Homemade Pizza {Recipe}

My husband LOVES pizza and I love making it for him! :-)  Here's my favorite recipe for pizza dough (as promised on Monday in my Menu Plan post) - it turns out perfect every time and is so easy!  I'm planning on making this on Saturday - another plus for me with this recipe is that there's enough for several meals for us! :-)  This is actually half of the original recipe as I only need to make 1 pizza at this time for us. :-)

Ingredients:

1 1⁄2 cups warm water
1 1⁄2 tablespoons yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 1⁄2 - 4 cups All Purpose Flour
Pizza Sauce
Desired Toppings

Directions:

Mix warm water, yeast, sugar, salt & oil. Start adding flour 1 cup at a time, until it forms a ball that comes away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be soft and tacky, but not enough to stick to your hands. If the dough is sticking to your hands, add a heaping tablespoon of flour one at a time until the dough is the right consistency.

Form into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Cover and set in a warm place until doubled.

Place dough on an oiled pizza pan and roll or press out to size.

Top with approximately 1 1/2 cups of sauce, 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese. Then add other desired toppings to taste.

Cook at 425 until the cheese is brown and bubbly and the bottom of the crust has browned.

Do you have pizza lovers in your home?  What's your favorite recipe for pizza?


Linking up with: Natural Little Cottage, Our Simple Country Life, Raising Mighty Arrows, Delicious Dish Tuesday Recipe & Homemakers Challenge

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Plain Jane Laundry Soap Review & Giveaway!

I am excited to share with you Plain Jane Laundry Soap!  I was sent 1 pound of this great laundry detergent to try on my own laundry.  My clothes turned out clean and fresh smelling every time.  I love how little detergent is needed in each load to get your clothes clean, only about 1TBS.  I even had great results with my cloth diapers (big plus!)!

Karen @ Plain Jane Soaps sent me 1 pound of her laundry detergent for hard water (we don't have a water softener so she recommends getting the one for hard water) and a sample of her Green Tea Sugar Scrub!

The laundry detergent has very pure ingredients and is safe for you and the environment.  Due to allergies and skin sensitivities I have to be sure to use only Natural and Non-Toxic cleaners and skin care products in our home.  Making sure our laundry is washed in natural detergent is very important here.

My husband is very sensitive to smells and he has really bad allergies, this detergent seems to bother him just a tiny bit when first opened but he hasn't been bothered yet by the clothes washed in it or anything.  He just stays out of the laundry room when I use it and has no problems! :)  Possibly this is due to him just not being used to our laundry detergent having a scent and not being used to the natural scent of this new detergent. :)  It hasn't bothered his skin at all so we're not worried about using it for his laundry.
 

The Green Tea Sugar Scrub is great! Softening and perfect for someone who's hands dry out from everyday work, working in the garden, sewing, etc!  It smells great too! :) It's just sugar, green tea, vitamin E, Sweet Almond Oil, along with just a little handmade soap.

You can purchase directly from Plain Jane on Etsy here.  Karen also has 2 other Etsy shops that I'm sure you'd enjoy browsing: Cotton Spice - selling PDF patterns of her own original embroidery patterns & Pretty Jane Dresses - selling little girls clothes, jewelry, and various things of interest to Mom's and Grandma's!  You can read Karen's blog here too!

Come back between January 16th - 30th to enter a giveaway for 3 pounds of Plain Jane Laundry Detergent and 1 jar of Green Tea Sugar Scrub during the Green Resolutions Giveaway Hop!!  Hope to see you there! :)

Menu Plan 1/9

One of my 'new year goals' is to be more diligent with meal planning. :)  So far it's gone really well!  I had last week all planned before hand and I already have the next 3 weeks planned out! Yay!  I've been doing our meal planning on Plan to Eat (I hope to share a review of this program soon!).  It's been so nice and very much so stress-free to know what I'm going to be making for dinner everyday!  At this point I've only gotten our dinners planned but I'm hoping to get our breakfasts planned as well.  Lunch is normally leftovers or sandwiches. :)  Here's whats on our menu this week:

MONDAY – Chicken Spaghetti
TUESDAY – Potato Cheese Soup
WEDNESDAY - Burritos with homemade refried beans
THURSDAY – Lasagna
FRIDAY – Taco Soup
SATURDAY - Homemade Pizza  (I hope to share this recipe this week)
SUNDAY – Chicken Spaghetti

For more menus and ideas for planning go here.

The Tanglewoods' Secret {Book Review}

Happy New Year 2012!  I hope you all have been enjoying your new year!  I have many posts I hope to share soon! :)  First I wanted to share this book review I just finished...

The Tanglewood's Secret
By Patricia M. St. John


In a struggle to learn to overcome her fiery temper and selfish spirit, Ruth is led to the discovery of a very important Shepherd who can and does teach her how to be good. The story contains beautiful and uplifting examples of what can happen when we let ourselves be found by Him.
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Ruth lives with her Aunt, Uncle & bother Phillip while her parents are away in India.  Ruth struggles with anger and laziness, this short story is about her overcoming her anger and laziness when she finds out about the "Good Shepherd".  A great read perfect for just about any age.  I love children's books and this is one that's been added to my 'favorites' list.

Ruth tries to get out of every chore possible and when she does actually get a chore done she only does it halfheartedly, half dried dishes, sweeping everything under the rug...

Ruth & her brother meet a young boy, Terry while playing out in the woods one day.  They grow to love the boy and they all become great friends & play together all the time.

One day in a rage Ruth 'runs away'.  She tires after 3 miles or so and ends up sleeping in a cold empty church.  In the morning she is found by the clergyman and he shares the gospel with her.  That the beginning of her journey of following the Good Shepherd.  She returns home and apologizes to her aunt for her behavior and for running away.  She diligently begins reading her Bible and starts to learn to heed the voice of the Shepherd when the temptation of laziness or anger came up.  With work she becomes a new girl and everyone notices the difference in her life.

An accident happens and the boy, Terry becomes very sick and will never be able to play again.  He is stuck in bed everyday living with his mother in a small, dark and stuffy cottage until one day Ruth's Aunt goes and visits him and invites Terry & his mother to come and live in her home.  Terry & his mother moves in with Ruth and the family.  Terry is cared for there by everyone and passes away.  Ruth struggles with understanding death and why the Lord didn't heal Terry but took him to heaven instead.  A local christian shepherd is able to explain to her the Terry's life here on earth was over and it was all part of the Lords plan.

Towards the end of the book Ruth's parents come home, just in time for Christmas.  It ends with a wonderful Christmas celebration inviting several injured children to come and celebrate with them.  This book was an easy and fun read that any child would love!  The gospel is taught throughout the book in a very child-friendly way.

* Disclaimer - I received this book free from Moody Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. 

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My Reading List 2012

I love to read but this last year I sure didn't do enough reading. : (  So, for 2012 I've made a list of 24 books to read (2 per month) and I'm going to try to get through them all! : )  I went through our bookshelves and found 24 books that I haven't read yet - surprisingly, it was hard to find that many!

We'll be having our baby in March so I don't know if I'll be able to read as much, more or less that month.  It will be so fun to be a Mommy to 2!!! : )


Here's my To-Read book list, not in order. : )

First (and most important) I have a goal of reading the whole Bible in a year using this Chronological plan with my husband.  We might end up listening to it more than actual reading during meals, etc but it will be neat to read the Bible chronologically.  I've read the New Testament many times that way but never the whole Bible!

1. We Shall See God: Charles Spurgeon's Classic Devotional Thoughts on Heaven – Randy Alcorn
2. Guide to Missouri Vegetable Gardening (Vegetable Gardening Guides) – James A. Fizzell
3. Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate – Jerry Bridges
4. Greater Love (Tides of Truth, Book 3) – Robert Witlow
5. Truth Endures: Landmark Sermons from Forty Years of Unleashing God's Truth One Verse at a Time - John Macarthur
6. Hungry for God: Hearing God's Voice in the Ordinary and the Everyday – Margaret Feinberg
7. Leave It to Chance – Sherri Sand
8. False Christ Coming: Does Anybody Care? – Warren B Smith
9. The Light That Was Dark: From the New Age to Amazing Grace – Warren Smith
10. The Missional Mom: Living with Purpose at Home & in the World – Hellen Lee
11. Sisters of the Quilt: The Complete Trilogy – Cindy Woodsmall
12. Walking Worthy As A Son Of God (Walking Worthy Series, Volume 1) – Norm Wakefield
13. Walking Worthy As a Husband (Walking Worthy Series, volume 2) – Norm Wakefield
14. Walking Worthy As a Father (Walking Worthy Series, Volume 3) – Norm Wakefield
15. Walking Worthy As a Provider (Walking Worthy Series, Volume 4) – Norm Wakefield
16. Walking Worthy As a Member of the Body of Christ (Walking Worthy Series, Volume 5) – Norm Wakefield
17. Gladys Aylward: The Adventure of a Lifetime (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) – Janet & Geoff Benge
18. Just Like Jesus: Learning to Have a Heart Like His (The Bestseller Collection) – Max Lucado
19. The Normal Christian Life – Watchman Nee
20. Prison to Praise – Merlin Carothers
21. I Love My Life: A Mom's Guide to Working from Home – Kristie Tamsevicius
22. Beyond All Measure (A Hickory Ridge Romance) – Dorothy Love
23. The Maker's Diet - Jordan S. Rubin
24. The Miracle of Fasting - Proven Throughout History - Patricia & Paul Bragg

I know that the Walking Worthy Series is written for men but I personally know Norm Wakefield and everything I've read by him has been so good!  I'm expecting these books 'for men' will be great even for a woman, I'm actually really looking forward to reading them!! : )

These are 2 devotionals that I'm going to try to be diligent to read in 2012!

Joy: A Godly Woman's Adornment (On-The-Go Devotionals) – Lydia Brownback
God's Promises Devotional Journal: 365 Days of Experiencing the Lord's Blessings


What are you planning on reading in 2012?  Have you read any of the books on my list?

Free Coconut Oil from Tropical Traditions

Many of you have expressed interest about coconut oil as I use it in almost all of my recipes.  If you'd like to try some Tropical Traditions is offering 1 free quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil to each customer, until the 26th if you place an order of $16 or more, you can read more details on their site! :)


FREE Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil - 1 quart - Christmas Gift