Who knew this grilled phenomena would be SO good!!

Grilled Pizza

I made this and took this picture seconds before I scarfed it down! If you've ever wanted to try this because 1. You've heard your friends did it or 2. Because it looks amazingly delicious....then do it!! It was super easy thanks to Miss Lara Tampas' amazing pizza dough and left over veggies from my Thai experience earlier this week.

Recipe?? Anyone?

"Awesome Pizza dough" compliments of South Annex cookbook

1 package of fast rising yeast

1 T sugar

1 T salt

3 1/2 C flour

2 T olive oil

1 C water

Heat oil and water together for two minutes in microwave.

Place TWO cups of flour, yeast, sugar, and salt into large bowl. When water is ready gradually mix it into flour mixture. Then gradually knead the remaining flour into dough until you have a smooth firm dough ball. Spray bowl and dough with cooking spray. Cover bowl with towel and let rise for at least ten minutes.

To grill. Use rolling pin to make 8-10 inch oval or round pizzas. It needs to be uniformly flat to grill evenly. Brush with olive oil on both sides.

Have grill heated. One side on high, the other side on low/medium. Place dough on the High heat side. Cook 3-4 mins. Until bubbly. Flip over onto Medium heat side, brush with olive oil (I mixed garlic and oregano in the oil) put shredded mozzarella cheese and toppings on then cover and let cook til cheese melts! Keep an eye on the bottom so it doesn't burn before the cheese is melted. My cheese didn't melt (because I put lots of toppings on) so I transferred it to an oiled cookie sheet and broiled it just until the cheese melted.

That's it!! Super quick really.

FYI my toppings were olive oil ( no tomato sauce, they say sauces can make grilled pizzas soggy), tomatoes, yellow and red peppers, red onion, spinach, chicken, mozzarella cheese.

Autumn and Pinky's glory

This is Autumn showing Pinky at the fair! She did so good!

Yes that there is a big pig.  Weighin in at 268.  A Yorkshire Cross!

This is Pinky's 3rd place ribbon for the market showing in her class.  Meaning Pinky's a well bred, well fed, good looking market pig. 

This is nap time. For those of you who don't know, pigs can't sweat. So this is often why they sleep and roll around in the mud...to keep cool. At the fair they keep fans on them to cool them down. 

Autumn got 1st place in her class for showmanship and 3rd overall for showmanship. Meaning...her pig was tame, followed her promptings when she walked it around and she got the answers right that the Judge asked her. Do YOU know where the Loin and the ham are on a live pig? Autumn does!

 Good job Autumn!! Love you!!

Fair time in Idaho

Autumn has been in Idaho preparing for the fair.  She does 4-H and is showing her pigs this week.  This is her first year with pigs, hopefully not her last, but we don't exactly live on a farm here in ND. 

This is Autumn and Pinky

This is Autumn out working and walking Peppers

Stanly has been a big help with Autumn and helping her with her Pigs.  Thanks Stan!

 This pic makes me laugh, I think they should be holding a pitch fork  like these other folks. :)  I am not sure what this pic of them is, I think Autumn and Stanly are standing in front of the road to Tyler's (my brother in law) property.

 Now instead, for 4-H, we'll have to learn something else....perhaps sewing, crocheting or cake making (I'm looking forward to all of the above).  If we for some reason end up somewhere where we can raise a pig here, we'll do it, because we went to the fair here and she'd totally beat all of them with her Hanson bred Pig!  :)

AND we have a new cousin in the family.  Shelley and Spencer Fowler had a baby girl in June.  Her name is Kallie Rae Fowler.  Rae is Wade's mom's middle name and it's actually my grandma's middle name.  Love the family names.

Here is my super handsome hubby with Kallie when she was only a few days old:

And my super cute daughter holding Kallie at a month old:

Life is good.  I have an amazing family.  I miss my Idaho family bad, but I know we're supposed to be in North Dakota.

Have a Happy Week!

I did it, I can't believe it...

I duplicated Cafe Rio's pork SUCCESSFULLY!!!  In my opinion and according to my taste buds, which are keenly aware of the exact delicious flavors in cafe rio's pork, it was a match!  Oh my goodness, it was so good.  I made it for the missionaries, who, of course, have had Cafe Rio before.  They were thrilled.  One's from Vegas and another is from Wyoming, but both know of the famous Cafe Rio!  Anyways.  I kinda wanted to do the whole shibang....so I made the cilantro lime rice, the black beans, the tortilla strips and of course the cilantro ranch dressing and fresh cilantro on top (I even sprinkled some parmasan cheese on, even though I know it's some other cheese, but I tried)!  Next time, I want to make the tortilla's too.  But I bought the biggest ones I could find and they worked out alright...with a little heating up in the special tins I bought.  Had to go all out!! It was to die for and we had enough to make burritos for the next two days.  Which I was OKAY with!!! :) 

Here's my lovely presentation:  (No, I'm not on the Iron Chef, but presentation is everything!)

If you want the recipes, just give me your email and I'll gladly send them your way!

Bon Appetite!

Demolition Derby & Demolition Minot

My fun filled weekend began with a good ol country show down.  A Demolition Derby!  Oh yeah baby, apparently, according to Wade, it is no Homedale, ID derby, but it's my first and it was definitely entertaining to say the least!  Made me want to enter a car next year at the derby.  Sounds fun, eh?

It really was hilarious.  Good ol' hilbilly action.  I enjoyed it.  Wade's seen better.

 

Then we went to Minot on Saturday.  You know, the place that was up to rooftops flooded?  This is what it looked like:

Demolition MINOT homes

Well the water has gone down and the Mormon Helping Hands crew is hard at work.  Wade and I showed up at noon to the church, they gave us a Yellow Helping hands T-shirt, gloves, masks, goggles and put us on a crew. 

(I always get so much more dirty.  I think its because I don't want to look like a sissy girl, I like workin and showin up the boys!  :)  thanks Idaho for teaching me that. I'm not gonna lie though, I was nasty dirty. It was gross. The senior missionary couple heard we were from Idaho and he said "Oh, IDAHO?? We need 200 more of you, seriously, from Idaho!"  We get that alot, something about hard workin Idahoans!)

We showed up at this lady's house, and the upstairs had basically been gutted, minus some sheet rock and junk on the ground.  BUT the basement hadn't been touched...it had been pumped, so most of the water was gone, but wow, this was a task.  My husband likes to say if you can flush it, it is probably down there.  Well, I would say, this house was a combo of mold, stagnant water and sewage SMELL.  No visually disturbing things, but black sludge like water.  Sound appealing?  Maybe more apalling.  :) 

 BUT, we got in there, got our boots dirty, and our shirts and jeans, etc etc.  It took TWO crews about 4 hours to clean her basement out.  16 people forming an assembly line taking buckets of who knows what up and out, then dumping it in the front yard with all the other "stuff".  We took tables out of the basement, dressers, Washer, dryer, fridges, chairs, a toilet, EVERYTHING GOES.  No salvaging anything for this lady except a few chairs from her garage.  She had lived there 40 years and was a hoarder.  :(  So lots and lots of boxes of Stuff...just ruined. But that was the basement.  She evacuated her upstairs safely, but left the basement to ruins.  Sad stuff.  She was sure grateful for the help. I'm pretty sure she wasn't Mormon, but she knows who we are now! 

Businesses below and people's porches were anywhere the water's current took them.

I filmed this as we drove around. Notice the bushes in front of the houses...they are brown on the bottom because the water covered them and killed them.  It felt like a ghost town, it was strange.

Funny thing, we ended up on a crew with guys from Kuna and Meridian.  Go figure, we're a 1000+ miles from home and we are side by side with someone who was in Wade's ward growing up.  Love being Mormon.  My boss at worked thanked me many times for the work our church is doing in Minot, we have helped so many people clean out their houses so they can begin the next step in getting their homes back.  There's nothing better than service, even if you are covered in who knows what at the end of the day. :)

Lex's Luscious Kitchen

So I try to make healthy meals especially after birthdays where just the two of us have devoured the birthday cake. It's kinda like a diet but not really. It's just getting back to the basics. Our staple dinner of chicken and vegetables. It did help us lose significant poundage in the past but that's beside the point. My point is that I have to try different ways to make chicken and vegetables exciting. Just ask my daughter about these dinners. She'll tell you which ones are exciting. :)

So tonight I made a new favorite for me and Wade. See for yourself here: Chicken Encilantrada. 

 Better is to test it yourself.  The only modification I made was I had about 1/4 cup of instant rice at the end and let it boil in so that it wasn't so runny.  I ate it plain and Wade wrapped it in a tortilla with some salsa.  DELISH!

Hope you try it, it sure tasted better than any of the Mexican restaurants here....this just isn't Idaho, no good Mexican restaurants.  In fact it is a bit of a culture shock, not having any Mexicans around here. I do miss that food, but I'm learning how to make that...and Chinese food. 

I made Mandarin Orange Chicken the other day.  That was also DELISH.  With a side of fried rice that I wasn't impressed with...I want to try that one again.  I guess when you are stuck in a town where the best restaurant (Applebee's) is the one you are told to avoid because it is crowded and there's terrible service, you just have to become your own gourmet restaurant!  So Welcome one, welcome all to Lex's Luscious Kitchen!  Sounds gourmet right?  Well we'll see. 

Bon Apetite!

A few reasons why 28 is GREAT!

Yes, that's right, yesterday I turned 28 and let me tell you, it was a great date!  (okay, I won't rhyme the rest of this post)

1. My husband made me Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and got me an oreo ice cream cake Dessert!  What a man! This is what's left of that delicious Oreo Cake!  Yikes, the two of us ate that much???!!! Totally worth it!

2. I got this dress as a present from my hubby...and yes folks, he picked this beauty out!  I was so impressed, I had to wear it to work today....and the ladies were oooing and aaahhhing at work when I got there.  Where did this guy come from? Oh that's right, Kuna, ID. Thanks to him and Autumn for choosing it!

  

3. I got new high heels from my mom in the mail with lovely jewelry, all part of my get up today.  Thanks mom...and the heels were another reason people were ooooing and ahhhing....mostly thinking "oooohhh, how do you walk in those?" and I say, "It's not that bad, for short periods of time" and they say "aaaahhhh, wow!  Those are so cute!  I wish I could wear heels like that and not fall over!"  So thanks mom for helping ooh and aahh the crowds.

4. I got a frying pan, a case for my iphone AND personalized Nikes! My sweet hubby designed them all by himself!  They came in the mail today and he sent me this pic at work!  Can't wait to wear them running tonight!

4. I got told I should run for Mrs. North Dakota! and that was followed with "work it girl" as I walked out the building in my office. Maybe this picture would win me the Mrs. Title! (love this apron, my Best Friend Kasey had one of her kindy's parents make it for me!) and yes, I'm wearing heels.  Totally Mrs. ND worthy!

5. I have a kitchen!!! Completed! (that doesn't so much have to do with being 28, but it was part of the on going birthday gift giving).  Thanks to my hubby again for his handy work and finishing it so I could somewhat have a clean house!  I love the counters!  So nice and updated!

 

6. Lastly, I so much appreciate all the well wishes from friends and family!  Golly, what would I have done without facebook birthday wishes!!  Thanks again and it was a fabulous day!

Speaking of fabulous days....we also got to see some fireworks for the 4th of July weekend in Williston here at the speedway.  But the coolest part wasn't necessarily the fireworks (don't get me wrong, they were pretty cool...definitely no Melba, ID firework show though), but it was the Sky!  What a show.  This photo doesn't do it much justice but wow, it was cool.
 

Time to Remodel

Kitchen part 3:

(Refer to my earlier "Homeowners" post for part 1 and part 2)

Minor set back:

So when wade went down into the crawlspace/cellar to turn the water off, initially to do the plumbing in the bathroom, he asked me to turn the kitchen sink on so we could see if the water was in fact off. What we discovered at that point was that water was leaking from the kitchen sink into the crawlspace. Great. And indeed it was, under the sink, the METAL cabinet had completely been eatin away from years of leaks....whoopsy.

THEN Wade pulled out the dishwasher.....

And the pipes behind the dishwaswer seen above and closer up below were NOT EVEN CONNECTED!!! And for who knows how long! Classy plumber from long ago. Where the red arrows are the pipes probably are about an inch apart. Nice.

Soooo....Wade fixed that right up. And lets just say, we miss Home Depot.

Ace True Value has to work for us, but it's like shopping at Albertson's instead of Walmart..pricey.

NOW on to the good stuff in the kitchen: GRANITE counters! Yay!!!

We have painted the cabinets brown as you can see, the backsplash area is painted too (tile not up yet in this pic), now my hubby is putting the granite tiles on.....lookin good? (yes, he is, but I was talking about the tile) He's so handy!

Here we have a partial kitchen completion, waiting to grout, tiles are a little wet/dirty. Need to paint the trim, but the tile backsplash is up (compliments of my parents left overs from their house, thanks Mom and Dad).

Bathroom Remodel

This is what it looked like when we first moved here. A little Blah...and a little cramped. The walls are actually more purple and the tiles are plastic, the door leaked and the white thing inside the tub is a giant plastic square covering the window (yeah yeah, a window in a shower, doesn't work well at all....so we did a naughty thing and just covered it with sheetrock because it would cost too much to change anything about it...you'll see).

The walls of the shower are like formica yellow yuck.

The demolition!!

Behind the walls was a lot of moldy sheetrock and leaking, so being so handy, Wade turned into a plumber overnight and FIXED it! New pipes, new plumbing basically. Not too shabby.

Here is the new stuff/partially, he still had to move the sink plumbing which he did, but i don't have pictures of it. And it's not painted red, it's called Redguard, it's a waterproof protectant seal to go behind the tiles.

The plan: Move the toilet to be right next to the tub, put a vanity in next to that where the old closet used to be (but Wade has knocked it out, it was also partially a hallway closet, which is where I'm photographing it from, the Hall) and now it's just open and much much bigger.

Wade has sheetrocked, tiled and textured and now we are picking up the paint today. He's suprising me with paint colors...not really.

And the vanity we can't get until Wade goes back to Idaho the end of July...vanities here are outrageously priced. Not to mention trying to get anything mailed to you from Home Depot is a joke. We basically had to track down the delivery guy in Williston for the Granite on some big commercial semi truck, he said he was "out of hours for the day and couldn't bring it to us". This was like 5 days AFTER it was supposed to be here. Who knows how many times our tile has been in town and he just didn't have enough time to bring it to us. AND the tiles that came UPS were all broken, hence we used my mom's old tiles thank goodness. Lame!

I guess that's what we get for living in the MIDDLE of Nowhere!!

But....I kinda like it here. The town is cute and people are nice despite the mass amounts of trucks. I'm over it. Now on to 4th and 5th of July festivities in North dakota. I'm excited to see what it's all about. And to see what my hubby picked out for me...if the outfit matches the shoes my mom got me, then I'm in for a nice birthday treat! I love suprises, but he's tried about 3 times to give me my presents before my birthday...one he already spoiled, new custom nike's designed by my one and only! They won't be here for a few more weeks. I'll take pics then.

And the weather here is fantastic (wait about 5 months and my mindset on the weather might be changing). Happy 4th everyone!