Christopher and Jack

I can’t take these babies to Blissdom.

David and Jill

That white blur is Frosty one of our Schichon dogs.

I wish you could see how tiny they are. They are the same size as our cat (which is not very big) They are so adorable bouncing around.

This is Jack and Jill’s daddy, Cocoa.

This is Jack and Jill’s Mom and Aunty Cameo and Sweetie.

Notice the snow? Whats the weather like in your area?

This is a family favorite and so easy I make it at lease once a week.  I have alos made it with Pillsbury® refrigerated French Bread. I love it too but the dough is harder to work with.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 (13.8-oz.) can Pillsbury® refrigerated classic pizza crust
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce
• 4 oz. (1 cup) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 oz. (1/4 cup) shredded Parmesan  cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. I use Pam Olive Olil.
2. Brown ground beef in medium skillet over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain. Set aside.
3. Unroll dough; place on sprayed cookie sheet. Starting at center, press out dough with hands to form 12×8-inch rectangle.
4. Spread sauce over dough to within 2 inches of long sides and 1/2 inch of short sides. Place cooked ground beef lengthwise down center, forming 3-inch-wide strip and to within 1/2 inch of short sides. Top with cheese  and Italian seasoning. Fold long sides of dough over filling; press edges to seal.
5. Bake at 400°F. for 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

This is a WINNER! Just so you know I’m not the only one who loves this recipe check out just a few of the reviews from Pillsbury:

DATE POSTED: 1/8/2010
SUBMITTED BY: bearsfan544
This is awesome, I took the advice and put the dough in the freezer a few minutes and it unrolled perfect, I’ve always had trouble with the dough too soft. I’ve always made my stroboli by rolling it and just using salami and pepperoni and always to greasy, I followed the recipe and just added a few slices pepperoni and I watced the video by folding it and it was perfect and so easy! I’m actually about to make another just to have for snacks it was so good

DATE POSTED: 1/6/2010
SUBMITTED BY: msturgis
Really good and super easy. I used Colby jack cheese instead. I also put green peppers and white onion in with the meat, instead of the red pepper and Italian seasoning. It was so good! I thought 1/2 lb of meat wasn’t enough but any more and the dough wouldn’t have closed! I’ll be adding this to my monthly dinner menu for sure!

DATE POSTED: 1/5/2010
SUBMITTED BY: cynthiawdnr
i just wanted to say i tried this before i even seen the reciepe and it was extremley easy and very good too.

DATE POSTED: 12/23/2009
SUBMITTED BY: rhoshe
LOVE THIS!!! My whole family loved this recipe! It is SO EASY and fun for the kids to prepare – even the smaller children enjoyed assebling it! Put out a side of sauce and some salad and you’re ready to go!!!!

DATE POSTED: 12/3/2009
SUBMITTED BY: PMK
I’ve made this for several parties and it was a big hit!

DATE POSTED: 10/26/2009
SUBMITTED BY: klange82
Super easy and very good. I used 1/2 cup of pizza sauce instead of the 1/4 cup suggested. There are so many different variations that you can try with this recipe.

DATE POSTED: 10/25/2009
SUBMITTED BY: krystalsmom
I added a layer of pepperoni slices at my husband’s request and it was soooo good. I loved how easy it was to prepare – I’ll definitely be making this again.

DATE POSTED: 7/25/2009
SUBMITTED BY: smudge71
I made this last night with a few changes……I added hot sausage with the hamburger meat and chopped onions. I also substituted cheddar cheese……..The crust is yummy….would make good bread sticks……

DATE POSTED: 6/3/2009
SUBMITTED BY: Sandy J
This really is easy and tasty. I used italian sausage instead of ground beef, and my husband loved it.

DATE POSTED: 5/29/2009
SUBMITTED BY: sylversun
My guys simply loved this! All things made for under $15 dollars! Helps the buck go a long way!

DATE POSTED: 5/22/2009
SUBMITTED BY: Mrs. Clark
Easy to make. I added onions and upped the ground beef resulting in a thinner crust. Next time I’ll follow the 1/2 lb recommendation. My husband loved it though.

DATE POSTED: 5/20/2009
SUBMITTED BY: MommyDance
This stromboli was wonderful! I just finished making this dish for my daughter and me, and we devoured it…not even any crumbs left for the dog! It was very simple to make, and you can easily add ingredients of your choice to make variable flavorings. Thanks to whomever shared this first!

DATE POSTED: 4/29/2009
SUBMITTED BY: Mrs-Roldan
Oh my gosh! Out of this world! I thought this dish was going to be bland and not as good as it looks. Well, let me tell you its fabulous! So easy and really good. I added a few ingredients. My family likes flavor and a little spice. So I added some onions and sautéed my veggies: onions, orange and green bell peppers first. Than added the ground beef. I also put a little extra sauce on top of the meat mixture. I have made this twice for during the week meals. You have to try it.

DATE POSTED: 4/16/2009
SUBMITTED BY: C548
I have made this recipe more than once, but I do add some sugar to the Pizza sauce. I recently made it while my brother-in-law was down over Easter and he loved it. I added chopped up Pepperoni to this and added more cheese than the recipe calls for – this is also good warmed up on the second day. This is so easy to make, I am going to share this recipe with my family members and friends.

Directions

1. Melt  butter over low heat.
2. Blend  flour into the melted butter.
3. Add salt.
4. Cook over low heat, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes.
5. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly.
6. Continue cooking slowly until smooth and thickened.
7. It will thicken as it cools.
8. Thin if desired by adding more milk.
9. Adding 1 small onion studded with a bay leaf, and a grating of nutmeg for more flavor

Recipes using White Sauce

Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast

Veterans know this meal as SOS. I won’t explain why. I have always used peas in this recipe. I can’t imagine it without them.

• 5 (2 ounce) packages thinly sliced dried beef
• 16 oz frozen peas (cooked according to directions)
• Loaf of bread – homemade is best

1. Make white sauce above doubled.
2. Add  chipped beef cut into strips.
3. Add peas.
4. Serve over lightly buttered  toast.

It was a big hit (creating it and eating it). No photos as I misplaced my camera.

I used make something similar and lost the recipe. This works great and is a keeper.

I love All Recipes becasue they have a rating reviews. See original recipe here.  There you can use options to save in a recipe box, print different sizes, and more.

My modifications: I used Turkey ham, regular onion and no parsley or mozzarella because I didn’t have any of them on hand.

Come to think of it most my family’s favorites are from modified recipes made because I didn’t have all the  ingredients on hand.

Ingredients

• 1 onion chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 12 peeled potatoes diced
• 2 1/2 cups chopped broccoli, steamed until crisp tender
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 cups  milk
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Saute onion and celery in butter over medium heat until tender. add flour, pepper, salt,  and stir until smooth. Add broth, milk, and potatoes, stirring constantly until it boils and thickens. Reduce heat; cover and simmer  until potatoes are tender. Stir in cheese and cooked broccoli and cook over low until cheese is melted and soup is heated through.

Homemade Croutons

My boys love to make croutons.

Ingredients

• 1 loaf day old bread
• Olive oil
• Garlic salt
• Parmesan cheese

Directions

What ever bread you have will work but pumpernickel or Rye make great croutons.

Slice bread. Take each slice and cut into several medium sized squares. Saute in olive oil until lightly browned. Season with garlic salt and Parmesan cheese as desired. Needs to stay uncovered after cooking to harden.

I ran across DigiCrea French blog that offers regular stunning freebies. As far as I can tell the freebies are offered for a limited time so you must go back to visit to get new freebies (the freebies offered a few weeks ago are no longer free).

The freebies link to a great little scrapbook store in French but you can change the language to English from the store front. Click on the Brittish flag.

Visit Digital Crea Store and click on Freebies

More Free Scrapbook Kits

Subscribe to this blog to get updates. Click on the Free Scrapbook Kits category to find what you missed.

Top 10 Post on Robin’s Blog

1. Sweet Fruit of Intimacy with God
2. Jesus Our Jewish Savior Video
3. The Most Powerful Promise in the Bible
4. Homeschool Organization: Daily Routine
5. The Kindle and Places to Download Free Books Online
6. Biblorexic: Refusing Sufficient Spiritual Nutrition
7. Living Loved and Dancing with the Trinity: Super audios!
8. Death is Not Dying
9. Be Picky About Who You Follow On Twitter
10. Are You Prepared for Self Control?

Top Post at Heart of Wisdom Homeschool Helps

1. My Second Favorite Book of All Time
2. Worksheets, Checklist, Instructions
3. Lapbooks & Scrapbooks Make Learning Fun!
4. Free Printable 15 Minute Chore Checklists
5. Reading Aloud &  Classics
6. What is Classical Education?
7. Homeschooling Outside the Books
8. Greek vs Hebrew Education
9. Balancing the 3Rs and the Bible
10. What Makes Christian Education Christian?
11. Concern Over Hebrew Ways?
12. Books of the Bible Lapbook & Activities
13. What do I Need to Get Started with Heart of Wisdom
14. Spelling Curriculum for Under $1
15. Free Bible Story Lapbook
16. Free Hebrew Roots Book Excerpts
17. Hundreds of Free Lapbooks & Unit Studies

Here are just a few of the Freebies:

Layout Help: My Secret

My secret to quick and easy pages: scrap lifting!

Let someone else  plan for your page and you just plug in the papers and pictures. Why re-invent the wheel for every page? Someone else may have already come up with the perfect design .

Layout from BasicGrey

It is so fun to see how individually unique they can turn out. Usually my finish product looks nothing like what I started with but it got me started and those creative juices flowing.

Scraplifting (skrap-lift-ing) – The act of copying ideas and designs from another person’s scrapbook page to use in your own pages. Designs or ideas can be copied in whole or in part and is largely subjective. Scraplifting is legal just give credit to the person when publishing.

• Page Maps
• Scrapbook Sketches
• Scrap Maps
• Becky Higgins
• Simple Schemes
• Pages of the Heart
• Memory Creators

Do you scraplift?

Organizing means you won’t waste valuable time digging through stacks (or computer files)  of photos and boxes of letter stickers, searching for the perfect pieces for your next layout.

I love how this article addresses  we all think differently and need to organize based on how we “view” our supplies. ie. one persona will see a paper as blue, another as polka dot, another as a winter theme inspiration.

We need to recognize we  all have different needs  (like  homeschool approaches). Understanding your storage needs may be different from your friends.

The article spans 6 beautifully laid out pages in my favorite colors.

5 Simple Steps to Becoming an…Organized & Inspired Scrapbooker! (PDF)

The article ask a question I would like to know about you: Why do you scrapbook?

• to organize photos
• to preserve family history
• to share stories and thoughts
• for a creative outlet
• for social interaction
• to releave stress
• to connect with family
• to create gifts and express love

Share your reasons in the comments.