Hotdog Pizza...by Lucy

Ruth helps me pat out the crust for pizza.

Joanna, Ana, and Ruth cover the pizzas with cheese, the most important part!

This past week when I made pizza, we were out of ham. We usually make a couple ham and pineapple pizzas because the kids like them a lot. I had pineapple though, so Victor said to make a hotdog pineapple pizza (We always have hotdogs handy!). Hotdog pineapple pizza? I wasn't too crazy about the idea myself, but I made it. What's your guess? Did they like it? Of course! They probably covered it with ketchup before eating it (They love ketchup...on pizza!)!

A few weeks ago when I made pizza, we were short on gouda cheese, which is what we use here because it's usually easy to find and fairly inexpensive when making lots of pizza. When I saw how little we had, I panicked. I started doing the math for how much cheese each pizza would get. There was no way that there was enough. I started praying and searching for anything else I could use. I found some American cheese slices left over from another meal, and we had some Oaxaca cheese still frozen in a large chunk, that I knew wouldn't go through a cheese shredder, but we'd try it. The older girls got busy thawing the frozen cheese and then pulling it apart into long strips (It pulls apart like string cheese.). I got busy making pizza. By the time I finished with the tenth pizza, we had discovered that we liked the combination of cheeses on the pizza. Also since we were short on cheese, the family got to try a dessert pizza since I had apples to use, and it required no cheese! A win/win situation!

Victor and I mixing the granola ingredients.

Mark enjoyed testing the granola!

I also had the opportunity recently to make Ashleigh's famous granola. I gave Victor the ingredient list Ashleigh had given me to make the amount necessary for the Zaragoza family, and sent him to purchase the items needed. When he came back, he had double of everything! We had to find a huge bowl to stir the ingredients in. We chopped lots of nuts, stirred lots of oatmeal, and melted lots of butter, honey, and brown sugar, plus other secret ingredients, to make the yummy granola. Did I mention that this process started at 4 p.m.? Once it was stirred together, I had to bake it in small batches in the oven. Seven batches later, around 10 p.m., I was finished. Mark enjoyed some as a snack before he went to bed. Was it worth it? The smiles on the kids' faces told me yes!

Rosa frying empanadas, one of my favorite meals!

Stuffed Chilies in Walnut Sauce with Pomegranate
made by Rosa (Yummy!)

Why am I sharing these food stories? I think about how hard Rosa works to fix meals for a group of our size (On average, we feed 25 people at every meal!). I think about the amount of food it takes to feed a group that size, and the expense. And then I think, "Wow! We have never had to go hungry! There has always been enough for everyone, usually with leftovers (And believe me, this bunch can eat!)." Despite our doubts sometimes about how to make something stretch so there's enough, or what we can substitute when we're missing something, or how much work we have to put into it, God always provides exactly what we need.

When the Israelites needed nourishment, God provided manna. When they needed water, He provided it from a rock! When they needed to learn patience and obedience, He gave them 40 years in the desert to practice. When we need food, sometimes He gives us hotdog pizza. When we need hope, He sends someone to encourage us. When we needed a Savior, He sent His son, the Bread of Life, all we really need.

"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35