Tasty Tuesday -- Pizza Edition!

For those of you who don't know, my dear sweet Kelly is probably the pickiest eater in the entire world. This poor child would rather starve then have to actually sit down and eat. Not at all like her mother, I might add! But anyway, the one thing for sure that we can always get our little darling to eat is Pizza. She still likes to keep it basic (cheese or sausage pizza), but hey, food is food in my opinion! I'm just happy when the kid eats! So even though I know you can either buy a Little Ceaser's pizza for $5 or get a frozen one for the same amount, we all know those pizza's are NOT filling. Sure, they might fill you up at the moment, but within two hours your stomach starts growling and screaming for more food.

That's when I decided it was time to try making my own pizza. At first I tried making it using those cheap packages of pizza dough mix you can buy at the store, but the same thing happened -- Not filling enough! So then I went in search of a good pizza dough recipe. One that was easy and required very little effort. This is the recipe that I use now. I picked it because the dough always comes out nice and crisp, but also because it's so freakin' easy!!!! This recipe is from the book "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman. Here you go:

"You can knead this dough with a mixer (use the dough hook), or by hand, but I like the food processor best. The pizzas can be grilled or baked in an oven-the hotter the better (commercial pizza ovens are usually about 700 degrees). This is the simplest, most basic pizza (and bread) dough you can make. Olive oil makes a smoother, more flavorful dough and a slightly cracklier crust -- but you can omit it if you like -- just add a little more water to the dough if you do.

Basic Pizza dough recipe

1 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast (I actually use one square of those envelope packs you buy)
3 cups all purpose flour or bread flour (I use 2 cups all-purpose flour and one cup whole wheat flour so the dough is heartier)
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt or sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1 to 1 1/4 cups water
2 tbl plus 1 tsp olive oil

Combine the yeast, four, and 2 tsp salt in the container of a food processor. Turn the machine on and add 1 cup water and the 2 tbl of oil through the feed tube.

Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water, a little at a time, until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch. If it is dry, add another tablespoon or two of water and process for another 10 seconds. (in the unlikely event that the mixture is too sticky, add flour, a tablespoon at a time)

Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand a few seconds to form a smooth, round dough ball. Grease a bowl with the remaining olive oil, and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let rise in a warm, draft free area until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours. (My house is always cold in the winter, so it takes at least 2 hours for my dough to rise) You can cut this rising time short if you are in a hurry, or you can let the dough rise more slowly, in the refrigerator, for up to 6-8 hours.

Roll out dough as usual."

Obviously we all have our own recipe toppings that we prefer, so there's no real need to get into topping ideas. As I was doing some searching, I found this one blogger who said she liked a thinner crust, and therefore was able to get a large and a medium pizza out of this dough recipe. If you do use it all, it will make a very thick, dense dough (which I really like). when we get a frozen pizza, Kelly can easily eat 1/2 to 3/4 of it. With this one, she can eat one big slice and she's stuffed (and not hungry again 2 hours later). We also cook our pizza on a pizza stone. I'm a huge fan of pizza stones, but I know not everybody has one. I found ours for $5 on cheapcycle AND it was already well seasoned and ready to go. That being said, I'm not sure how the dough will come out on a regular cookie sheet.

To cook the pizza, I heat the oven with the pizza stone in it (on the bottom rack) to 500 degrees. Once the oven is preheated, I slide the dough with all of the toppings onto the pizza stone and cook until the cheese is sufficiently melted -- usually about 10-12 minutes. OH! And for the pizza sauce, I just use the cheapy jarred pizza sauce you can buy at walmart. It's pretty darned tasty.

Well, that's it! Happy pizza making!

** Below I included a Potato Chowder recipe as a follow-up from last week's Tasty Tuesday edition. Enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday -- Potato Chowder Revisited

Okay, I just wanted to share with you guys really quick a Potato Chowder recipe that my friend Keri sent me. It looks really great and it's also one more potato chowder recipe to throw into your rotation.

Garden Potato Chowder

Serves 8

3 large potatoes
8 T. butter, divided
1 c. coarsely chopped carrots
4 slices bacon (turkey bacon works great & reduces the fat)
6 T. flour
1 c. fat-free half and half
4 c. milk
1 c. frozen peas, unthawed
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
½ c. fat-free sour cream
3 green onions, diced

Clean potatoes and prick with fork. Microwave until easily pierced, about 9-10 minutes on high. Allow to cool enough to handle, then peel and cube; set aside. Meanwhile, melt 2 T. butter in large stockpot and cook carrots over medium-high heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove carrots from pot and set aside. In same pot, cook bacon until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels and set aside. Drain most of bacon fat from pan, leaving only the solid particles. Add remaining 6 T. butter and melt. Add flour and whisk to combine. Cook over medium heat until golden and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Add half-and-half, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add milk, stirring constantly. Add diced potatoes, carrots and frozen peas and cook another 15-20 minutes until thickened, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Add cheddar cheese and sour cream and stir and cook until melted and well incorporated. Ladle into serving bowls and top with crumbled bacon and green onion. Serve immediately. (Also great as a leftover!)

Shane's birthday

Well, several days AFTER I said I would post them, I finally am getting around to posting Shane's birthday pics! So here's the birthday run-down:

On Saturday we had a small get-together with some of our friends from church. We just had a pot-luck style dinner and then pretty much just hung out from then on out. The kids were fantastic! I think we had 7 kids in the apartment and 8 adults. Now that's a packed house! I really thought the kids would give us a ton of problems, but they all did really well. In fact, they did SO well everybody except for the Romney's stayed until after 11:00! I think the funniest part was when we showed the kids how to "chest bump" and pretty soon we had our own little kiddie mosh pit. Unfortunately I was a little late in getting the camera and didn't get a good shot of it.

On tuesday (Shane's actual birthday) we went to PF Chang's with some friends of ours from the Spanish branch. That was night having a night out without the kids and also talking with our friends that we don't get to see very much any more.

The pained look on Emily's face is the result of pregnancy pain, not a bad party (we think)

We don't expect much from Justin..... he's a special individual!


So when I bought this cake I said to Shane "Hey, do we have any candles at home?" and he said "Oh yeah." These were all we had... leftovers from Kelly's 6th and Isabelle's 4th. And yes, I didn't realize for several minutes that I put the 6 on backwards. Still funny.


Our very own Kiddie mosh pit. Watch Kelly (in the pink shirt). She's totally sticking her stomach out to chest-bump Harrison!

Christ and Paula at PF Changs

So get this -- every time I wear my hair curly/wavy (i.e. let my hair go au naturel), any picture I take makes me look like a crack addict. What's up with that???

this was supposed to be my attempt at taking a picture and NOT looking like some form of an addict. I don't think it worked.....

Tasty Tuesday and an Old Man

So this is going to be the longest post in Blogger history! Today is of course Tasty Tuesday and therefore I will be posting a fantabulous recipe that costs $5 or less. I will also be announcing that today is the day that my main man turns 30! That's right... my big stud is now officially an old man! How great is that????

Okay, so lets get started:

This recipe was sent to me by Emily. It definitely looks like a great quick family meal. Obviously, as we have discussed before, this would not satisfy my caveman husband and his ravenous appetite. I would at least have to have some grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it. He really likes it when I add slices of canadian bacon to the sandwiches, but that's only when we have it on hand. So here's what Emily sent me:

"I have a recipe to share. Odd, I know, 'cause I don't really like to cook. I think it's under $5. I've never really priced it out. It's a great recipe if you have milk in your fridge that is about to expire and needs to be used...I can't stand to throw out something so expensive.

Potato Chowder

About 1 cup of frozen corn
1 and 1/2 cup peeled and cubed (bite size) potatoes (I usually use about 4-5 potatoes, depending on how much I want to make)
1/2 cup diced onion
2/3 to 1 cup water (just enough to simmer)
6 cubes chicken bullion
1/2 tsp (+) pepper

Bring this all to a boil in a pot. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10-15 minutes (until potatoes are soft).

Dump in: 3 cups milk and 2Tbsp. butter
Mix together: 1/2 cup milk and 5 Tbsp. flour; pour in through strainer

Cook until it boils and thickens. Serve topped with cheese, bacon bits (I use real bacon diced up because this is the only time I'm allowed to have bacon), green onion or sour cream."

So I was at my friend Kym's house one time and she made the most amazing corn/potato chowder I have ever eaten. I can't remember everything she put in it, but one thing she did was use those frozen tater tot things instead of peeling and dicing potatoes. I thought that was pretty cool AND she just added them to the pot straight from the bag (frozen and all). The tater tots ended up breaking down a bit so you weren't getting big chunks of potato.

I also realized that after reading Emily's recipe that I bet almost every family has their own easy "potato chowder" recipe. I would love to see what the rest of you guys have. Here's my recipe:

Super Easy Broccoli Potato Soup (really cool name, huh?)

2 cups frozen broccoli florets
1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 tbl butter
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1-2 shakes dried basil
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan, saute broccoli and onion in butter until tender. Stir in soup, milk, basil, and pepper; heat through. Add cheese; stir until melted.

BUT... when I wanna make it REALLY good, I will add these ingredients:

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup corn
a small baked potato (just cook it in the microwave)
1/4 cup more water
3/4 cup sliced lil' smokies
pinch of sugar at the very end

Now, I only add these ingredients when I have them as leftovers. You know, leftover corn from last nights dinner or leftover lil' smokies from some other meal (I use them sometimes in my spaghetti sauce or as a pizza topping). I don't know if I would ever just go out and buy the ingredients just to make this soup. Maybe, but doubtful.

So now onto talking about my great hubby. He's 30 years old, can you believe it???? It's so weird to think that he can even be that old. He definitely has a baby face!


I totally love how he does silly, dorky things just to make the kids laugh. Even blowing out his candles he can't help but make a silly face just for the kids. I love this man and I can't believe he's all mine!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHANE!!!! (I'll post more birthday stuff tomorrow)

Ice Ice baby!

So Jessica has been posting some old pictures of her on her blog and I thought this old one would be fun to share: Are you ready??????


Oh yeah... now that's good stuff!!! So this is from my senior year in High School, and no, those are not our regular outfits. My friends and I thought it would be funny to create a Vanilla Ice Fan Club website. These were the characters we made up as the "ultimate fans." I'm starting to think that this picture and story was one of those "you just had to be there" kind of things! Oh well, enjoy having a good laugh!!!!!! ;-) (Make sure you click on the picture to see my make-up -- it's even better up close!)

P.S. I finally finished my other sock! Woo hoo! I'm still disapointed that they are kinda slouchy, but I'm still proud of myself for actually doing it!

Tasty Tuesday -- Mexican Lentil Casserole

Mexican Lentil Casserole (or use as a topping for taco salad)

2 tbl vegetable oil
1 med onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
4 cups water
1 cup dried green/brown lentils
1 1/2 cups cooked rice (brown is best)
1 can tomato paste
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 tsp chili powder, or more if desired

In a large saucepan, saute onions and green peppers in oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add water and bring to a boil. Stir in lentils. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Do not drain. In medium sized, lightly oiled, casserole combine lentils with other ingredients. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes at 350.

** We use this as a topping for taco salad instead of ground beef -- It also freezes REALLY well if you use brown rice.

** To make this as a casserole, during the last 5 minutes of baking, top with corn chips and shredded cheese. Great dish for a vegetarian meal.


This probably isn't a recipe where you are going to be able to find everything in your cupboard today to fix dinner for tonight (Sorry Christa). I know this seems awfully complicated for something where you could just use ground beef, but it's sooooooo much better for you! It's still under $5, and it won't expand your waist line every time you eat it. Also, when you use this as a topping, there is no need for refried beans (another fattening ingredient). Just top with cheese, lettuce, and whatever else you use for taco salad. Usually when I make this, I will freeze several portions so I can have a dinner ready for after church or whenever I don't feel like cooking. You can easily re-heat this in the microwave.

Oh... this recipe also came from the book "Easy Beans".... if you can't tell, I really love that book! Also, if you are making this for a Vegan, do not add cheese and make sure your taco seasoning packet is vegan. I was surprised that not all taco seasoning packets are vegan. If you are wondering why I am sharing this, it's because I have a brother that is vegan and I discovered that when I was making the casserole for him. Okay, hope you guys like it!

Thunder and so much more....

So this past week has been a whirlwind of entertainment! Here's a quick highlight of everything we did:

Monday: Kelly went to the dental school for a cleaning, ran some errands. After FHE, I went to the movie with Shane's sister -- saw Juno. Really didn't like it that much. I'm not sure why it got so many great reviews.

Tuesday: Had a doctor's appt. and then came home right when Isabelle busted her lip -- HUGE amounts of blood. Yuck! Went with Britney to get our hair cut. She did a MAJOR cut while I just went for a basic trim.

Wednesday: More errands and then went out with our friend's the Romney's to eat and play games. They have this cool game called "Masterpiece" that was surprisingly fun!

Thursday: Started taking care of Shane's boss's dog while they were out of town. It felt super weird going over to their house several times a day to let the dog out. Went to the mall with Brit and the kids. We took some pictures in one of those photo booths and I yelled at some obnoxious teenage boys. I'm sure I totally embarrassed Britney!

Friday: Britney went home, Kelly had soccer practice, had my parents over for dinner.

Saturday: Kelly had a soccer game, went to Thunder over Louisville. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's North America's largest annual fireworks display. It's 30 minutes long and pretty freakin' huge! We go every year with my family and this year was just as fun -- I even saw one of my best friends from High School that I hadn't seen in YEARS. Anyway, we were lucky enough to have tickets to the Muhammad Ali Center to watch thunder (instead of being outside with everyone else!) Anyway, it had fantastic food and lots of games for the kids.


My favorite game for the kids was when they were playing the dradiel game. It was so funny seeing the kids spinning the dradiel and then playing with these fake gold coins. The best part was when Isabelle spun her dradiel and because of the symbol it landed on, she had to put one gold coin into the pot. Well, my girl has gamblin' in her blood and tried to go "all in". It was hilarious! She really wanted all of those coins in the pot!!!!

Since we were in the Muhammad Ali Center, we also got to tour the museum about his life. It was pretty amazing seeing all of the information about his boxing career and seeing all of the old films of him "talking smack" (I love it when I talk cool). He was an amazing self promoter! His fights were incredible and his determination was unreal. It was also surprising to see how loved he was at the time, but still had to deal with so many problems related to race. There were lots of cool things about the museum, but one of the kids' favorites (and Shane's too) was the "shadow boxing". It was a technique that Ali did to practice fighting against different opponents. They had a shadow boxing station where you could shadow box with Muhammad Ali. Here's a video of Isabelle goin' at it:




Finally that night we watched the fireworks display. It was absolutely amazing! The attendance was pretty low this year. The count this year was a little over 300,000. However, that count only includes the people that watch the show on the river front (the display is done off of one of the bridges on the Ohio river). A lot of people like us watch from Inside buildings downtown or on rooftops. the largest crowd ever recorded was 800,000 which once again does not include people inside buildings or on rooftops. I'm not sure if that includes the people watching on the Indiana side of the river either. Here's a clip I found of the finale for thunder. It's not the best quality and only shows one Barge shooting off fireworks. When you watch in person, there are fireworks coming off the bridge and then fireworks coming off of two huge barges. Pretty darn cool. Anyway, that's our week in review!

"House" guest

So this past week has been pretty crazy. Last weekend for conference we went to my in-laws and then brought back Shane's little sister to stay with us for a week. She was amazing! She did a TON of babysitting for me, she cleaned up all the time, played with the girls, and of course made me laugh!

We miss you Aunt Britney!!!!

Tasty Tuesday -- Italian Chicken Veggie Bake

So my friend Cassie emailed me this recipe last week. I still haven't had a chance to try it, but it sounds freakin' good and easy! The only problem I see with feeding it to my family is that Shane is a total wimp when it comes to canned vegetables. I think I might try this with just the chicken and potatoes and then broil some Asparagus for a side dish. Or, I could always do the standard salad loaded with lots of raw veggies to fulfill his desire for crunchy vegetables.

What's also great about this recipe, is that if you have any leftover chicken, you can easily use it for making chicken salad for the next night. You know, the kind with chicken and lettuce and veggies, not the creamy sandwich kind. There really should be a better distinction between the two. I would also probably use any leftover chicken for some soup as an appetizer for another dinner. But anyway, here is the recipe she sent me:

"I'm not sure if this is under $5 or not....I know I spend less than that on it, but I buy everything w/ coupons and on sale.

Italian Chicken & Vegetable Bake

4-6 chicken breasts

3 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1-2 cans cut green beans, drained and rinsed

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

½ bottle Italian dressing (the cheap generic works just as well)

Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil with enough hanging over the edges to cover the top (or use a baking bag). Place chicken, potatoes, onions, and green beans in pan. Cover with dressing. Cover pan with the remaining foil. Bake at 375 degrees for an hour or until chicken is cooked through.

Notes: You can also make this with pork chops (it tastes just as yummy-that is how mom makes it, but I just prefer chicken), and the onion and potatoes are optional (sometimes I'm in a hurry and don't want to take the time to peel them, so I just add extra green beans). "

Tasty Tuesday

Tasty Tuesday's first installment!!! This recipe I got from a book called "Easy Beans" by Trish Ross and Jacquine Trufford. It's been a great reference book for cooking meals with beans usually as the main ingredient. This time, the beans aren't the main ingredient, but they are still good!

Salsa Chicken

(1) 15 oz can kidney beans
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in 1/2 (I just use the cheap, frozen kind -- thawed)
Medium or hot salsa (I prefer pace, but it's whatever your family likes!)

Drain and rinse kidney beans. Place them in the bottom of an ungreased casserole dish. Put the 4 chicken pieces on the beans. Cover with salsa. Bake, covered, at 350 for 40 minutes.

-- This dish makes a LOT. Usually when we cook it, I only use one chicken breast. When I do this I use a smaller casserole dish. When it's done cooking, I like to cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces and stir it with the beans. Then, we use it as taco filling. My kids won't eat the beans or taco shells, so they just eat the chicken with some ketchup. Even with one chicken breast, we ALWAYS have left overs. The beans really stretch how far the chicken will go and it makes the meal more filling. Give it a try and tell me what you think!

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