."  Until I designate a day to make a better name for this, "Make Stuff Summer" will involve picking one new project a day to tackle until I can look back at the end of July and proudly declare, "Yes, this sucks, but I MADE IT.  DARNIT."

People have actually expressed an interest in these projects, probably for the laugh of knowing they are not the only people that are actually not good at DIY projects, or for smugly knowing they are in fact one of those talented DIY people and they will never be as awful as me.  I think I have both parties covered. You may even get photos.  I make no guarantees, but you will at least get links to the source of the original ideas from the folks that are actually good at this.

So today, June 12, 2014, I made a blog.  Check.

The rest of the day will be spent trying to figure out which projects to attempt first, while trying to type around a huge black kitty.  And checking on the huge black dog to make sure she didn't get too tired out at Doggy Camp while I was out of town.  You will learn more about my fur children in the future. :)

Have projects you'd like to see me mess up?  Let me know!