Lauren's stromboli: quick, simple, versatile

I am excited to post this stromboli recipe that my friend, Lauren, came up with. She brought one over during my early pregnancy, when I was as tired as a rag doll, and it really hit the spot. Because of this recipe's tastiness, simplicity, and variability (a.k.a. you can use whatever you've got on hand), I latched on to it and have made it several times since.

Ingredients: 
one prepared refrigerated pizza crust
squeezed garlic or minced, if somewhat cooked (optional)
1/2-ish pound of meat (ground sausage or beef, pepperoni, sliced deli meat, etc.)
2 or 3 handfuls of shredded or sliced cheese (swiss, provolone, etc.)
spaghetti sauce for dipping


Directions: 
Lay the pizza crust over a baking sheet so that one half is roughly in the center of the sheet. (Some crust will hang off the sheet, but you'll be folding it in half in just a minute.) Spread garlic all over it, if you are so inclined. Layer the meat and cheese on whichever half of the crust is not hanging off the pan. :) Fold the other half of the crust over top of the meat/cheese and squish the crust edge into itself to form a good seal. You'll have a long, giant pocket. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-14 minutes, depending on the type of crust you have (see the canister's baking time). Heat up spaghetti sauce for dipping. Serves 3.

There are an infinite number of vegetables or canned fruit you could add as well (sun-dried tomatoes, olives, pineapple - think pizza).

Here, I used a bread crust that didn't spread out as wide, so the stromboli pocket is skinnier.

an unexpected delight: kite extravaganza at the park

blog of a friend on a "sea to see" bike trip

A friend from Alaska (well, she's actually from South Carolina, but we met her when she was a student in Alaska), is right this very minute in the middle of a coast to coast bicycle trip. I don't know about you, but such trips light a fire in my bosom like not much will!

If you're interested in seeing what Laura Thomas is up to, here's her blog, which she has been updating with good regularity.

GO, LAURA!!

glimpses of nature

When the pickins' are slim right around the house, weeds count.

There is a super cool walking trail near our community, with a swamp and stream running through. We've seen schools of tadpoles and minnows, turtles sunning themselves on flat rocks, lots of reeds and greenery. The other day, a real deer bounded past us, scared up by a dog. I thought we'd died and gone to National Geographic land.

Papa occasionally brings home desert treasures that we compare to a memory game we have of North American animals.

white-tailed deer antler

javelina tusks

Caracara bird (in the falcon family)

acorn art by Jason - these things are beanie-clad dudes all the way

evidence of spring

sunset behind our community

We're deep in the woods!

Well...not that deep.

playing with the photo editing program - - I'm sure our naked eyes would see these scenes this way if not for light interference, right?

Zoralee these days - in quotes and pictures

*    *    * 

seeing a fleck of parsley:
"What in the world? Is that salad on my plate?"


*    *    *
"Highlights Magazine makes me high."
[variation on a John Denver line]

 *    *    *
Zoralee: That's magazine cereal.
Me: It is? What does that mean? 
Zoralee: It doesn't mean anything.
*    *    * 
tasting a new spearmint toothpaste:
"Grandma has gum like this!"


*    *    * 
with mock sadness:
"My best friend is a key."
[I knew times were lonely, but gee whiz.]

*    *    *

"These animals are goin' to their new home."

*    *    * 

about text messages: 
"How does this phone keep beepin' messages?!"
*    *    *

"I love you, but I have to go to work. I'm sorry. It makes you so sad. I'm not seein' you for a long time ago. But I have to go to work." 
*    *    *
As we were leaving for the grocery store, I said "Oh, I forgot the stinkin' water jugs," and ran back in the house to get them. When I came back out to the car, Zoralee asked, "Are those the stinkin' water jugs?" 
*    *    * 


"Do you recognize that our friends were here? Do you realize that our friends were here? Do you remember that our friends were here?" 
[We stared at her incredulously, and Jason said that if she came up with another synonym, he didn't know what he would do. Here today, I'm not gonna make believe otherwise; we engaged in the sin of pride on that one. In fact, we're still proud parents and have re-lived the moment several times amongst ourselves.]

She wants to somehow be involved in eeeverything.

walking her thread spool dog

finally starting to smile at the camera!!

...and pose

Zoralee begins "exercising" at random.

She likes to sit in the car and read or crawl all over the seats.

n