Fall Pizza {Apple, Sausage, & Gouda}

This pregnancy has me craving everything bad. I want pizza, cake, and donuts all of the time. Even right now. Fortunately, I have some free time in my schedule now so I can go to my Stroller Strides classes a few days a week! Bring on the donuts!

Anyway, back to the pizza.  I know “fall pizza” sounds kind of weird, but I decided to call it that because of the warm and cozy toppings that remind me of fall: apples, maple syrup, sausage, sage, and smokey gouda cheese!

I used this awesome recipe {and method} from one of my favorite blogs, Weed ‘Em and Reap.  Check her out if you love to eat cake but don’t want to feel guilty about it anymore.

Fall Apple & Sausage Pizza

Pizza crust – use recipe linked above or your favorite!

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 sweet onions, halved lengthwise, then sliced into 1/2 inch slices

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

2 apples (whatever variety you like), slices thin

3 tablespoons chopped, fresh sage

1lb sausage

2 cups baby spinach leaves

2 cups smoked gouda cheese

Heat olive oil over medium-low heat, then add onions and cook for 15-20 minutes. Stir constantly to make sure onions don’t stick to the pan. When the onions are soft and golden, add balsamic vinegar and cook and stir until vinegar is evaporated (5-10 minutes). Stir in apples, maple syrup, and sage. Cook for 2-3 minutes until apples have softened a bit. Cook sausage in another pan, making sure to crumble it like ground beef.

Assuming you have prepared your pizza crusts and preheated the oven according to whatever directions you are using, spread 1 cup of the spinach over the pizza crust, topped with half of the apple/onion mixture, half of the sausage, and half of the smoked gouda cheese. If you are lucky enough to have a big enough oven and two pizza stones, then prepare the other crust with the remaining ingredients and cook according to the directions for your choice of crust.  If you use the recipe linked above, I had to cook the pizza for about 20 minutes.

The crust was so, so, so soft and yummy. If you are one of those weird people who like thin crust then this is not the crust for you. It’s fluffy, soft, and all sorts of perfect!

Enjoy your Tuesday!

DIY Fall Wreath {Giveaway Winner Announced!}

It’s winning day!!! I’m really excited that my first giveaway is coming to a close! I used random.org to select the person, so it was completely, um, well, random. The lucky winner of 3 crocheted washcloths is…

Sarah Rowe!!

**Winner! You have 48 hours to claim your prize! Simply contact me through my contact page located in the upper righthand corner**

For everyone else: Don’t go anywhere! I have another giveaway coming up from one of my favorite Etsy shops!

Back to normal blogging activity…

I’ve been itching to get some fall decorations up even though it’s still in the 100’s here in Yuma. I have been searching Pinterest for the perfect wreath for my front door and finally came up with a design, which is a mixture of a few that I’ve seen.

My Fall wreath Pin-spiration:

Top This Top That’s Easy Burlap Wreath – This is the tutorial my mother-in-law and I used last year for our Christmas wreaths.

724 South House’s Easy Burlap Wreath – I really liked her idea for the monogram. {Definitely check her blog out if you’re a new wife facing the daunting task of turning your husband’s college bachelor pad into a beautiful home. She’s doing a good job!}

I really like the idea of making one burlap wreath and just switching the embellishments when the seasons change. I might do a different color monogram {I’m thinking ivory or gold} for a winter wreath since those are my Christmas colors.

Above, you can find my cast of characters for this project. I included the door hanger because I almost forgot this thing! I would have been very disappointed to have spent all day making a wreath and then not have been able to hang it up! Also, you don’t have to use chalkboard paint, but I thought that would give me a really flat finish for the “W”, which is what I wanted. So, I just followed Top This Top That’s tutorial for the burlap wreath, then I secured the “W” with some thread. I’m sure there was an easier way to do this {please let me know of one!}, but I couldn’t think of anything right off the bat.

I’m also doing a table runner, thinking of doing a valance for my kitchen window, and on the hunt for organic pumpkins so I can get to canning for the holiday season!

What fall projects are in the works for you?

– See more at: http://christianmommyblogger.com/fellowship-fridays-55/#sthash.xkTIEpUI.dpuf