Hump Day Blues

I have a deadline tomorrow and I'm way behind, which means I packed my "Got Monks?" sweatshirt and Pajama Jeans (yes, I own a pair, you know you're jealous) in my tote to slip into after everyone else leaves work today. As soon as I down this coffee, it's gonna be a rager.

I know what you're thinking. "Why are you blogging about it? Get to work!" Well you should start a blog because you obviously don't know how much fun blogging is. Also, I needed an excuse to post this picture: 

This is what I'd rather be doing.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

Will conjured up this recipe a couple years ago and has since perfected it. Now that I think about it, none of our friends or family have ever tried this pizza! I guess we'd share if we had any leftovers, but we don't. That's right. We keep it all to ourselves and that's how we like it. Make your own, moochers! 

The Dough:

Usually we just buy pre-made pizza dough at our local grocery store's bakery, but I had an extra packet of active dry yeast lying around since my last (failed) jaunt at bread-baking. I am afraid of yeast and my bread usually comes out as hard as a rock. I mostly followed this Food Network recipe for whole wheat pizza dough, with some slight variations because I don't have a large food processor. I also read this pep talk on proofing yeast to get me in the zone. I won't bore you with the details, but I will bore you with these photos. Why? Because I took them, that's why. But this crust actually turned out to be really good. This may never happen again, which is also why I choose to memorialize the event with photos.

Mokiki the Tiki Man guards the rising dough. 

The Pizza:

Will graciously agreed to type out these instructions so these are straight from the expert himself!

Ingredients:

• Pizza stone
• Flour
• Corn meal
• Pizza dough
• About 1/3 cup pesto (or enough to evenly cover the surface of the dough)
• About two cups of picked/chopped chicken
• About 10oz. mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
• 1 large tomato, sliced thin.
• 1 Jalapeno, sliced thin (optional)
• Grated Parmesan (for taste)

Note: these amounts are in no way scientific, I still like to use trial and error to see what I like the most!

1. Preheat oven to 405.

2. Cook chicken. I use either rotisserie style chicken and pick it apart, or boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The rotisserie usually has better flavor.

3. On the pizza stone, spread a generous amount of flour and corn meal. If you use a dough roller, place a generous enough amount of flour on the roller so the dough doesn’t stick to it. Place the dough on the pizza stone and knead/toss until evenly spread out. Sprinkle corn meal on top of the dough and aerate the dough evenly with a fork (so it doesn’t inflate once in the oven).

4. Once heated, place the dough in for about 4 minutes. At that time, take it out and flip it over. Aerate again. Doing this will make sure that the bottom of the pizza dough has a little crisp to it. Place the dough back in the oven for about 4 more minutes. At the end of this second 4-minute time, take the dough out to prepare with toppings.

5. Spread the pesto evenly over the top of the dough. Don’t be afraid to use a generous amount of pesto.

6. Sprinkle your chicken evenly over the pesto, followed by the cheese, then the tomatoes, and/or jalapenos (I cover half the pizza with jalapenos because I like a little spice, unlike Theresa)

7. Place back in oven for about 10-13 minutes. At about 10 minutes you should check on it. I like the cheese to bubble a little so around this time I’ll turn the oven to broil for about 60 seconds.

8. Take out, let cool, slice and serve with parmesan sprinkled on top. Enjoy!

And now, the photographs!

Some leftover baked chicken.

Roasting the pine nuts for pesto.

Pesto.

My dough. I'm so proud of it!

Will Brez has skillz. (Wish they paid the billz....)

Lazy Daisy in the background.

Ready for toppings.

Very dense layer of pesto. 

Ready for the oven!

YUM. And posted just in time for lunch. 

Shots from Saturday

Here are some shots from yesterday.

It was a sunny day, so I thought I'd try to get some action shots with the canine models.

I'm still getting used to the camera, so I really only changed the ISO and shutter speed to get the lighting at where I thought it looked okay. None of these photos have been edited besides some cropping on a couple.

Unfortunately, it started getting cloudy just as we left the house!

Here are some of my favorite shots.

Here's this photo cropped and zoomed! For some reason, we just find it hilarious. If I had to guess, there's no way he caught that. He's a little on the uncoordinated side.

Will made me crop out his bad haircut (not my handiwork for once) in this photo.

And here is last night's dinner. I plan on posting the recipe this week. :) 

Leftovers for brunch with some eggs and pesto was amaaaazing. 

Every day lounging.

Happy Sunday! 

That One Time I Wanted Will to Be an Air Force Pilot

"I don't want to be Meg Ryan." - Socrates

I think Socrates also added that "acronyms are the road to true virtue." Pretty sure Plato blogged it. If so, prepare to be virtuous. We are chock full of acronyms in this post.

Will became interested in Air Force JAG and applied to the One Year College Program (OYCP) during his 2L year. Long story short, I also applied and was selected but was denied medical clearance. Luckily, I was able to find another job quickly. A few short weeks after I accepted this position, Will received a call that he was accepted into the OCYP. He immediately contacted his detachment and started ROTC to prepare for Field Training that summer. It all happened in a whirlwind.

His name badge was still hot off the sewing machine in this photo.  

It was a tight learning curve. I must admit, if I ever have to watch another marching YouTube video ever again . . . . 

Will at Field Training

The first day I sat for the Florida Bar exam, Will left for five weeks of Field Training in Alabama. It was a fun day for both of us. 

Will still had to jump through all the hoops that an undergrad student in ROTC would have to, just on a very abbreviated timeline. (Hence, the One Year College Program.) One of these requirements was an aptitude test called the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT). He ended up scoring higher than many of his peers who were selected to become pilots (i.e., pilot-rated dudes). Enter my quest to convince Will to become a pilot, rather than a dinky old military lawyer. (He has me note that he didn't take the TBAS. I don't know what this one stands for.) 

Our first Dining Out. Obviously in November. Wouldn't wings look good on him?

I was all TOP GUN! Hell yeah! Let's do this! Cool high fives! (I realize Top Gun does not feature Air Force pilots, nor does the TV show "JAG" for that matter. Air Force pilots have even better hair and cooler sunglasses than Maverick, Ice Box, and Goose combined.)

I even discussed the prospect with some of my coworkers (all, of course, people in the legal profession) and they agreed. Consensus = it's way cooler to be a pilot's wife than a lawyer's wife. I mean, I'm already a lawyer, and it ain't all that. (Trust me, I'm a lawyer.)

I set myself on a course to convince Will it was the right career choice for him. He kept pushing back, saying filthy things like, "I WENT TO LAW SCHOOL TO BE A LAWYER!" Psh. He even had the nerve to say, "I'd rather be flown than be flying." What a diva.

That.very.weekend, what else is on cable television but the legendary movie, TOP GUN? If it wasn't a sign from Our Creator, I don't know what is, because when we flipped over it was at the very scene where (SPOILER ALERT) Goose dies in a tragic training exercise gone wrong.

This is what was happening when we turned the channel. I mean really. 

I had to take eat my words. Meg Ryan plays Goose's wife. She was left but a widow! Socrates rightly did not want to be Meg Ryan. Nor do I. Nor do I. 

And that was the three days when I thought I wanted Will to be an Air Force pilot. Although we do drive to work every day on I-95 in South Florida, we try to keep things low risk around here. 

Daisy approves.

Seven Quick Takes (Volume 1)

Joining Jen for some quick takes!

-1-

I first started reading Conversion Diary about a year ago. I just love her writing and I cannot wait to get my hands on her book. I'll admit it. I'm a superfan.

Joining in my very first quick takes is momentous up in here!

-2-

I am pretty pumped to start using this bad boy more. The Nikon D3100. What a beaut'. It was a Valentine's Day gift from Will-Brez (the husbo) and ever since Day 2 of dSLR ownership, I have been tinkering on manual mode to get the lay of the land. Edible Perspective has been a great resource so far for this newbie/wannabe photographer. 

-3-

Speaking of photography (creative segue, T-Brez... said no one ever), here are some of our Nikon's first photographs featuring some sophisticated canine models.

Ace Brez

Daisy Brez

I wasn't kidding when I said sophisticated.

-4-

Lent update (no segue whatsoever). . . . We all know Lent is all about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. This Lent has been trying in terms of the fasting part. I'm already craving a cheeseburger and it's only breakfast. It's like only craving Chick-fil-a on a Sunday.

In years past, we have usually focused more on attending daily mass or focused on prayer. So this is the first Lent I have "given something up" in a while. N.B. Will gave up all alcohol and I gave up the snooze button (i.e., sleep, one of my favorite activities in the whole world).

How many days left? ... Just kidding, I am one of those people who loves Lent. Sorry I'm not sorry.

-5-

"Tell them I'm classically trained." - Will Brez. "I won't lie on my first quick takes post, WILL!" - Me. (I told Will I was going to do a take all about what a wonderful cook he's been lately.) Well, Will has been tearing it up in the kitchen. While I work full time, between school, ROTC, and work, Will definitely is on the grind way more hours of the week than me. The problem is that he gets home a lot earlier than me three days a week, which means he best start dinner. He likes to tinker around with spices, ingredients, and recipes, which means that I get to blog his awesome recipes without having to cook them! More to come on that (obviously) so stay tuned.

We love food. 

-6-

I have to think of two more? You guys really make it look easy. I guess I will talk TV. Everyone loves DOWNTON ABBEY. We all knew IT was coming. I was very upset and thought IT was a meaningful twist in an otherwise slow episode. (Did anyone else think the first hour draaaggggeeeeddd?) Will was extremely angry that the writers didn't get more creative about IT. Something about it not being done with dignity. He is such an ar-teest. The Bachelor? It almost pains me to say I'm rooting for wedding dress girl. Will only likes her because her dad is a Major General and Will is a serious brown-noser. 

-7-

I need to get ready for work. Head back to Conversion Diary for more. But wait! Check out my first post before you do!

Please Allow Us to Introduce Ourselves

We are so excited to start our very own blog. Not to be confused with another "Brez Blog" . . .

Heh.