Friends! I’ve been thinking about you. And you know what I realized? I don’t know nearly enough about you!!! I am so so so thankful to those of you who come here regularly, read about my daily musings, what I’ve been eating and may even leave a comment or two! You will truly never know how much I appreciate you!
I see the numbers, which tells me that you’re there. Honestly, just knowing that someone’s out there is what keeps me motivated to come back to this little space I love so much. Just knowing you’re on the other side of the publish button has helped me gain so much confidence in the kitchen, taught me so much about myself and ignited so many passions of mine.
But! Google analytics may be able to tell me where many of you live and what are your favorite posts, but there’s still so.much.more. I want need to know!
For once, I want to be a little more quiet to hear what YOU have to say! Will you let me get to know YOU a bit more? I would loooooove to hear from those who have been reading but not yet left a comment. And if you’ve been here before and left a comment: thank you! But I still want to learn so much about you! 
So please, do me a HUGE favor, something I’ve been wondering about for a long time: let me know who you are! To those of you who have been lurking and not yet let me know you’re out there, would you at least say hi?! And to those of you who are feeling a bit more bold, will you just tell me a little more about yourself? Tell me anything {clean 
} you’d like! And if you’re feeling a bit shy and want a little guidance, here are some questions I’ve literally been wondering for years:
- Where do you live?
- How old are you? (feel free to leave a range/category like “upper 20′s” )
- How many people do you live with? If you cook, how many people do you usually cook for?
- What brought you here?
- What keeps you coming back (hoping that you do!)?
- What are your favorite type of recipes/posts?
- Have you ever tried a Simply Life recipe? What’d you think?!
- What would you like to see more of?
Oh, and just to say thanks in advance, I’m leaving you with one of my favorite new pizza recipes. This takes pizza to a whole new level: spicy sausage, melted cheese and fluffy dough…yeah, I can’t think of a better way to say please?andthankyou.
Spicy Sausage Pizza
by Simply Life
Dough adapted from The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Bread Baking
Keywords: bake pizza/flatbread entree mushrooms cheese Super Bowl American
Ingredients (Dough makes 2 crusts)
For the Dough
- 5 1/2 cups bread flour
- 2 1/3 cup warm water
- 3/4 tbs. salt
- 1 1/4 tsp. yeast
For the Topping
- 2 tbs. olive oil
- 1/2 lb. spicy sausage, casing removed and crumbled
- 1 onion, diced
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce
- 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/2 green pepper, sliced
- 3 button mushrooms, sliced
- Oregano, to taste
- Red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
Instructions
For the dough
1. Combine bread flour and water and mix on low speed until blended. Set aside and let sit for 15 minutes.
2. Add the salt and yeast and mix on low speed for 5 minutes. Place in bowl lightly covered in oil (dough may be sticky, this is okay). Cover and set aside for 20 minutes. Uncover and punch-down dough. Cover and set aside 20 minutes. Uncover and punch-down dough again. Cover and set aside a third time for 20 minutes.
3. Finally, uncover and pinch-down dough. Cover and set aside for 2 hours (I let it sit for about 4 hours and it came out great).
4. About an hour before baking time, preheat oven to 450 degrees with baking stone in oven. If using dough for pizza crust, divide dough in half. Refrigerate half for later use. Take other half and shape into a circle. Dust top and roll out with rolling pin. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
5. Uncover dough and stretch out. Cover and let sit 30 minutes. Add toppings (see below) and place on preheated baking stone, dusted in cornmeal. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Serve and enjoy!
For the topping
1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and onion and saute until cooked through, about 8-12 minutes. Drain pan.
2. Top pizza dough with sauce, cheese, cooked sausage and onion, peppers, mushrooms, and seasoning. Bake about 20 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Serve and enjoy!
~So puh-puh-puh-please, leave a comment, say hi and tell me a bit about yourself!
