Ciabatta Bread Pizza

A twist on the classic French Bread Pizza. I'm always looking for something easy and cheap to feel all the young mouths here, and every once in a while I come IP with something that not only is simple and good for the kids, but really satisfies my wife and my adult taste buds.

Last Saturday was a good day for me regarding this. I happened to be at my local Stop and Shop and they had a loaf of Ciabatta bread there under their Artisan Bread section. I had my doubts that the bread would live up to its branding, but it looked good and felt soft, and at only $4 I thought I'd give it a try. But what would I do with it?

Saturday afternoon rolls around and the kids start asking for lunch. I think, let me give Ciabatta Pizza a shot, see how it comes out. But the next problem is the sauce. A while ago I bought a case of Hunts sauce cans which turned out to taste pretty bad. Luckily I was recently at a friends house who makes his own sauce and I just picked up a few ideas that might just help this stuff out. After putting some olive oil in the bottom of a saucepan, I added to finely sliced garlic cloves and let them simmer until they started turning crispy and brown. I then poured in the can of sauce and let it come to a simmer. Finally, I added a bit of basil and gave it another minute on the stove. Sure enough, the sauce wasn't half bad, and dare I even say, it was good.

Now this is where the magic happens. After slicing the Ciabatta bread in half, I through it in the over to get the top layer a little toasted to help keep the bread from getting soggy later on.

Finally, on top of the toasted bread, add a decent amount of the sauce you made and top with a healthy amount of mozzarella cheese. Put it in the over until the cheese starts to melt, then use the broiler to get the cheese nice and spotty brown. When I used the toaster over, the cheese melts nicely and then proceeds to get spotty all in one shot.

The last, and probably best step is slice, serve, and enjoy.

Freeze Tagger of the Decade

It is with great humility that I share with my blog followers the honor that was bestowed on me recently. As many of you may or may not know, I have been an avid freeze tagger for almost 15 years now, and have joined a few elite traveling leagues in which we play all around the town, and occasionally other teams within the county. As a member of this elite team, I have had the honor of meeting with Freeze Tagger of the Decade winners on multiple occasions.

Well, at the end of the 2009-2010 season, the judges in my freeze tag conference have chosen me to be this decades "Freeze Tagger of the Decade" winner. Everyone says how much they are honored just to be nominated for the award, but I can truly say that winning it is even more honoring, and even humbling as I looked out from the podium and see those who have frozen me in games past, I realize it could have been any of them that won this award rather than me.

So thanks again to the South-Bloomingdale Conference for granting me this great honor; and thanks to everyone who came out the the games and supported me. The inscription is a bit hard to read, so here's the text of it: "Clinton Hague Freeze Tagger of the Decade 2000-2010".

Vonage Cancelation Fees after 1 1/2 Years of POOR service!!!

Well, i just found out a dirty little secret about Vonage and their terms of service. If you were unlucky enough to sign up between February 1, 2007 and May 29, 2009 you agreed to a 2 YEAR contract. What are they thinking!!! Your not a cell phone company where you gave away a $250 phone for free, they made me BUY a router, and I am still locked into a 2 year contract, or pay a cancelation fee! I dont remember agreeing to a rate increase when i signed up, but they had no problems doing that. Now they are getting one last fee out of me before I drop there sorry butt.

More Political Bias from the Associated Press (AP)

Below is a sidebar of the most notable people arrested in a recent roundup of NJ political officials. You may be surprised, or maybe not, but the lack of party affiliation attached to the democrats in the story, yet they remembered to put in the party affiliation on the lone republican in the list. I have blogged about this type of poor reporting before, but i figured it was time to bring it up again.

I wonder if the fairness doctrine that President Obama and Nancy Pelosi want to pass would require party affiliations be attached to EVERY politician in news stories, not just the republicans???

Is there anyone out there who doesn't think there is a political bias in the mainstreem media? I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to leave some coments below explaining your reasons for believing that.


Roundup nets several N.J. notables - USATODAY.com:

"ARRESTED

• Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, 32: Lawyer and former Hoboken City Councilman since 2005, he was elected mayor of Hoboken in June.
• Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, 64: Served more than two decades as mayor and a member of the town council, and is a former Secaucus Board of Education member. A Vietnam combat veteran, he is also the president of a family owned trucking company.
• Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini: One of three deputy mayors for New Jersey's second-largest city.
• State Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt, 44: Elected to the Legislature in 2008, the Republican from Monmouth County is also the mayor of Ocean Township, a post he has held since 1998, and is the Lumberton Township administrator.
Source: Associated Press"

President Obama, Where's your ballance?

Just a quick note...

For a president who is all about fairness, the fairness doctrine, and equaltiy, why does he not put up a "Declare your Opposition" button on this page. Let's allow both sides to comment. That's what he wants, right? Bipartisanship?

Well, maybe someone else will take a real poll and see if the overwhelming majority of Americans support or oppose his position on government run healthcare.

For a first hand look at what i am talking about, here's the link that set me off: Organizing for America Watch the Prime Time Press Conference with President Obama

Get ready America, This message is coming to the states soon, I'm sure.

If you think government over-reaches now with what they tell our kids in school, wait until this message comes to shore from our friends across the pond. All in the name of better health...


The Associated Press: UK health booklet's message: Teen sex can be fun: "UK health booklet's message: Teen sex can be fun
By GREGORY KATZ – 1 day ago
LONDON (AP) — Britain's National Health Service has a message for teens: Sex can be fun. Health officials are trying to change the tone of sex education by urging teachers to emphasize that sexual relations can be healthy and pleasurable instead of simply explaining the mechanics of sex and warning about diseases."


Just what every child needs to hear. If we dont start doing something as a nation NOW to turn the tide of socialism, stuff like this will be here in no time.

Why Steve Lonegan is the right man for the job of governor of New Jersey.

Mayor Steve Lonegan is the most conservative candidate I have seen for any political position in my nearly 20 years of following politics (although the last 10 years is when I started following it much more closely). There are few politicians who are conservative and don't dance around it to try to gain voters. They speak conservatism and win voters on ideas, not tricking them into voting for them by playing games with their words.

Here are 4 points that Lonegan has not been afraid to stick with, despite the criticism from fellow "conservative" Chris Christie, which shows everyone who the true conservative is, and who the politician is.

- A flat tax. Let me say it again. A FLAT tax. Sure, some people who aren't paying taxes now will pay a little more, but what is going on when some people aren't paying taxes at all? If they don't have any money in the game, they won't care how wasteful Trenton is with OPM (Other People's Money).

- No corporate or small business taxes. In the end, the employee pays this with lower wages or the consumer in higher prices. Let's cut the levels of taxation. There's no need for that many.

- School funding is another area that needs to change. Why can suburban town educate better than the cities for significantly less money per student. If the suburbs can do it for less, so can the cities; they just choose not to. When the city sees money flowing out of their school systems to provide a better education in a charter school, maybe they'll find out how to do more with less.

- Property taxes, and the rebates in particular, are a joke. Le me take thousands of your hard earned dollars, waste most of it, and whatever I didn't get a chance to squander, I'll return. This is a feel-good measure timed close to elections to make you think Trenton is working for you. Don't be fooled, if they were really working for you, they would have only taken what they needed in the first place. Let me keep the rest so I have it when I need it.

Well, my thumbs are tiring out, so I'll end this mobile blog here. Think about this when you vote in the primaries tomorrow. And remember, now is always the best time to start doing things the right way.


- Clinton

Political Bias in Full Effect!!!

Notice that the republicans in this slideshow all show their party affiliation, but only 1 of the democrats listed also lists their party affiliation.

Do you think ABC willfully left this out, or do you think they are so bias that they don’t even realize they do this?

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/Blotter/popup?id=2841254

Stokes State Forest

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