Seriously though. The start of August will be exciting for me because, with my mad skills and awesome interviewing prowess, I have managed to get hired at a new company. I am very much excited, and not just because of the awesome raise that goes along with it. (Though that helps... That coupled with John's new job means that we just doubled our household income. I mean, WOW! I can't even... Wow. Anyway.) I won't bore you all with the technical details, but it's really going to be a great opportunity for me to learn and gain a lot of technical experience, which is not only incredibly useful, but also fits perfectly into my schemes for the future. (Dun, dun, DUN!)
I kid, I kid. (Besides, this is me we're talking about! I would never ever come up with any nefarious plans. Ever.) My biggest goal is just to pay off the wheelbarrow or debt I've managed to build up in the short time I've actually been able to build up debt, and then start to chip away at the truckload of debt that John has managed to pile up with his school costs. So glamorous... But sometime in between those two things, after I pay off my debt but before we start on John's, I plan to get a new place to live. I don't actually think that paying off my debt will take that long with the extra money, and so hopefully in a few months we'll be calling all of you up to demand that you help us move. Now it's your turn to be excited! Yay!
That's the biggest thing going on right now in Lauren land... Though I'm finally getting my car registered. It's only been like, what... Seven months? Wow I'm bad at this game. I kept setting aside money for it, but then something else would come up and I'd have to spend it, and so it has gone on for the last few months. I've mostly been trying to catch up on the bills and things I missed so that I could pay for the wedding, because that was expensive. (P.S. Don't get married. It's expensive.) I got some new tires for the car, cleaned it all out and washed it all up, and went to get safety and emissions... And it FAILED. I'm so close to giving up on the stupid thing. I would have already except that I'm afraid they're going to put a boot on it, or tow it away... I went SO long without anyone noticing, and then some people (who will remain unnamed, but you know who you are...) started saying how crazy it was that we hadn't been pulled over or given any tickets. Seriously two days later I got a parking ticket for it, and then the day after that John got pulled over for it. SO THANKS A WHOLE LOT. Annnnyway, yeah. The car didn't pass safety because the muffler was hanging too low, apparently, and so we had to go get another hanger. Long story short, I ended up at Midas where some guy told me I needed two hangers and a flex pipe, and got a quote for $200.
PFFFT. Turns out that you can get stainless steel cable ties for like three bucks at the Smith's Market place. Thanks to some gumption on my part, and a TON of help from Krystal, we hacked the crap out of that muffler, and got it all kinds of secured. In the rain, no less. But wait, there's more! Not just in the rain, but in the rain, in the middle of the road, on our backs/bellies under the car, with nothing to jack it up. MAN! We are so awesome. Maybe. I maybe haven't actually gone back to see if it passes now yet, BUT WE'LL SEE TONIGHT. Cross your fingers for me because if this doesn't work then I'm going to set the stupid thing on fire and commit insurance fraud. Also, if this post gets deleted later on, you know why.
That was a really long post. Thanks for sticking through it with me guys! (If you did, that is. If not, I SEE HOW IT IS.) Here is a yummy recipe as a reward! (Though you'll have to deal with some background story first, sorry...)
Vegetarianism. (Is that actually an "-ism" now? I don't know...) It's a weird thing, and I tried it once and it lasted exactly two days before I gave in and ate the biggest hamburger I have ever seen, because I am weak. But it was delicious. I really do enjoy meat, and I have a really hard time cooking without it. Which, now that I think about it, is really a little bit weird and possibly abnormal; coupled with the fact that I'm really bad at cooking with vegetables and fruits means that I have a very limited diet... So maybe this vegetarian thing is really a good thing for me. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
John decided to be a vegetarian a couple weeks ago, and I thought I was going to die, because him deciding to be a vegetarian meant I was basically going to end up that way as well, at least when we're eating at home, because I'm the one who cooks, and I wasn't going to put in the effort to cook two different meals, because I'm pretty lazy. (Wow. That sentence is probably too long.) So, yeah. I was pretty unhappy about the whole thing, but it turns out it's not so bad; (At least he didn't go full on vegan; I would die without milk, eggs, and cheese, in the very most melodramatic way that I possibly could find.) it feels pretty good to eat healthier, and I've started to notice some subtle differences. So, don't knock it before you try it I suppose.
That aside, here is my very first (and very favorite, so far) vegetarian meal I made! Enjoy.
In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand
for about 10 minutes, until foamy. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. When the dough has doubled, punch it down in the bowl, and form back into a ball. (For thick crusts use all the dough, for thinner crusts, you can seperate in half and make two pizzas, or save dough for later) Press dough onto well oiled pizza pan, set aside and allow dough to rise on pan. (15 - 20 minutes) Preheat the oven to 425.
That was a really long post. Thanks for sticking through it with me guys! (If you did, that is. If not, I SEE HOW IT IS.) Here is a yummy recipe as a reward! (Though you'll have to deal with some background story first, sorry...)
Vegetarianism. (Is that actually an "-ism" now? I don't know...) It's a weird thing, and I tried it once and it lasted exactly two days before I gave in and ate the biggest hamburger I have ever seen, because I am weak. But it was delicious. I really do enjoy meat, and I have a really hard time cooking without it. Which, now that I think about it, is really a little bit weird and possibly abnormal; coupled with the fact that I'm really bad at cooking with vegetables and fruits means that I have a very limited diet... So maybe this vegetarian thing is really a good thing for me. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
John decided to be a vegetarian a couple weeks ago, and I thought I was going to die, because him deciding to be a vegetarian meant I was basically going to end up that way as well, at least when we're eating at home, because I'm the one who cooks, and I wasn't going to put in the effort to cook two different meals, because I'm pretty lazy. (Wow. That sentence is probably too long.) So, yeah. I was pretty unhappy about the whole thing, but it turns out it's not so bad; (At least he didn't go full on vegan; I would die without milk, eggs, and cheese, in the very most melodramatic way that I possibly could find.) it feels pretty good to eat healthier, and I've started to notice some subtle differences. So, don't knock it before you try it I suppose.
That aside, here is my very first (and very favorite, so far) vegetarian meal I made! Enjoy.
GARLIC HUMMUS PIZZA
W/ WHOLE WHEAT CRUST
INGREDIENTS:
(TOPPING)
1 cup garlic hummus spread
1 1/2 cups chopped bell peppers, any color
1 cup chopped baby spinach
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tsp oregano
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup Mozzarella cheese
2 tsp. olive oil
(CRUST)
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (around 110 degrees F)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
DIRECTIONS:
(CRUST)
In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand
for about 10 minutes, until foamy. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. When the dough has doubled, punch it down in the bowl, and form back into a ball. (For thick crusts use all the dough, for thinner crusts, you can seperate in half and make two pizzas, or save dough for later) Press dough onto well oiled pizza pan, set aside and allow dough to rise on pan. (15 - 20 minutes) Preheat the oven to 425.
(TOPPING)
Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Once heated, add onion, garlic, peppers, spinach, and oregano and saute until tender. Remove from heat. Spread garlic hummus over the crust in a thin layer, arrange sauted vegetables on top, and then top with cheese. Cook in the oven for 16 - 20 minutes, depending on thickness of crust.
I know, I know. Last time I made pizza it was a disaster. Trust me, the memory is very fresh in my mind. But this time I did two things different: A.) I made the crust this time, instead of buying one, and B.) I used a pizza pan. Night and day, folks, night and day.
I used red and green peppers, which are my personal favorites, and I actually used extra garlic... Two or three cloves. The pizza was extra garlic-y though, so if you don't like garlic much, don't do that. I'm sure you could add more vegetables to this if you wanted, but I'm new to this whole thing, and I'm just getting my feet wet. Give me a little while before you start throwing weird vegetables like asparagus or eggplant at me. Geez.
