BBQ Pizza

The Kroger brand Bisquick has some wonderful recipes on the back of the box. One of the recipes is for a BBQ Chicken Pizza. This is the perfect way to use up one or two extra pieces of grilled chicken. To make the pizza dough you'll need,

• 1 1/2 cups Original Baking Mix
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

Heat oven to 450.  Mix baking mix, hot water and oil with a fork, about 20 strokes.  Let dough stand for 8 minutes.  Press into greased pan.  Top with diced chopped chicken mixed with BBQ sauce, diced peppers, onion and mozzarella.  Bake for 15 minutes on the bottom rack.

Sometimes I turn into food stalker lady.  When I walked by the oven and saw this bubbling up on the pan, I stopped everything to watch the cheese melt into an oblivion of wonderfulness.  You'll notice my little corner of the woods is the part housing the sliced onion.  The minions freak at the sight of onion, so I have to strategically place them loud and proud so as to not cross any vegetable lines.  It helps keep the peace.

I will definitely make this pizza crust again.  As you can imagine, it has a biscuit like quality to it.  Today was a score on creating from the pantry. 

And while I was reading the back of the box I stumbled on another meal that I cannot wait to try.  Biscuits and sausage gravy.  I'll make my biscuits from scratch because I have some buttermilk left over from the Old Fashioned Lemonade Cake I made on the 4th of July, but I'm using the recipe on the back of the box to make the sausage and gravy.

My Cleaning Lady

My cleaning lady came today. She looks and talks exactly like me.
This morning I hired myself for the job.  My payment is an early bedtime for the boys and a clean house for me.  So when you clean sometimes you run into disturbing things.

Take this tabletop for instance.  This my friends, is what we like to call a "Hot Spot."  Clutter gathering clutter.  Wompy jawed tissue box, candle lid, jar with two piddly pens...I can't even remember how long this table has looked like this.  I started to move the things to dust and then leave them when I remembered something.

Have nothing in your house you don't know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.

 

Clearly this is not pleasing to the eye, so I cleared the table and felt a million times better about the spot.

So here is my tip for the day.  As you go through your house, picking up or cleaning, keep a watchful eye.  If there is an area or an item that you think is U.G.L.Y. give it away or throw it away.  Your house will start to slowly take shape and you will be so happy with the results.

Living Crowded

This weekend I've been reading a book by Dan Aslett called Weekend Makeover.  It is about decluttering your home/life.

The million dollar question I want to ask today is:

Why do we live crowded?

(by clutter, schedules, habits, people?)

For me, this question is a reflection of a selfish, greedy mentality.  I have to hold on to my stuff because if I let it go I may not have enough stuff when I need (want) it.

When you are cleaning up, and the stuff does not fit, do you ever have the feeling you are trying to fit a quart of milk into a cup? 

We are tossing, tossing, tossing around here.  Tossing to free up space.  Tossing to uncurl our tight crip around things.  Tossing to free up time for important things like relationship.  Tossing to have space for everything.  Simplifying so order and peace will reign in our home.

The never ending process.  We bring stuff in.  We bring it in.  All the time we are bringing stuff from the outside world in.

The vocabulary of excess:

• piles
• stacks
• hoards
• heaps
• cram
• crush
• overstuffed
• overcrowded
• bulging
• overflowing
• encumbered
• loaded
• laden
• burdened
• haul
• excess baggage
• rummage
• unsettle
• distract
• disrupt
• complicate
• disorganized
• chaos
• jumble
• upset
• overwhelmed
• embarrassed
• worried
• disarray

(List taken from Weekend Makeover, Dan Aslett)

The results of living crowded and in excess.  Is it really worth it?