Archive for October, 2009

Ok, ok so I used a premade crust.  (The kind in the tube).  I was skeptical, but it was really good!

One tube of pizza dough (Pillsbury)
6 oz store brand sliced mozzarella (8 square slices)
3 oz sliced provolone (4 round slices)
A half of a can of pizza sauce (we don’t like it too saucy)
a sprinkle of olive oil,
pepper
Chopped basil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Roll the dough out onto a nonstick cookies sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
2. Put sauce on top.
3. Layer cheese to your liking
4. Sprinkle with olive oil and pepper (oregano if you like).  I put the basil on too early because I get carried away with how much I like the smell.  It turns black when it’s cooked, so try to wait until the pizza comes out and sprinkle the basil on it then.  Or do both, like me.  It still tastes good.
5. Bake at 400 for 13-14 mins.
6. Oooh and ahh.  Slice and enjoy!

End result:
Great, cheap alternative to delivery pizza, super quick when you want to have pizza but don’t have time to make your own dough.  The pizza was cooked in 13 minutes at 400 degrees.  Which means it was 15 minutes from prep to eat.  Not bad.  Cost was about $5 when you factor in the dough, cheese, pizza sauce  and basil.   More than enough for 2…meaning we SHOULD have had leftovers, but didn’t.  Normally, I use homemade pizza sauce too (tomato sauce doctored with oregano, basil, pepper and frozen in 1 cup packages) but bought one tonight.  The pizza was a last minute decision.

Facebook has been getting quite a bit of backlash lately.  I don’ t know why.  For me, it’s been instrumental in reconnecting with people I lost touch with as far back as 19 years ago or as recently as 3.  Yeah, sure, the games are silly and addictive (darn you Bejeweled!!) and the little items you can send your friends are a bit cheesy (holiday gifts and pieces of flair) but as far as the networking part,  I haven’t seen anything else nearly as effective.  Of course, Facebook is my only comparison because I didn’t get into MySpace. Even so, I was a late convert to Facebook when I joined about a year and a half ago, after months of my husband (and coworkers) telling me that I should do it.

Within days I found some school friends and a college friend I had sporadic contact with over the past 10 years or so.  I’m so thankful that I’ve been able to recharge these important friendships.  I just need to find my college roommate (Jennifer, where are you??) and one more childhood friend and I think I’ll have found everyone I truly miss.  Facebook has security features that allow you to group your friends and grant differing levels of access to your personal information.  Check out that link if you don’t know about the privacy setting options.

Last weekend, I had an opportunity to meet up with a friend I haven’t seen (or heard) from since about 1993 when we lost track of each other.  I’ve missed her a lot over the years…we had some really fun times together in high school and at our job at the public library, which incidentally always creates a bond.  Gigi and I have spent 15 years looking for each other just couldn’t find contact info.  Then, one day in the not so recent past, I had a Facebook friend request from her. I was so excited to hear from her that I squealed for about 5 minutes.  Seriously.

When I started feeling sick on the day of our get together, I was very disappointed. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it out and I even tentatively canceled our outing.  Then I took some medicine and napped for 4 hours. I woke up feeling much better.  So there I was, getting ready to go out at 8pm on a Saturday. Yep, the time I am normally getting my pjs and worming into my cocoon on the couch.  I got in my car and drove half an hour away away to Gigi’s sister’s house where there was much hugging and even more squealing.

These aren’t the best photos, but until I can take more this is all I have to show.

Gigi, Melanie and I spent hours just laughing about our youthful escapades and the death machine that Gigi used to call a car.  We walked back to Melanie’s house in the pitch dark, freezing cold and ended up taking a shortcut through someone’s yard. I swear it was like 19 years just slipped away.  Three silly girls just having a grand old time.  It was a great night and I have to say that it would have never happened without the help of Facebook.

So thank you Facebook for immersing me in the swirling sea of nostalgia, but please, please keep your farms, mafia wars and vampires to yourself.