No Rise Pizza Crust

I love making pizza but when a crust has to rise, it takes so long! I have been doing some experimenting with different recipes, and so far, this is my favorite. It rises beautifully in the oven and tastes just like a crust that would take hours to make!

1 Tbsp yeast
1 cup very warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups white flour

1. Combine yeast, water, and sugar. Allow to sit for the yeast to activate.
2. Add salt, olive oil, and flours. Mix well.
3. Knead on a floured surface until smooth. (I do the entire thing in my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer and let it do the kneading for me).
4. Allow dough to sit for 5-10 minutes.
5. Press onto large pizza pan or stone.
6. Add sauce and toppings. (I use an 8 oz can of tomato sauce and add basil, oregano, and garlic powder instead of buying an expensive premade sauce).
7. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.

I wanted to take a picture of the spinach and sun dried tomato pizza we had for dinner tonight...it disappeared before I could grab the camera.

The Cake Tradition

While I was growing up, my mother was constantly decorating cakes for birthdays, holidays, and special events. I was shocked the day I realized people bought their birthday cakes at the grocery store! Now with my own family and our own special events I've started feeling a need to continue this tradition.

For Peter's baptism I was determined to begin my cake decorating adventure. I borrowed all of my mom's supplies and books and started planning. I decided not to get too complicated and only perfect one technique per cake.









I ended up with a HUGE cake since we had several people attend the party. Half of the bottom was chocolate, the other was vanilla, and the cross was red velvet.

For Nathan's birthday I decided to use a cake pan I had sitting around (Betty Crocker's Bake 'n Fill). It was a chocolate cake with cherries in the middle. It turned out great! Since it's baseball season, it was only natural I had to turn it into a baseball!

Back to Normal?

What a whirlwind these last few months have been! Now that things have settled down, as per my mother's request, it's back to blogging!!

Since my last post, we have welcomed a little boy, Peter James, into the world and have been falling in love with him ever since. I have also quit my job and have been adjusting to the world of being a mom. All of a sudden, my marriage vocation has become so clear and I am finally able to begin seeing what my life will entail!

I'm sure there will be plenty of recipes (I cook/bake ALOT now), funny stories about Peter, and random ramblings to follow. Here's to life as a wife and mother!