For Mom!

Yesterday I was talking with my and soon our conversation headed towards the Superbowl. Most importantly, we talked about the food that we would be serving. I was between making two different dips and my Mom said, "could you please post your white pizza dip on your blog?" So, here is the recipe Mom and for anyone else who is interested!

8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 package Lipton savory herb & garlic soup mix
Package pepperoni cut into small pieces

Mix and place in a pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Note - Recipe can be doubled and placed in a 9 x 13 pan.

I know the recipe sounds a little fattening (and it likely is), but please notice that I did use all "low fat ingredients"! Serve with bagel chips, crackers, bread sticks,or cubed French bread.

Valentine Decor

I put up a few decorations for Valentine's Day! I don't do a lot of holiday decorating, with the exception of Christmas, but this year I decided to put up a few of my things! Since, I'm a "seasonal decorator" I had plenty of red that I was able to stretch through for a number of the holidays!

Insecure?

Have you bought this book yet? I got my copy on Tuesday. I'm planning to join in the cyberspace discussion here at the LPM blog! Currently I'm not in a regular Bible study, and I'm not suggesting that this take the place of a regular study, but I'm excited about this topic!! Can anyone else relate?

Homemade?

I made pizza for dinner last night. So, I thought I would throw out the question, "Do you make your own pizza, buy frozen, or takeout?" To answer my question I usually make it or purchase takeout. It has been years since I bought a frozen pizza, but there are some great deals on those frozen staples!



I have a number of pizza dough recipes, but my latest one comes from the Pioneer Woman's Cookbook. The beauty of this recipe is that it makes 2 large crusts!

You might have noticed that we have cheese topping only eater in our family!

Three Things?

I picked up the book, "The House Always Wins," by Marni Jameson. It is very entertaining and takes a light and humorous approach to decorating your home!

One impact from reading this book (no, I'm not finished with it yet), is how important it is to pick a style and stick with it! Oh, how my style has changed over the years! You likely have heard about collecting pictures out of magazines that you are drawn to, but here is something new: Ask yourself, "What three material objects in your home could you not depart with?" Apparently this will help define your true style!

So, I started looking around my house to find my three objects and I realized that I'm not that attached to my decor (I guess this can be a good thing)! Well, here is what I came up with......



I love this picture frame! It is hard to tell by the picture but, it is cream colored with a red roughed up background. I have had different pictures of my girls in this frame, but I can't imagine not using it.



This stand has sentimental meaning for me. It belonged to my grandfather and then my Dad made a new wooden top for it. I likely wouldn't have chosen this style, but it fits nicely in our informal dining area and it holds a lot of stuff! Our favorite games and craft activities are housed in here.



These are awesome candlestick holders! I love the design! They are big and chunky, and best of all they are red! Currently, then are on the fireplace mantel, but I have had them in different locations in the home.

I know I was to only pick three items, but I wanted to share one more! This is a pic of my recipe box. I chose this because I love the colors in it. I have mentioned more than once that I like red! (I even had our island painted red.)However, most of my "reds" are on the darker, muted side. But, I think the color in the recipe box is just vibrant and I'm drawn to it!



So, what does all this mean? I'm not sure! But, I think I have a thing for red! Any input would greatly be appreciated!

Weekend Cooking

It amazes me how much time I spend planning, shopping and preparing meals for my family! I know this is nothing new. Many blogs that I enjoy reading, deal with food preparation and trying to answer the question, "how can we make meals easier?" In addition to the time element of cooking, I also want to be frugal!

This weekend I felt like I did both! I tried to make my meal planning easier and I scored in the money department! Split chicken breasts were on sale this week for $1 a pound. I purchased 12 pounds of chicken breast, realizing that there would be some waste from the skin and bone. Yet, this is still a great deal on chicken breast! If you are one who isn't fond of removing the bone, I found that by cooking the meat first, it is much easier to remove from the bone, and there is less waste.



I divided up my chicken breast. Half of it was placed in the crock pot. After cooking for four hours I shredded the chicken. My plan is to use this for enchiladas, hot chicken sandwiches or casseroles.




The other half was baked with a little olive oil and seasonings. I chose some dried onion, parsley and salt & pepper for this batch. I cubed this chicken and I plan to use it in soups, lasagna and casseroles.



Here is the freezer with my newly cooked & seasoned chicken. Hopefully this will help with the meal planning!



What are your favorite time saving or money saving tips in the kitchen?

Change

As I'm making small changes to my blog, it hit me, that my title is, "The Art of Domestic Living!" When I chose this title I thought it was clever and it symbolized my heart. Truly making a house a home!

It is so fitting this week! Both my husband and youngest daughter have been hit with strep throat. I learned, or more it was brought to my full attention, that I am a teacher and not a nurse! Yes, at times I can be nurturing and sympathetic, but I really just wanted them to get back to full health.

So with my blog title in mind I was wondering where does the domestic living fall in relation to my family? How can I be more nurturing? How is our home comforting to those it holds, when they aren't feeling well? What is my role in making it comforting for those I love and those that come into our home?

These are just some deeper thoughts that I'm asking myself as I minister to my family.



Here's Daddy and the girls when they were feeling a little healthier!