Crabby Housewife

My Favorite Bread Machine Pizza Crust

February 16, 2018 October 5, 2015 By Crabby Housewife Leave a Comment

Y’all probably remember that I have started to experiment with making my own pizza at home. First, I want to control the ingredients in my crust. I want to know what my family is eating. Second, I don’t like most of the pizza places round here.

Saturday, my daughter got home from work and said she really just wanted a homemade pizza to eat, so I thought it was a good opportunity to try out an idea I’d been tossing around for bread machine pizza crust. It turned out great and I think this one will be our favorite.

The only thing I want to say is that this recipe makes a lot of dough. It is enough for two very large pizzas. I didn’t roll it out nearly thin enough. next time, I’m going to divide it in half and make it much thinner. The dough will keep in the fridge for about a week or you can freeze it and use it another time, if you don’t need to make two pizzas.

Bread Machine Pizza Crust

Author: Crabby Housewife

Ingredients

1 packet of dried yeast or about 2/14 teaspoons
3 cups of all purpose flour you can also use a finer flour, such as bread flour, or whole wheat
1 teaspoon table salt some people say use sea or kosher, but I think plain old Morton's tastes best
2 Tablespoons of sugar the yeast needs this, so no, Splenda doesn't work the same
2 1/4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup of water plus 1 Tablespoon of water the water MUST be warm - not hot, not cold
Sauce toppings, and oil to cut the dough

Instructions

Just throw all the items into the bread machine. No need to mix and I don't really worry about the order, although I did put them in as listed above.
Also, you will want to set your bread machine to "dough".
Note that I did use some really high quality olive oil my parents brought me back from Spain. Oh, is it good. It literally has no discernible taste, which is what you want in a good olive oil.
So, let the dough mix about ten minutes. Then, go take a look at it. It should not be sticking to the sides. You may need to add a little flour or water at this point if it is too sticky or too clumpy. Mine was a little too sticky, so I grabbed a couple pinches of flour and let it mix in, which made it perfect.
Allow the bread machine to complete its full cycle. It should take about an hour and a half. Mine counted down from 1:22.
Once the bread machine beeps, take the dough out and place in in a bowl you've coated with a very light brush of oil. Also put oil on the dough ball and then cover the bowl. Allow to sit for 20 minutes.
Divide in half and roll out dough. The less you can mess with it at this point, the better, but you want to also get the crust thin in the middle and thicker on the edges for that true pizza parlor taste.
Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit without toppings for 8 minutes. Pull out...
Top with what you love and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. When the cheese is bubbly and the crust a golden brown, you are done.

One Crock Pot – Two Meals – Pot Roast and Beef Veggie Soup

March 25, 2016 October 2, 2015 By Crabby Housewife Leave a Comment

Busy working moms, or moms who are just busy, what better way to save time than using your slow cooker? Even better, what if you could turn one meal into two or even three meals?

In addition to saving time, you’ll also save money. These meals will feed a family of 3. If you have more people or hearty eaters, you’ll want to double up. I’ve chosen items that don’t take a lot of prep work, but you can go homemade if you want to control the ingredients and costs.

The image above is my pot roast just after I finished putting all ingredients in the crock pot. Aren’t the colors beautiful? As I type this, the aroma is filling the house and making my mouth water. Here is what you’ll need to make your own:

Shopping List

Largest pot roast you can find (mine was 5 pounds). You can also use two smaller ones.
1 white onion
Bag of baby carrots
4 large russet potatoes
1 bag frozen mixed veggies
1 large can whole tomatoes
Hamburger buns
Favorite barbecue sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Small serving of ready made coleslaw from bakery (or you can make your own)
French bread (you can buy already made in bakery, frozen that you thaw and bake, or refrigerated in the can. You can also make from scratch if you are so inclined.
Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner bags

Meal # 1: Pot Roast, Potatoes, Carrots

Line your slow cooker with a Reynolds slow cooker bag. Place in your pot roast. Sprinkle liberally with Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Add carrots (about half the bag), cut up two potatoes and place in several rings of onion for flavoring. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Sides

Good news! Your sides are built into this dish with the carrots and potatoes you’ll be cooking. You can add bread or a salad if you wish.

Cut the pot roast into thirds at this point. You’re going to eat 1/3 tonight and use the other 2/3rds for the other two meals. Place leftovers into fridge.

Meal # 2: Beef BBQ and Microwave Potato Chips, Cole Slaw

Your pot roast has been in the fridge and should be completely cooled. You want to take ALL of what is remaining and shred it with two forks. Now, this is not fast work. You may want to enlist the help of a family member or do it the night before if you are crunched for time.

Once it is shredded, line the crock pot with another Reynolds liner an place half the shredded beef in there. Put the other half back in the fridge for tomorrow.

Add your favorite BBQ sauce and cook on low for 1 hour. If you are going to be out of the house, you can also mix this up on the stove in about 15-20 minutes and that might be a better solution for you than the crock pot since the beef is already cooked.

While the BBQ is heating, slice the other two potatoes into very thin slices and nuke in the microwave on parchment paper. I like to drizzle on some olive oil, pepper and sea salt and cook a minute at a time until the potato chips are very crispy. Just be careful not to burn them. You don’t want them brown other than in a few spots.

Serve the beef on buns with coleslaw and the chips on the side. Yum!

Meal # 3: Beef Veggie Soup, Crusty Bread

This is one of my favorite meals I get out of a good pot roast. I like this better than eating it that first day actually. Line your crock pot again. Add 2 cups of water and some beef bullion (I like the kind in the jar called Better than Beef, but use what you have on hand). Place shredded beef into the water. Add all your seasonings. I add salt, pepper and a little rosemary, but add what you like best in beef soup.

Now, open up your bag of frozen mixed veggies and add them. Top up the crock pot so the water covers the veggies. I also will throw in any leftover carrots and potatoes from Meal # 1 here. If you don’t have any potatoes left, you can use canned potatoes.

I also like to add a can of whole tomatoes to this recipe. I just think it adds that little extra acidic zing that makes this soup so delicious.

This should cook a minimum of three or four hours on low, but can also cook much longer if you will be out of the house all day.

Bake your crusty bread and dinner is ready.

More than Three Meals?

I truly adore this beefy veggie soup. It is a recipe I’ve adapted over the years from a stew I once had called Hobo Stew. It was 20 years ago when we went to the Grand Canyon in my parents’ RV and got snowed in. The campground made us a stew that was so warm, cozy, thoughtful and filling that I brought the recipe home. I then began to adapt it. The original had hamburger and I use shredded beef (sometimes still make with hamburger, but prefer the beef). I added tomatoes. I added beef flavoring to the water and so on. Over the years, I’ve just adapted it to be my own recipe.

The soup is filling, it is fairly healthy (meat and veggies) and it is so easy to make. As a bonus, we almost always can eat on it at least two days. If you don’t want to serve the same thing two days in a row, throw it in the fridge and cook a different meal between and then serve it again.

It also freezes really well, so sometimes I will just freeze what is left and then thaw it the night before I want to serve it again. When I do that, I reheat on the stove, though.

I hope these three recipes save you time, money and keep your family well fed.

22 Ways to Clean Your Home This Fall

October 20, 2018 October 1, 2015 By Crabby Housewife Leave a Comment

Some people talk about spring cleaning, but if you’re like me, the fall is a time when you suddenly want to work on home improvement and cleaning projects. The weather is mild enough to throw open the windows without the dreary rain of spring. Winter is coming and I want the house a bit fresher and cleaner for those cold winter months when we’ll be stuck inside.

Below are some of our top tips on cleaning and organizing your house this fall.

Cleaning Tips	Additional Tips
FASTEST WAY TO CLEAN YOUR REFRIGERATOR	TIPS FOR DECLUTTERING YOUR HOME
MOM, HOW DO I CLEAN A MOLDY FRIDGE?	20 SONGS TO CLEAN HOUSE TO
CHEAP WAY TO CLEAN YOUR GARBAGE DISPOSAL	ALL NATURAL AND SIMPLE AIR FRESHENER
REVIEW OF THE BOBSWEEP AUTOMATIC VACUUM	HOW TO REVAMP LEATHER FURNITURE, PAINT LEATHER, FRESHEN LEATHER
GEAR UP FOR SPRING CLEANING	GET THE CHORES DONE WITH A GAME OF BINGO
SPRING CLEANING TIPS FOR WINTER	EASY MAKE YOURSELF LAUNDRY SOAP
CLEANING BATHROOM COUNTERS	PRETENDING YOU CLEANED THE HOUSE
CLEANING MY CARPETS	HOUSEKEEPING IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
SOAP SCUM	DUST BUNNIES DON’T BITE
DAY 1: DECLUTTERING DISASTER	I FELL ASLEEP IN THE DISH SUDS
IS A TOOTHBRUSH THE SANITIZER OF YOUR DREAMS?	DASH AND STASH

Review of Vinyl Disorder Wall Products

March 25, 2016 September 30, 2015 By Crabby Housewife Leave a Comment

My daughter recently joined the Sigma Kappas at Indiana University Southeast. She is so excited to be a pledge in this sorority, so I thought I’d surprise her after she got her bid with a wall decal for her bedroom or perhaps to use for your sorority. She loves to decorate her walls with different things and I knew she’d enjoy these whatever she used them for.

After searching around the Internet, I decided to order from Vinyl Disorder. They create car and wall decals. They had a really nice selection of different size and colors and their prices seemed reasonable to me. Plus, I had a coupon and you know how I am with my coupons.

Quality of the Product

I love vinyl lettering and images for walls. They are very easy to remove if you get tired of them or want to redesign things, but they look great and can be displayed with other objects for a unique look. The quality of the vinyl used by Vinyl Disorder was fabulous. These letters will hold up. We didn’t actually place them on the wall yet, though. Hailey is deciding whether to live on/near campus still or stay at home and she wanted to wait before putting them up until she decides. So, I did a careful investigation of them and I have to say that they are nice and thick and would hold up really well for a long time.

Ease of Installation

Like I said, we didn’t actually put them up yet, so I had to do some investigation on this topic. Other users say they are very easy to put up and I also liked that they came with detailed instructions. I don’t have to guess what to do. It is laid out clearly for me.

Customer Service

I was actually waiting before I wrote up this review because I wanted to see how they handled a situation I ran into.

First, I want to note that when you are ordering, pay careful attention to the sizing. I got confused between length and height. The other sites I had visited displayed by height and I just assumed that longest section would be the height. This was not correct in this case because the Greek letters were so fat.

In fact, I would encourage you to phone the company if you aren’t sure of the exact dimensions. While it was my fault for not reading more carefully, I wasn’t very happy when the letters arrived and were 9″ tall instead of 18″ tall. That wasn’t at all what we had wanted.

I wrote them a letter, because at first I thought I’d been sent the wrong thing. We had a few bumps in the road on this one until I had a chance to speak to the manager. The manager was wonderful. He explained the entire process of how they figure sizes and why the sizing was the way it was and that making it 18″ tall would make the letters 40″ wide (too wide for what I wanted), but he offered to scrunch the letters together as long as I understood they’d look a bit different.

The company replaced the initial order for me and although I offered to pay postage, they said they’d cover it. I had the new letters within a week. They are a beautiful gold color, too. As I said, the vinyl is very high quality.

I have to say that even though this was technically my fault for not reading more carefully, at the end of the day the company went out of their way to make me happy and keep me as a customer. I will definitely be ordering from them again as I am in the process of starting redecorating our 11-year-old home.

The bottom line? I highly recommend them and their product. Just keep an eye on the measurements and if you are unsure, go ahead and call them to find out the exact dimensions before you order. I also want to add that I wasn’t paid and am not affiliated with this company. I simply ordered a product from them and had a problem with that initial order which the manager fixed for me.

I don’t get any percentages if you order from them. You can trust that when I say that I genuinely liked the product and the customer service I received from the manager.

As a Mom, I Wish I’d Done More of This

March 25, 2016 September 29, 2015 By Crabby Housewife Leave a Comment

By the way, that is not my picture up there. Just a random woman thinking as she looks out a window. It matched my mood, what can I say? I am not that young or beautiful and I have blue eyes not brown. A lot of you probably remember that my two daughters are basically grown (not really, because they still live at home and still rely on Mom a lot, but essentially they are legal adults at 18 and 22). Looking back on the years I spent raising them, there are some stark things I wish I’d done more.

I wish I’d focused less on creating amazing superstars and more on these things.

I wish I’d taken more time to help others. Yes, we were busy, but that Thanksgiving day at the soup kitchen that I always said we would do each year? We never did it and now they’re grown. How much could they have learned by helping others?
I wish I’d hugged them more. I did hug them, but suddenly they were older and Mom’s hugs weren’t as cool. Now, I get occasional hugs. I can remember my youngest hugging me so tightly it hurt when she was about four. How I miss those bear hugs.
I wish we’d taken more family vacations and experienced more of the world together.
I wish that I’d shown more grace when they made mistakes instead of telling them how disappointed I was. I’m sure they already knew I was disappointed. What they really needed was a hug, a story about a time I made a mistake and some understanding.
I wish I’d had more tea parties with them. So what if it made a mess?
I wish we’d finger painted more.
I wish I’d taken the TV out of our house or really limited the hours we watched it. It is such a time suck for all of us.
I wish I’d focused more on my kids and less on other kids. My husband and I used to teach youth. Yes, we loved those kids. We poured a lot into them. I’m not sure I poured enough into my own, though, because my attention was distracted.
I wish I’d been sillier with them when they were preteens. Yes, it embarrassed them, but I wish I’d done it anyway.
I wish I’d let them have more slumber parties, more friends over, and had more get togethers for their friends. Sometimes I was so tired and it was easy to just say I didn’t want anyone over. Now that time has passed and I miss it.
I wish I’d been more present at games, competitions, cheerleading events instead of off in my own world wondering when the day would end.
I wish we’d read more good books together and discussed them more.
I wish when they were little and had a million questions that I’d answered more of them and encouraged them to be as inquisitive as they wanted instead of changing the subject.
I wish I could take away every hurt anyone ever caused them. That I could have seen what would happen and just avoided those people ever entering their lives.
I wish I would have visited family members who are gone more often. My girls needed to know these wonderful people better and now they won’t get the chance.
I wish I’d spent less time worrying what other people thought of me as a mother because of my childrens’ actions or attitudes. No one else matters as much as my family. No one else’s opinion but theirs and God’s matters a bit.

I love my children. I did the best I knew. I’m not a bad mom. However, looking back on it, I realize how very precious those years were and how fast they passed. I hope that this list touches the heart of a mom just starting the journey and reminds her to take the time for the little things. Children are only children for a heartbeat, and then they are grown.