Happy Halloween!

I hope you have a safe and happy Halloween!

I normally wear a costume to work on this day, but I just wasn't feeling well when I left this morning. I just didn't have the energy to get into the full regalia today. So I grabbed a pair of bunny ears before I went out the door and just wore them with my regular work clothes.

It's amazing how much attention one gets when one is wearing bunny ears, even on a day when people dress up. The ears made a lot of people smile, and that is a good thing. A lot of people cracked up because all they could see of me were my ears bobbing around over the cubicle walls all day (I'm too short for them to see the rest of me).

I made gingerbread for the first time last night. It was pretty good, but it was a lot of effort for what I got out of it. Way too many steps to prep the ingredients before they even went into the batter. I used my Pampered Chef ^TM mini-loaf pan to make four loaves. The recipe claims that this does not freeze well. I'm not sure why; maybe it's the chunks of pears that this particular recipe uses in the batter. I may reserve a little dab and freeze it anyway just to see. If it doesn't, I'll need to find a better, freeze-able recipe. The mister and I just can't eat sweets that fast, and it's better to freeze something like that so I can eat it in small portions later. (The zucchini bread I made this summer froze VERY well. I thawed out the last loaf this past weekend, it was just as moist then as it was the day I made it. Maybe I should just stick with that and banana bread.)

I found a great, versatile recipe for a roll-up this week. Basically, you use refrigerated pizza dough (found with the whomp biscuits near the milk), sliced deli ham, and mozzarella cheese. Remove the dough from the can and roll into a rectangle. Sprinkle whatever seasonings you like on it, to within a half inch of the edges. ( I used Italian seasoning, although I will probably vary it as I go.) Then spread thin slices of deli ham ( or turkey or pepperoni or whatever) over the dough, again to within a half inch of the edges. Then sprinkle with shredded cheese. The recipe calls for mozzarella, but you could use any other cheese you like. I want to try it with goat cheese! Then roll it up and pinch the edges shut. Put it on a baking sheet, seam side down, and bake according to the directions on the pizza dough container. Keep an eye on it, because it will burn quickly! Remove from the oven, let it cool for a moment, and slice it up. It will look like little swirls of crust, meat, and cheese. You can eat it like that, or you can make a dip out of salad dressing or spaghetti sauce or whatever takes your fancy. This is good for a snack, a quick dinner, or even lunch. If you try it, let me know what you think!

Oooh, making myself hungry now.