Natalie Clayton

I've been eating a vegetarian diet since April 19th this year. I love all the great food I've been introduced to and especially love the pizzas. There are so many different options for a vegetarian pizza. Here is one I did last week. 

Chili, Tomato and Spinach Pizza

INGREDIENTS
3 T tomato oil (from jar of sun dried tomatoes)
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1-2 red chilies, seeded and finely chopped
2 oz. (drained weight) sun dried tomatoes in oil
14 oz. can chopped tomatoes
1 T tomato puree
6 oz. spinach
2 portobello mushrooms, chopped (optional)
1 ready made pizza base or make your own
3 oz. grated smoked Bavarian cheese
3 oz. grated mature Cheddar Cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATION
Heat 2 T of the tomato oil in a pan, add the onion, garlic and chilies and fry then gently for about 5 minutes until they are soft. Roughly chop the sun dried tomatoes. Add to the pan with the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and seasoning. Simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the tough stalks from the spinach and then wash the leaves in plenty of cold water. Drain them thoroughly and pat them dry with a paper towel. Roughly chop the spinach leaves. Stir the chopped spinach into the tomato and chili sauce. Cook the sauce, stirring, for a further 5-10 minutes until the spinach has wilted and no excess moisture remains. Leave the sauce to cool.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Brush the pizza base with the remaining tomato oil, then spoon over the sauce and sprinkle the mushrooms over the sauce (if desired). Sprinkle with the two grated cheeses and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden. Serve immediately.

Yesterday my boy turned 8 months old. I love that little tuft of red hair.

Over 40 years ago my mom got together with her mom and some other women and they each made a jewelry tree out of broken glass, marbles, buttons, beads, and jewelry. At Christmas-time my sister and I would study that lit up tree and even now I look at it and pick out pieces that were my "favorites."

My mom helped me make this tree...dad too.

I found this frame at a second-hand store.

...painted it a glossy black.

I gathered all the jewelry I have been keeping but don't wear anymore...or never did. My mom found a bag of random jewelry at the second-hand store and we ended up with some really great pieces.

I spent several days thinking about the shape of my tree and what pieces I would include. The background of my mom's tree is burgundy and I like how bright the jewelry looks against the dark. I found black velveteen at Joann's. My mom broke green and clear glass into smaller pieces and found more stones, beads and buttons to fill in the spaces.

This is where my dad stepped in and drilled holes in the backing for the small Christmas lights.

I just marked a small circle with pencil where each light should go and he drilled, placed the velveteen on the board and glued the lights in for me...typing it sounds easy but I know he spent some time on it and every detail was done just right.

The fun part is placing the pieces on the tree. The hard part is getting them to stay.  I used LOTS of white Elmer's glue to glue everything on (it dries clear). My mom helped me glue everything down (which took about 90 minutes...and that is with 2 people working on it).

One of my favorite pieces is this French Horn pin because that, along with the flute, is the instrument I played in High School.

My sister painted her bedroom this color and I just loved it. Justin wouldn't let me paint an entire room with it so I've just painted a few small areas...my craft room wall, my bedside table and the inside of the hall closet.

On Saturday, Justin and I met up with my family for lunch in Orem.

Margery (aunt), Kay (my grandmother), Carol (mom), Jean (aunt)

my boy.

Then Saturday night we used the Macaroni Grill gift card that Judy sent us and took my parents to dinner.

I love this tutorial on MADE so I attempted to make some scarves with my own little twist. I ended up making some for my two mothers-in-law, my mom and my sister for Mother's Day.

MADE even posted a photo of my scarves on her blog.

Kyla (niece on Justin's side) and I have birthdays in May so we get to celebrate together. Judy threw us a family dinner party on Sunday night with delicious food, dessert and birthday gifts

Jack liked Kyla's new toy.

What a sweet look she is giving me.
(Notice the 3 candles...Kyla is now 3 and I'm 33...perfect.)

On my actual birthday I had some family and friends over for curry and apple crisp.

Jack, my Dad and Mom

Kenny, Kyla and Tristin

Katie and Van (and Theo was sleeping) stayed and watched LOST.

We were tired at this point...

I love when we have fresh flowers in the house...

...especially on days like the ones we had this week.

Jack's front two bottom teeth are coming in.