Serendipity and Pizza Snacks

Serendipity is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as "the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for."

Sometimes things that shouldn't combine well combine so well it is surprising. And the result ends up being a much greater than the sum of its parts.

Most of my really great friendships are like this. My friend Liz and I became friends in high school because we were both involved in the speech team... and both of us had good personal hygiene, which was more than could be said about most of our teammates. We figured it was in both of our best interests to become friends so we could share a room on trips and not suffer through body odor. She thought I was kind of weird, I thought she was kind of preppy. Turns out we had a lot more in common than we thought. A great number of the great adventures in my life have involved Liz. We were roommates and party girls in Las Vegas for a few years, we were in each other's weddings. Somehow we even ended up living in Missouri at the same time (her husband, a Marine, was stationed here, and my husband's family lives here, too!) I also had the great privilege of being present when her son Caleb was born. After twenty (twenty??) years and several states, we are still the best of friends. And all we were looking for was someone who wore deodorant!!

Well, onto the topic of food... (you knew I would get around to it, didn't you?) My Grandpa used to make these wonderful little appetizers called Pizza Snacks. I loved them until I learned the recipe. The recipe involves ingredients I would never combine with each other - rye bread, Mexican Velveeta, and hot sausage... It was just weird.

But they sure taste good. Even though they don't have much in common with Pizza. I never have figured out why they are called Pizza Snacks. I guess I should just stop thinking about it and just enjoy it for what it is... Serendipity.

Pizza Snacks
1 lb hot pork sausage
1 lb ground beef
1 lb mild Mexican Velveeta cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 loaf of party rye, sliced.

Cook meat together, drain well. Add cheese and seasoning, mixing well until cheese is melted. Spread mixture on party rye. Bake at 400 degrees until centers bubble, about 10 minutes.

To freeze: do not bake. Freeze snacks on a tray, once frozen pack in Ziploc bags. 15 minutes before serving, place frozen snacks on a lightly greased cookie sheet and heat in a 400 degree oven until centers bubble. Serve hot.