Easy Ham and Cheese Rolls with Mustard Thyme Sauce

Ingredients: 

Dough Recipe:

3 cups flour

1/2 t salt

1 1/4 cups warm water
1 T yeast
1 T olive oil
1 T honey


Mustard Thyme Sauce:
3 T mayonnaise
1 T dijon mustard
1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt


5 slices ham
Chedder cheese
Greased cookie sheet

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. in a small bowl mix together water, yeast, oil, and honey. Combine flour and salt. (I did half whole wheat flour and half white four)  Slowly add in the water mixture until a ball forms. Roll out on to a floured surface. Roll into a pizza shape. With a pizza cutter, cut 16 wedges. 

Cut cheese and ham to desired shape.

 

Mix mustard, mayo, thyme, salt and pepper.  

Brush on dough. (You can make an extra batch for dipping if you like)

 

Add cheese and ham. I only did one small slice of cheese and 3 little pieces of ham, but you can put as much as you like inside. :)

Roll up and put on  cookie sheet. Brush with milk if desired. 

Bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown. 

Easter Ideas

Thanks to all the fun Pinterest ideas, I found these bunnies at the thrift store.  They were painted all cute and real and I spray painted them white. 

Here are a few more pictures.

The picture frames I also got at the thrift store. I found a total of 6 small frames. I spray painted them all white and printed off the free printable pictures on Pinterest. I didn't have a ton of money this year but I wanted to decorate our new house and the kids loved it! 

I also made my own egg tree. I am thinking about spray painting all the branches white too. 

This was the cheapest project. I just cut some branches off a neighboring tree and found the plastic eggs at Walmart, a 12 pack for 2 dollars. They already have holes so I just put some ribbon through and hung them up. 

Need Help with Laundry?

1. Collect laundry everyday  

2. Do at least one or two loads a day and don't stop until you have put the loads away!

Who in this world feels like they spend at least half their time doing laundry? Or maybe you feel like me: that laundry is a monster that needs feeding just as much and as often as one of your children. This post is about my discovery of how to lasso the animal called laundry so it becomes a manageable task.

Before we moved into our new house, I was cleaning laundry the best I knew how. I would throw it all into a spot that was somewhat easy to hide until the pile became so bad that I was forced to start cleaning the clothes or go without a shirt.Sometimes I would plan one day and do it all. Monday was usually the plan and then I was doing laundry once a week, but we all know how that ends up. I would have lots of clean clothes that had not been folded in a giant basket or I spent the entire day doing laundry. Then, I don't even want to see it for another week. Besides me feeling like laundry was a monster hiding in my closet,  there seems to be trouble involved with waiting to do laundry until the pile is huge. I often overstuffed my loads to try and get it done faster. I broke the washer we had before stuffing in the loads. The clothes also don't really get clean when you do that.

Two months ago when we were moving, My mother-in-law came to visit. She is older and wiser and can run circles around me with her productivity. There isn't anything, it seems, she can't do. While she was visiting she had my clothes washed and put away before I had time to discover she even washed them at all. I was so amazed by the ease of how she stayed on top of everything that I began to take notes.

Everyday she would go to each room and collect the dirty clothes. She would take them to the laundry room, sort them into piles and put the largest pile with the most amount of clothes into the wash. Then, as soon as it was finished, she moved it to the dryer. Later, when she had time, she would fold up the load right there by the dryer and walk around the house and put them away. What a concept! Do a load of laundry everyday! Then your clothes don't devour you! Also, I found that I didn't need as many clothes in my closet because I had plenty of clean clothes to wear. She helped me get rid of half of them I never even wore.

Since then I have made a plan and am executing this plan:

1. Collect laundry everyday

2. Do at least one or two loads a day and don't stop until you have put the loads away!

It is incredible how different my life is now. I don't plan as many activities outside the home as I used to because I don't want to get behind on laundry, but I love knowing that if my children need a pair of underwear or a clean towel, it is there for the using.

Parsley Pesto Fish with Roasted Vegetables and Parmesan Couscous

Pesto Fish

Fish:

4 to 6 fish fillets of your choice (I used tilapia).

Pesto:

1 bunch flat leaf parsley

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2 T Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

course salt and pepper to taste. 

Put all of this ingredients into a small food processor or blender and mix until a pesto is formed.

Place thawed fish fillets in a casserole dish. Mine overlap here and that is fine. If you want the fish to be separate  use a larger pan. Pour the pesto on top. 

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until the fish is firm when pressed. 

Usually, if I am making this side dish to go with my fish, I begin thawing my fish in some water and start on this recipe first.  I adapted this recipe from a Greek cookbook. I really love it because I can use whatever vegetables and herbs I have on hand. This would be excellent with eggplant, leeks, onion, yams, rosemary, and  marjoram. 

Roasted Vegetables

1 red potato, scrubbed and sliced thin 

1 large carrot, julienned

1/2 a red pepper, sliced

1/2 a zucchini, julienned

3 to 4 garlic cloves peeled and sliced thin

10 grape tomatoes, halved

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon dried oregano 

1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried

1-2 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley

course salt and pepper to taste

Aluminum foil or a casserole dish with a lid.  

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Put in your pan. I used a pie pan here but any casserole dish will work. cover the pan with foil or lid and cook in oven for 30 minutes. then, remove lid or foil and roast for ten more minutes. After 25 minutes of cooking, I add the fish to the oven. 

While the vegetables and fish are cooking, I make the couscous. Sorry to admit it here but I use a box. It takes less time to prepare. If you prefer making it yourself, I would saute a little garlic in some olive oil, then add about 1 1/4 cups water, some salt and pepper. once the water is boiling, take the pan off the stove then add 1 cup of couscous. let stand with lid on for five minutes and fluff with fork. Mix in your Parmesan cheese. 

Here is the finished product! I always add a salad but you definitely don't need one. I have a 6, 4 and 1 year old and they all eat this. It is amazing! Good luck and let me know how it turns out! 

It's About Time!!!!

For years, I have been working hard parenting, teaching, and cleaning,while gleaning off of thousands of blogs and other incredible websites. Now Pinterest has become one of my popular favorites as I spend at least an hour a day planning my copycat routine of crafts, recipes and home decor. I have been so grateful for those who have shared their fantastic ideas! Now here I am pregnant with my fourth child feeling that if I don't do something soon, I will miss out sharing my learning experiences and I will probably forget all I discover as a a stay-at-home, busy, busy mom. Therefore, I have decided it is about time I give back to those who have benefited me in so many ways. I need to be contributing to the world of cooking/ family learning. So, this blog is my first attempt. It will be slow at first since I have no idea what I am doing but I have high hopes for a well of knowledge to be placed here and enjoyed by others. I am so excited to get started and can't wait to see if anyone else is benefited by what I share.