I am so glad that this week is almost over!!! oh...and pizza dough too!

Wow!!!

My oldest daughter was sick for the end part of last week and I fully expected everyone else in the house to end up with it. As it was I was the only one who got even a touch of it (I guess that happens when you are cleaning up after a sicky for most of a full day!) Thank you Dr Vince!!! I credit Dr Vince's vitamin regime to our ability to fight of most things!

The beginning of this week went smoothly enough and then along comes Wednesday. As luck would have it my oldest daughter (who had recovered nice and quick from the bug she had) woke up with a hive on her finger. We have been down this route before so I immediately gave her some Benadryl. That will stop any other hives from breaking out on her body. The Benadryl did it's job and she didn't end up with any more, so off we went to school. I dropped them off and spoke to her teacher and let her know that she had a hive and her finger was very swollen but it was not life threatening or contagious but could she please call me if it change in any way. Great...so I came home and started working for the day. At 11:30 I got the dreaded call from he school!!! "Your daughter's finger is really swollen, kind of purple and there is a line leading from her finger up her arm. I think you should come and get her". Off I went to go and get her. The teacher was right. Her finger was almost double in size and really ugly colors and there was a definite red line leading from her finger just up past her wrist. The red line could be a symptom of a blood infection. I got her in to see the Doctor right after lunch so I didn't have to take her to the emergency room. Unfortunately the doctor didn't really know what to do. He ended up giving her some antibiotics and sent us home. It seems to be getting better but she says it still hurts and is still pretty swollen. Needless to say this was definitely more drama than what I needed right now!!!

Onto some food related things...last night my youngest daughter and I made pizza. It is always a challenge to figure out something for all of us to eat when Daddy is away. I have a huge fear of the grill so I will never light it! Pizza was a good choice. They loved at and still had enough to take to school for lunch today. So that was a bonus. It turned out really good. I made the pizza dough during the day so It would be ready for a quick dinner around 5 or so. Now I don't knead my dough by hand I use my faithful Kitchen Aid mixer My youngest one helped grate the cheese and put it on the pizza. She opened the oven door and helped me put it in. Hard to believe what a good helper she is???!!!

Tonight I think it is going to be burgers. Easy and not too time consuming. Can't cook them on the grill though so will have to cook them on a griddle...LOL!

Pizza Dough(adapted from the Kitchen Aid recipes & instruction book)

Ingredients:

1 pkg active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105 - 115 degrees)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
cornmeal

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add salt, olive oil and 2 1/2 cups and mix using dough hook (or knead by hand)

Continue mixing or kneading and add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough clings to the hook or if kneading by hand has formed a nice smooth ball.

Place the dough ball in a greased bowl (olive oil to grease), turning to grease the top. Cover with a tea towel or cheesecloth and allow to rise in a warm place, free from draft until doubled in size. Usually about 1 hour. Punch the dough down.

Brush your pizza pan (I use a regular baking sheet) with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal (I think this step is optional as I never do it). Press dough along the bottom of the pan forming a collar around the edge to hold the filling. Top with you desired fillings and bake at 450 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes or until the edge is a golden brown and your toppings are all bubbly!

We just topped one side with olive oil, garlic powder and mozzarella cheese and the other side with sauce, garlic powder, oregano and cheese.

***We have done pizza parties before. You make a couple of batches of dough and make smaller pizzas and allow everyone to top their own pizza with a large assortment of items. This can't really be done with a large crowd but we have done this with 10 people. I use the convection setting on my over and place several pizzas in to cook at once.

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com