Always up for learning and trying new things!

Doesn't everyone take pictures of the available spices at Winco?

The above pictures are from my hunt for Anise Seed. And of course Winco came through for me. I took pictures to remind me of what they have in the store. This is not a commonly used spice so I was excited to see it on the shelves. And why did I need the Anise Seed? 

As the title suggests I am always on the look out for a better recipe, a better way to make something that we eat a lot of and pizza happens to be something that we eat weekly, like every Friday night. And of course it's homemade. 

So while watching one of my favorite YouTubers, She's In Her Apron, she shared these amazing recipes for pizza sauce and the pizza crust. Dad and I have used the Tightwad Gazette pizza crust for decades and I have made pizza sauce from our garden but these recipes are over the top good! I had the sauce simmering for a couple of hours and kept taste testing it, couldn't help myself. And the crust was incredible! I loved it when your dad said, 'this is the best pizza I've ever eaten', and it is!

Pizza Sauce

28 ounces crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup finely chopped onions

1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbls brown sugar

1 tsp basil, parsley, Italian seasoning, anise seed, salt and paprika (the anise seed makes this sauce)

a dash of crushed chili pepper

1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

5 cloves minced garlic (I used garlic salt)

Mix all the ingredients and simmer for 1-2 hours (Don't be like me and taste test every 20 minutes)

Pizza Crust

Mix and stir for 30 seconds 2 cups warm water, 1/4 cup honey and 1 Tbls yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

Add 5 cups flour (one cup at a time), 1 Tbls salt, 1/4 tsp onion powder, garlic powder (what a great idea to have these 2 spices in the crust!)

Mix on low until combined. Knead by hand or Kitchen Aid for 7 minutes. Add a little more flour if needed to make it come away from bowl. 

I let it rise for about 20 minutes. It makes 2 crusts and I put the other one in the freezer. When I'm ready to use it I will pull it out, let it thaw and rise. 

After making the pizza I let it cook for 10-12 minutes at 500 degrees. 

Can't begin to tell you how awesome these recipes are. I hope you try them!

WE CAN GET THROUGH WINTER, HONEST!

I am thankful for grandbaby pictures that help me through the winter blahs!

So let me ask you. What do you get your Valentine after almost 40 years? Well let me tell you! You get them a shoplight to use as a grow light for seedlings! I saw on my favorite vlog Living Traditions Homestead how they use a regular shoplight with non fluorescent bulbs and hang them from a shelf over your seedlings. I bought a shelf from Walmart and dad hung up the lamp. It's actually very economical when compared to a 60 to 70 dollar grow light! I'll have a photo for you later. I have already started some herbs and spinach to grow indoors and am excited to see how it works. Anybody else getting  Spring Fever and a yearning to plant and grow?