Praying for Friends {aka} Ordering Friends How You Order a Pizza

Growing up, my parents always had lots of friends.  We lived in a small community that was miles away from the nearest town but there were always plenty of other parents around that my parents could relate to, even if their kids weren't the same age.  The dad's hunted together, the mom's sat together at ball games or watched their kids play together, the families attended the same church, some of them sang together in a music group at church, and one of my favorite memories is of the "coffee club."  My parents and their friends would all take turns hosting coffee & snacks at their homes after Sunday night worship services.  They all laughed and shared stories...they could lean on each other, talk to each other, and laugh together.

Now, my husband and I are living in the house I grew up and attending the church I where I was raised.  Except we don't have the same type of group as my parents did.  There is no "coffee club" for newlywed couples because there's only two couples and we don't have all that much in common.  In a small church, our options are being involved with my parent's friends or being involved with the high school kids.  We picked the adult classes, of course, and we do enjoy and love them.  Their ages range from 10 to 30 years old than us but since most people at our church are married, we have enough in common.

But sometimes...it'd be nice to have friends who we have more in common with.  It's hard to find people who meet all of the "requirements" we'd have for our best-friend-couple.  Requirements such as...

• They'd have to be Christians.  I'd like for them to have similar beliefs to us so that there wouldn't be a whole lot of conflict.  My husband likes to argue...and different beliefs would surely mean the end of the friendship over time.  I'd also like it if they could come to our church.  =)  
• It'd be pretty great if they were our age...or close.  
• Coming to our church means they'd have to be local.  Which is preferred, since we'd be hanging out several times a week.  We don't have a whole lot of extra time, so it'd be best if they lived less than 15 minutes away.  
• This is huge!  They would have to be married without children.  Also, can they not have any immediate plans to make children?  Hanging out would be much easier without having to find a baby-sitter every time something cool is going on.  And if they have kids and we don't, we'd have lots of differences.  However...if we decide we want kids..they have to be ready to have kids, too.  So that we can continue being friends, of course. ;)
• They would have to be a little weird.  We love quirky, strange, interesting people.  Hopefully they have tattoos because while weird is good, they've still gotta be cool to chill with.  Haha 
• They'd have to like Zombie.  Period.
• They'd have their own sweet little doggy - NOT ANY CATS.  Mr. Robinson is allergic.  And their sweet little doggy would love Zombie & Zombie would love him/her.    
• It'd be nice if we had similar interests because then we'd have more to talk about and more to do together!  In a perfect world, the husband would love sports and music.  In the same perfect world, the wife would love blogging and would make an excellent work out partner.  :)  But she wouldn't be too skinny yet...we'd have to get in shape together.  
• They'd have to love food but not so much that they pick on my husband for being a picky eater.  He doesn't like that.  
• At this point, asking them to be hilarious and have great senses of humor wouldn't be asking too much.  I've already ordered them how most people order a pizza.
• It's necessary that they have good style.  Good style being defined as the wife shops at Express or at any sales rack, and the husband wears only Polo Ralph Lauren or nice suits & ties.  Also, Mr. Robinson needs for the husband to have at least one pair of Chucks.  Also again, it's be fun if the wives could get their nails done together.      
• Also, and this is most important, they've gotta be swingers.  Kidding.  Ha! =)  You should have seen your face!!  Seriously, it'd be really important all of us are devoted to our spouses & not tempted at all by the friend-couple.
• The husband has to be an intellectual.  The wife...not so much.  But she doesn't need to be ditz either.  
• The couple would enjoy a nice social adult beverage from time to time.
• Mr. Robinson would really enjoy a man friend who has excellent taste in movies & great actors.  Apparently this means really long action movies. 

The title of this post is "Praying for Friends."  Obviously, this is not my prayer.  This list is extensive, shallow, and impossible.  I know that you can't order friends like pizza's, but if we could...this is the couple we'd order.  Right now, there is one other married couple at our church.  The wive is my bridesmaid Brittany.  We love them, but our schedules never match up and we don't have very much in common.  We'd really love for God to send us a couple we have more in common with...and I know that He can.  We had friends before we got married, and we still stay in touch with them.  But we've moved.  Our friends are over an hour away OR more.  And we have less in common with them now...we're not asking for much!  Well, okay.  We are asking for a whole lot.  But we're only asking for one of these couples...not a whole group of them!  

Anyway, I just wanted to share this humorous list with y'all...but on a serious note, I wanted to document that lately I've really been praying for us to find some friends.  And I hope that God will send us some.  :)  

Coo Coo Kachoo, 

Mrs. Robinson

Texas Toast Pizza

Do you love Texas Toast?
Do you love Pizza?

Then you'll love Texas Toast Pizza!
Sorry...that's a little cheesy.  :)  {hee hee} Get it?  Cheesy!

Anyway...moving on.

My husband and I have a new favorite meal.  It's so fast, easy, inexpensive, delicious, and fabulous that I just had to share!  I'm calling it Texas Toast Pizza.

Homemade Pizza

It's very important for you to learn how to make homemade pizza.  Thank goodness you found your way here.  Let's get started.  :)

Ingredients for the Dough:

3 - 4 cups all-purpose flour (I'll explain later)

1 packet of yeast or 2 1/2 teaspoons (I like to use PIZZA yeast, but regular yeast works just fine.)

TWO PINCHES of sugar

2 teaspoons of salt

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 1/2 cups hot water (not boiling...just hot.)

Garlic Salt

Ingredients for the Pepperoni Pizza:

2 tablespoons olive oil (extra-virgin olive oil is best for this, but not necessary)

about 3 cups of sauce (spaghetti, tomato, whatever..)

2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups of shredded mild cheddar cheese

pepperoni

Before you go any further, I want to tell you that this recipe is for a stand mixer armed with a dough hook.  This recipe for dough takes almost exactly one hour.  It's totally worth it.  

Steps

In the mixing bowl, combine the yeast and water.  Let it sit for 5 minutes to activate.  Meanwhile, take out a separate bowl and coat it with olive oil or cooking spray.

Add 2 teaspoons salt, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and  two pinches of sugar to the water/yeast.  Mix on the lowest setting for one minute.

Start adding in the flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough forms a ball on the dough hook.  You do not want the dough to be stiff or sticky.  Once the dough has formed a ball, rub some oil on your hands and remove the dough from the dough-hook.  Place the dough in the olive-oil-lined bowl you set aside earlier, and punch it down.  Cover the bowl with saran wrap first, then with a dish towel.  Place the bowl in a warm place and allow it the rise for about 45 minutes (or until the dough doubles in size).

TIP:  I always stick my bowl on top of the dryer & turn the dryer on.  :)

After 45 minutes, go punch the dough back down.  Re-cover and let it sit on top of the dryer (or in a warm place) for another 15 minutes or so.

TIP:  You've got another 15 minutes!  I spend this time pulling out all of my pizza toppings & getting them ready!  :)  I have been known to cut my pepperoni's into a heart shape...but this is a good time to prepare your toppings.

After the final 15 minutes have passed, you can start shaping your dough into a crust.  Go ahead and pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Place the dough on a counter top covered in olive oil or cooking spray.  Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough out.  Spray a pizza pan with cooking spray or coat with olive oil.  Place the dough on your pizza pan and press it out with your fingers.  I always have to spend about 10 minutes doing this and stretching out the dough.  I've even been known to make heart-shaped pizza when the dough wasn't forming right.  :)  Again, you don't have to do this either.

Now that you've shaped your dough, you have two options.  You can bake the crust alone at 350 for 8-12 minutes.  Add toppings, bake again at 350 for another 8-12 minutes.  OR you can put it all together and back it one for about 30 minutes at 350.  Whatever you choose...apply your toppings like this:

Start with olive oil.  Rub it ALL OVER the pizza crust.  This is the secret to an amazing pizza.

Sprinkle Garlic & Wine Seasoning from The Melting Pot all over the crust.  If you don't have this, get some.  If you can't get any, use garlic and salt.  It makes the crust SO delicious!

If you're adding crushed red pepper, this is also a good place to add that ingredient for an extra kick.

Spread out a LOT OF SAUCE.  Another secret to an amazing pizza is an amazing sauce & lots of it.

Then add your cheeses & toppings.

TIP:  You don't want your cheese on top..it will burn before your other toppings have a chance to cook!  While your pizza is cooking, it's a great time to clean up your kitchen!  I know some people don't like to clean as they go...and that's fine.  This is just how I do it because I hate cleaning after I've eaten.  I like to be lazy after I have a full tummy.  

Here is a picture of my heart shaped pizza...just for reference and because it is fabulous.  :)

 

This is my favorite recipe for homemade pizza!  Be warned...you will probably never want to eat a frozen pizza again!  Even buying frozen dough loaves and making pizza from them isn't good enough anymore.  Sorry for "ruining your life" when it comes to pizza...but it's worth it.

Enjoy!