Veggie Pizza

My favorite pizza hands down will always be the loaded veggie.

So, the other night middle son says, "Hey Mom, how about one of your homemade pizzas?  We haven't had that in awhile." 

I answer, "Okay but it will have to be veggie, is that alright?"

"Sure, that will be good."  Middle son is always so agreeable.  The easiest of all my three sons.

I pulled out the veggie drawer and it was full of pizza toppings waiting for the construction of a great supper.   I have made homemade pizza for years.  I will give you my dough recipe, it is the most worn out recipe in my recipe box.  

Homemade Pizza Dough

ingredients:

1 pkg. (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast

1 tsp. sugar

1 1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. salt

3 1/2 cup all-purpose flour  (here I used 1/2 of this amount as wheat)

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in water; let stand for 5 minutes.  Add oil & salt.  Stir in flour, a cup at a time, to form soft dough.  Turn onto floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 2-3 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl (I use olive oil here), turning once to grease top.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.  Punch down dough and divide in half.  Makes 2 -12 inch pizzas.  Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.

Toppings can be your choice.  

I have used: the above pasta sauce, black olives, onions, green peppers, spinach, cherry tomatoes cut in half, fresh Italian parsley, basil, and mozzarella.

You put the toppings on top of the cheese.  I used to put the cheese on last but, the toppings don't cook as well.

Middle son and last son had no complaints.  They really liked this sauce.  That was the first time I ever tried this sauce.

Enjoy!

Sherry

I will link to:
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Foodie Friday  at Designs by Gollum

This Chick Cooked at This Chick Cooks
Friday Food at Mom Trends

Thank You!

A big thank you to those of you who come by and read my blog!   I haven't been keeping up with all of the comments throughout the week and I still want to thank you for making them.  I have been concentrating on loading up the Etsy shop with some of the above items for fall and then I will be getting more in it for Christmas.

One more reason I have been busier, see that crib in my living room?  I have been baby sitting a sweetie and that is a a busy job throughout the week.  So bear with me if I haven't stopped by.  I will continue to visit as much as I possibly can.:)

Thanks for visiting me!

Sherry

Oh My... Must Try

This weekend was a good cooking weekend.  With a bit of Fall in the air this past week, I craved soup.  I love {attempting when there's time} to make weekly soups during the colder months so I pretended it wasn't going to be 95 degrees on Sunday.  I broke out an old cookbook I bought in college full of yuuumy simple recipes.  (It's called "Quick & Easy.")  I tried out the Lemon & Chicken Soup and it is Heaven...

{Seriously Heaven....  I try really hard to take pretty food pics but I just don't know how people do it.  I promise it's waaaay better than it looks.  }

The kids loved it too.

I also must really love you because I'm literally typing out the whole recipe here.   ;)  

It's that good. 

 (I made a few teeny changes)

Ingredients:

4 tbsp butter

8 shallots, thinly sliced

2 carrots, thinly sliced

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups precooked chicken.. ( I used some grilled drumsticks we'd just made)

3 lemons

2 quarts chicken stock

Angel hair nests (you can do angel hair if can't find the pasta nests.)

2/3 cup heavy cream  (I'm sure you could substitute this if you were trying to be healthier but it is good.)

salt & pepper

Fresh Parsley & Lemon Slices to garnish

Directions:

1. Cook the shallots, carrots & celery in the butter in a big pot.

2. Thinly pare the lemons & boil the lemon peels in water for 3 mins.  Squeeze the lemon juice in a bowl.

3.  Add the lemon peel, (Ok this is so new to me!  Yes, you can eat lemon peels once they're blanched!)  lemon juice and chicken stock to the veggies in the pot.  Bring it all to a boil on low heat and simmer for 40 mins, stirring every once in a while.

4.  Add the pasta and let it cook (this is why I like the nests... they take 3 mins) Add salt & pepper to taste and add the heavy cream.  (mm mmm mmm)  Heat through but don't boil once you've added the cream or it'll curdle.  

5.  Pour into bowls, add the parsely & Eat!

Seriously, I love this soup.   

ps- I found this cookbook at the grocery store in college and it's full of the easiest & tastiest meals.  (So many soups & pastas, which I love.)  It's called "Practical Cooking: Quick & Easy" by Parragon Publishing.

Classic Tea

I have a new teacup by Ralph Lauren.  I thought it was so classic it was needing to be photographed with some classic jewelry.   I will give this cup away as a gift.  It has such a pretty design on it.  

The first picture was altered with the crackle texture with soft light at around 50-60%.   The crackle texture is by Kim Klassen.

Thanks for joining me for tea!

 Sherry

I will link to these lovely blogs, go and visit:

Table Top Tuesday  at A Stroll Thru Life

Tea Time Tuesday at Lady Katherine Tea Parlor

Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage

Tea Cup Tuesday at Martha's Favorites

Tuesday Tea for Two at The Plumed Pen

Tea Pot and Tea Things Tuesday  at The Silken Purse

Tea Pot and Tea Things Tuesday at Breath of Fresh Air

Tea Cup Tuesday at Artful Affirmations

Tea Party Tuesday  at Sweetology 

Texture Tuesday  at Kim Klassen Cafe

A Return to Loveliness  at A Delightsome Life

Creepy Hand

I found this great pattern for a creepy hand and I knew I could find a place for it in my Halloween decor.  If you saw my blog last year you might remember I did a few Halloween tables.  So, I am working on some right now for this year.

  This copy of Holiday Crafts by Better Homes and Gardens is where I found the pattern.

I traced the pattern right onto a natural muslin with a fabric marking pencil.

If you want to try making this I will give you a tip.  I cut it out as instructed and tried to make it from the pattern and the fingers were just too skinny to turn and stuff.  I followed the pattern on the hand on the right and when I turned it the stitching broke loose.  With the hand on the left I cut my new seam allowance out around the pattern and this worked out much better.

 

The publication recommends using a hemostat to turn and stuff the hand.  I tried several ways of turning and stuffing and the hemostat was the best method.  It was perfect to grab a bit of fiber fill and stuff the fingers with.

So, here is my finished creepy hand.  It is really a creepy glove.  I really liked how it turned out. 

Sherry

Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage

Metamorphosis Monday  at Between Naps on the Porch

Before and After Party  at Thrifty Decor Chick

White Wednesday  at Faded Charm

Peeks from Yesterday's Installation

Yesterday we installed "phase 1" of one of our clients' homes.  The day started out like this...

...With a truckload of furniture for the house.  Our clients completely and completely renovated their home so it could better suit their family's needs without increasing its footprint at all.  They were able to remove an unneeded living room to increase their kitchen & dining rooms and the family room is now their main living room.  They moved out for the summer while the renovation took place and have just now moved back in.

My client looooooves color and wouldn't you know her favorite is also my favorite:

{This is an old coffee table that our client's mother turned into an ottoman a while back.}

{The original piece}

We had our workroom -Paul David Design- create a new beautiful mitered top out of an indoor-outdoor fabric for the family room.

She loves green & was looking for a comfortable, happy and FUN vibe in her home.  Her husband is more traditional while she leans a little more towards the modern/colorful end of the spectrum so we ended up with  a sort of "funky" Traditional that's perfect for the family.  Our clients fell in love with their home because of its large big-treed yard, so we really wanted to bring all of that green inside and kick it up a notch.

Here's the living room palette:

The furniture is a mix of new upholstery and casegoods mixed in with family antiques & vintage pieces. 

We had lots of fun taking risks and I looove their apple green front door:

We did a massive pair of botanicals for high-impact in the dining room:

I hung family photos in a gallery wall and Paul & Nancy (of Paul David Design) handled the larger items like the mirrors and botanicals.  Meghan (my assistant) ran around like a madwoman (in a good way :) helping to get it all done in time.  Our client was out of the house for most of the day and at 5:00 we toured it with the family for the big reveal.  It was so much fun!! 

In the end we were all thrilled with  how the house turned out.  I'm insanely lucky to have the all of the wonderful clients I have and this family is really incredibly special.  The kids were already breaking in the chess table we found for them. 

...And Lizzy was breaking in the chairs:

{I can't handle her}

When we're completely finished & Helen takes photos, I'll be sure to share "after" pictures.  Hope you had a great day & thanks so much to everyone for all of the great childcare advice.  We're in the process of finding a nanny now so I'll keep you posted!!

And also thank you so much to my clients!!  (You are amazing.)

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Home Sweet Home #30

Welcome to Home Sweet Home!  Today I have sewn some more table runners with a new love of mine French General fabric.

French General fabrics are the creation of Kaari Meng.  She owns a store in Southern  California filled with reproductions of vintage French Country textiles, notions, and more.

 Whenever I can get some French General fabric I will be using it and stocking my Etsy shop.

I am getting into Fall, here with my centerpiece.

Two of the above table runners can be purchased in my Etsy shop.

Thanks for joining me at Home Sweet Home!

Sherry

Now, I would like to feature some wonderful post from last week's Home Sweet Home.

 First, Olga of Olga's Home and Garden Blog celebrated Ukraine Independence Day with a Ukraine inspired table setting.  Click the link to view.

Next, from Norway Herman Grans showed off her remodeled dining table.  Click the link to view.

Faye at Wild Rose Vintage showed off an old wrought iron baby bed that had me from the thumbnail image with the way she photographed it.  Click the link to view.

And last, The Created Home made the cutest Alphabet Gallery Wall.  Click the link to view.

Thank you to all who join me at Home Sweet Home!

I will join these ladies today:

 Inspiration Friday At The Picket Fence

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Fridays Unfolded  at Stuff and Nonsense

Farmhouse Friday  at LaurieAnna's Vintage Home

Open House Thursday at No Minimalist Here

Seasonal Sundays  at The Tablescaper 
Treasure Hunt Thursday temporarily at From My Front Porch to Yours

and NEW: Potpourri Friday at 2805 

Guidelines for Home Sweet Home Party:

Attention: To link up with inlinkz you must have a permalink back to this party in your post or they will not allow you to link. 

My button is on my sidebar for the party, if you want to use it.   If you are new here I hope you will become a follower.  No Etsy link ups or direct advertising, please.  Please visit some of the other blogs and get some great inspiration.  Thanks.:)

Now let's see your beautiful homes!