Tasty Thursday: BBQ chicken pizza

It is another Pizza Palooza day which means it was time for another crazy pizza creation. Eve keeps asking me where I come up with these ideas. In all honesty I just look on Pinterest then make up my own recipe.

So this week we thought we would try something crazy with BBQ sauce and chicken.

Here's what you need:
Pizza crust, again I went with the Bobby Flay crust, so easy and so yummy.
BBQ sauce, enough to cover the bottom of the pizza and to cook down the chicken and veggies in so about a bottle or so
Red pepper, diced
half onion, diced
Mozzarella cheese

So I made my pizza dough and actually stuffed the crust with cheese, this was a good idea in theory but it will take a few more tries to get it right. It tasted delicious but the cheese broke through the crust and a lot of it ended up on the bottom of my oven.

Anyway I cooked the crust for about ten minutes then pulled it out and mixed in my toppings.

While that is cooking, Add your BBQ sauce, chicken, and veggies to a sauce pan and cook down the sauce. I didn't do this and it lead to a very messy, runny pizza.

Top your crust with the sauce mixture and then sprinkle some cheese on top. Cook until the cheese is golden brown.

Let this pizza sit for five to ten minutes too to help the sauce congeal a bit more.

This pizza was good not our favorite. Still a tasty treat and the kids are already looking forward to next week.

Workout Wednesday: Keeping up with the Jones'

Keeping up with the Jones'. We all mock the idea yet it we all do it. Nevermore so than when we are working on weight loss. You make yourself go to the gym and happily (or not so happily) jump on the treadmill ready to have a nice 40 minute workout. When you look left, at the treadmill next to you, and see a woman running at 6.0 miles an hour, making your brisk pace of 3.8 look like nothing.  Or you are working with the free weights, proud that you can now do chest-flys with the 10 lbs. weights only to turn to our right and see another woman doing the same exercise...only with 20 lbs. weights. Thus, making our latest triumph seem mediocre.

None of us are immune, our insecurities about our bodies tend to make us slightly crazy, leading to extremes. We either start crash dieting and exercising or we give up and sit on the couch consoling ourselves with ice cream or potato chips, watching others on television working to change their lives.

I have been on both extremes. I have been overweight since junior high school and done the crash dieting, but never got smaller than a size ten. More often than not though, I found myself on the couch with my friends Ben and Jerry.

Fifteen years ago I bought a gym membership-thinking that paying to work out might make me go- it didn't work. Maybe once every three months I would drag my gym bag out of hiding and trudge to the gym for a week or so. But eventually I would give up knowing that I just wasn't as good as everyone else and knew, after only a few days, I would never accomplish anything there.

It took me years to figure out it didn't matter. It took me years to figure out that I was going to the gym for me, not for other people. Yes there are still times that I feel self-conscious, where I don't think my efforts measure up to Sally Jones our John Jones working out beside me but then I just have to keep pushing forward. I may not keep up with the Jones' but I am better and stronger than I was yesterday and isn't that what matters?

Try it Tuesday: 72 Hour kits-the food

So since moving into our new house I have been working on our food storage. I have done pretty well filling our pantry and now it was time to put together our 72 hour kits.

Okay, I am not a doomsdayer. I don't think that the zombie apocalypse is coming. And though the thought of a big Salt Lake Earthquake kept me up at night as a child my fear of something like that has toned down just a little bit. But I do believe in being prepared just in case. You never know when an evacuation might be needed and you never know when disaster will strike. I believe in being prepared, so I figured it was time to get our 72 hour kits ready. So off to Cost-co I went and got some extra food, stuff that had at least a six month shelf life so I would only have to rotate the food twice a year.  

Three meals a and snacks a day, three days, six people that is a ton of food. Here is what we got

Poptarts

Oatmeal

Hot Chocolate

Apple Cider

Gum

Crystal Light

Peanut butter (the individual cups) 

Dried fruit

fruit cups

cup of noodles

Chef Boyardee

Fruit Leather

Granola bars

Water

Assembling these packs was really kinda of fun and I realized after I was finished I hadn't put in the granola bars and had to go back and add them. I also added utensils and napkins and was surprised I could get each day into a gallon ziploc bag (well everything but the water)

Right now these are living in the nice red backpacks that I bought earlier in the year and though these won't hold all the water I need I have that living right next to them so we can grab them and go. I feel a bit better with having this first part of the 72 hour kits done and ready and I am ready to tackle the next part- 72 hour kit entertainment. Wonder how I am going to get those in the backpack.

Mommy Musings Monday: Chores

"I'm the only one of my friends that have summer chores."  It was just stated, no anger behind it, simply a statement of fact.

I wasn't quite sure how to respond, how does one respond to that question, "You'll thank me one day",  "Well aren't you glad your not their daughter," or "Well maybe the other mother's don't care if their daughters  and sons are productive citizens in the future." 

I give my kids chores, I know some people think that a six year old can't wipe up a bathroom or vacuum, but to them I say poo-poo.

In our house doing a chore is how you contribute to the household, it is how mom and dad prepare you to be a productive member of society. What the kids don't understand is it is not so mom doesn't have to do the chores. I have redone chores before, when the kids aren't looking of course, I know that I am able to get the chores done quicker and better than the kids can, but that isn't the point. The point is that they learn.

We have job charts and some jobs stay the same each week (cleaning your room, making your bed) others change. One week you might vacuum and do the dishes, the next you might clean the bathrooms and clear the table. The point is that the kids learn and they learn what it takes to really make a family work, it isn't about mom and dad doing everything, it is about everyone pitching in and helping one another.

So we will keep doing chores, even if I am the only mom that assigns them.

What chores do you expect your kids to do? How early did you start them?

Tasty Thursday: Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Ah Wednesday is quickly becoming the family favorite around this house and last night we were all ready to try another great pizza- Chicken Alfredo pizza.


This is another simple and easy recipe-


Bobby Flay pizza dough- I added a bit of garlic seasoning to the dough on this one.

Half a can of alfredo sauce
red pepper
Spinach (I used about a cup)
Chicken, cooked and diced
Mozzerella
Garlic seasoning (garlic salt is fine but I prefer alternatives)
if you can find it garlic white cheddar cheese is a great addition to the pizza


Okay I didn't precook my dough but I think that the recipe would benefit from the dough being cooked for 5-7 minutes before the toppings are put on.

Heat your oven to 375 and  the put the sauce on. I layered the rest of the toppings on then the cheese. Cook for 20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

This was a fabulous pizza, so yummy.

Workout Wednesday: Weighy tunnel vision

There is an article making the circles on Facebook right now, it was an article I read about a month ago in my copy Self. I remember after reading it the first time coming home and telling my husband I just read an article by a woman who got me. It was also an eye opener on how I view myself and where I put my priorities.

This is the premise of her article is the author was speaking with a friend and talking about how great her life was and all she could focus on was her weight.   To quote from the article: "I guess I don't understand how I can accomplish all this other stuff, but this one thing, the most important thing in the world to me, I can't."

"Your weight is the most important thing in the world to you?" I hedged. "Well, obviously, not the most important thing in the world. Hyperbole!" I changed the subject.

As the article continues she talks about how her focus and obsession with her weight has lead to some interesting places. It was eye opening to me for the path I was on. I have a fabulous family and a life. Yet sometimes I let my weight color how I feel about things. I have been guilty thinking "oh if only I wasn't so fat" or "This picture would be great if I wasn't in it."  But here is the thing, focusing on this one thing can lead me to miss the beauty in everything else.

Yes, I am bigger than I would like to be. My clothes don't fit they way I want them too or I can't fit in the clothes I want to.  But I am working on it, yes I slip and fall but I get back up and work again and with that I can slowly start to change the tunnel vision that I have and make sure that I don't fall into the pattern that the author of the article did.

Try it Tuesday: Duct tape checker boards

Don't you love it when a blog post posts three days before you even wrote it. I guess I hit the wrong button the other day.

Okay welcome to Try it Tuesday. It is summer time and with four kids running around this house I figured I needed something they could do to keep themselves busy. So I usually turn to the stack of magazine pages I have pulled (about ten monthly) and find the simple craft ideas that they have there. While we were up on our cabin trip the kids made Duct tape checker boards, an idea I found in the Family Fun magazine last November. 

This craft was simple and fun to make, the kids did most the work themselves and even though my really nice sewing scissors are now gummed with duct tape this was a great activity.

Here is what you will need:

Roll of duct tape

3 sheets of duct tape (all three different colors)

Gallon Ziploc bag.

24 one inch wooden discs. 

Start by taping the Ziploc bag with the roll of duct tape. You need to be careful to not tape the bag close. You tape both sides of the bag and again need to do your best not to leave gaps in between each row of tape.

After the bag is taped take one of the sheets of duct tape and cut out 16 squares, about 1 1/4 inches by 1 1/4 inches.

Place these in a 4x4 grid  but do not remove the backing until it is situated how you would like. Then remove the backing and place them on the board.

To make the checker pieces turn one of your remaining duct pieces over so the grid sheet is facing you. Trace twelve of your wooden circles then cut those out. Do the same on the remaining duct tape piece and remaining wooden circles.

After they are cut out peel off the backings and place on the wooden discs.

That's it. You are finished. It is fabulous and fun and the kids love it.

Tasty Thursday: Cheeseburger Pizza

When the kids asked for cheese burger pizza this week I went to work. I went through the recipes that I could find and then decided just to make up my own. It was a cheeseburger so what do you put on it...cheese, burger, pickles, and tomatoes right?  Well in my house you use bacon as well. 

Here is the recipe I used:

Nat's Cheeseburger Pizza (makes 2 14 inch round pizza)

Bobby Flay's Pizza dough 

2 cups ketchup

1 cup mustard

1.5 lbs of ground beef

10-12 strips of bacon

 1 onion, chopped

2 tomatoes

pickles

cheese

Heat oven to 375, I used a pizza stone for this particular pizza but you can use what you have. While the oven is heating brown the ground beef with your chopped onion, and bacon, and slice your tomatoes. Mix the ketchup and mustard together, this will become your "pizza" sauce.

Then it is time to build your pizza. I topped my dough with the sauce and then a sprinkling of cheese and the tomatoes. Half your beef mixture should go on the top and then top with cheese. We added pickles on half of the pizza which seemed to work.

The verdict- it was liked but not as much as the Nacho Pizza from last week. That said everyone ate it and said how it tasted just like a cheese burger. So I figure it was a success.

Workout Wednesday: commit, stop, recommit, stop, repeat

Okay Workout Wednesday only exists because of my friend Elisha, who runs a wonderful blog over at My Thunder Thighs.  Elisha and I have been friends for six or seven years now and we have had similar struggles when it comes to our weight and weight loss. She has been a huge inspiration to me and we have big plans for the future.

Anyway she is the one that suggested/insisted that Wednesdays be the day I dedicate to writing about my workout journey.

I fall into a rather bad cycle of work outs. I get excited and I am all gung ho. I go to the gym five or six times a week, I track my food, I make good decisions with food-then something happens. I could be I get sick, or we go out of town, or we buy a house...anyway I fall off the wagon and I do it big time.  Then something, usually the way my pants fit or the number I see on the scale, or how I look in a picture, sends me back into action and back to the gym.  Where eventually something else happens...see the vicious cycle here? Right now I am well into a repeat cycle.

I make it to the gym four to five times a week right now, I try to be active on Saturdays making sure I get some type of work out in, even if it is just mowing the lawn, but I know just over the horizon is that new stoppage point. I need to find a way to over come that one, find a way to fight through the temptations for sleep or over indulging in food (my biggest vice). I need to find a way to talk myself out of talking myself out of going to the gym.

Let's face it, I know I will commit and stop and recommit again and again but what I really have to decide is what do I want out of the work out experience. Am I working out to lose weight or do I want to be strong and healthy enough to run a 5K with friends in September, or chase after my children in the park.  I think once I can really truly answer this question maybe I will be able to put a stop to the cycle.

What do you to to avoid the slumps or to pull yourself out of one?

Try it Tuesday:Baby Towels

In my younger singler years when a family member or a friend announced a pregnancy I would whip out my knitting needles and within a month have a fun little baby sweater that would be delivered or mailed to the expectant mother. I loved knitting and it really only took me a few weeks of watching Doctor Who or Buffy to knock out a sweater. 

Then I got married and had kids. No longer were my evenings my own and though I loved the change my knitting time went to nearly nothing. In fact poor Matthew didn't even get a sweater until he was 18 month old  (I started it four months before he was born). I still wanted to give a homemade baby gift though and was at a loss of what to do.

Inspiration struck one day after getting Matty out of the bath, I wrapped him in a towel that a neighbor had made for us and that I loved. Here is the reason I loved it- it was big enough to wrap him in and the hood covered his whole head, not just part of it. After almost two years of use it has held up and it wasn't flimsy, it was a good thick towel.  I looked at how my neighbor had put Matty's together and made my own.  In fact I made five of them. I just wish I had taken pictures to walk you through the set up

So here is what you need:

2 wash clothes

1 towel

3 yards of ribbon

To make hood:

Sew together two sides of the wash clothes (thing of it as the top and back)

then sew some of the ribbon on to the front of your hood. I usually put it about two inches from the end.

To make hooded towel:

Sew the ribbon horizontal across the towel about four to five inches from the bottom. 

Attach the hood to the towel 

These are quick and easy shower gifts or just fun for your own little one.

Freeday Friday: Like saying goodbye to a good friend

Yesterday I was at the gym minding my own business on the cross trainer while I read Family Circle and watched Good Morning America, what I don't like to get bored, anyway whilst I was doing all this a story on GMA caught my eye.  

I must admit I teared up a bit. I was a 3 day walker for two years. 2008 in Atlanta and 2009 in Cleveland. I learned so much about myself on those walks and I loved being part of a 3 day family. 

This announcement did not catch me by surprise though. My email box has been inundated with offers from Kommen to sign up for the 3 day at rock bottom prices. The normally $90.00 sign up fee has been dropped to $30 or $15. Something that I have never seen before. I know they are have a lack of walkers. Part of this I am sure is still fall out from last year's decision to revoke funding then continue funding Planned Parenthood. I also think that the thought of having to raise $2300 is daunting so many in a rebounding economy. No matter what the reason I was sad to hear that they races were being discontinued in half of the cities, one of which I had fond memories of walking in. I was sad for all those future participants that won't get the experience I had. An experience to be part of something so much bigger than myself. Something that I willing signed up to do again despite having to live in a tent, walk 20 miles a day with blisters, and  getting a rather serious foot infection. 

I know that this isn't the end of breast cancer research or of Kommen affiliated activities. But something I love is going away and I just have to take a moment and say goodbye before I let it go. 

Tasty Thursday: Nacho Pizza

Okay I have neglected this poor blog too long. Not sure the start of Summer Vacation is the best time for a busy mom of four to start blogging on a personal blog but what the heck, let's throw caution to the wind and jump in with both feet. Since I want to keep this blog going I spoke with the my dear friend and she helped me come up with some snazzy titles and topics I can talk about each day.

Today it is Tasty Thursday. As the title suggests Thursdays will be where the recipes are housed (as a side note, I can never spell recipes correct. Thank heavens for spell check.)

Today's tasty treat is Nacho Pizza.

It all started the Saturday before Memorial Day. We had just visited some graves and decided to visit our favorite pizza joint for dinner on the way home. While we were waiting the waitress, being smart and heading off trouble, brought over crayons, color pages, and a pizza cookbook. The kids began flipping through this book and found so many pizzas that they looked at with shock and wonder. Cheeseburger pizza with ketchup and mustard sauce, Enchilada pizza, pizza with grilled veggies, pizza that you grilled. They were enthralled and I must admit I was too. So we decided that one night a week this summer we would devote to new pizzas. We affectionately have titled this new tradition- Pizza Palooza.

Last night was our first book and after careful deliberations (a vote in the car) we settled on trying Nacho Pizza first.

I scoured Pinterest and the internet for a good recipe (there is that word again) to try and ended up combing three our four ideas into our tasty treat.

I start with my trusty pizza dough recipe. I wish I could claim this recipe but alas it is Bobby Flay's and you can find it here.  It is a fabulous recipe and I have never had it go wrong. I usually add fresh herbs to make this even better but since we were going nacho style I added some chipotle spice, cheese, and some green chilies.

After the crust is ready roll it out on your chosen pizza cooking surface and then put it in the oven at 425. I cooked it for 8 minutes or until the crust started to turn a golden brown, I think that you can cook it all the way through though and that it wouldn't make a difference.

While that was cooking I made the sauce- 1/2 cup of sour cream and 1 cup of the chunkiest thickest salsa you can find. This is important. The sauce is going to be runny so the less runny you can make it the better.

I also cut my veggies and got my other toppings ready. The toppings are up to you. I used a can of black beans, half of an onion chopped, a tomato chopped, can of olives sliced, and some grilled chicken. Oh and cheese of course. Since it is a nacho pizza I figure you can use whatever toppings that you love on nachos. Want to put on jalapenos great. Prefer steak or beef perfect. This is great to adjust to your preference.

When the crust came out of the oven I spread my sauce on the top...it was delicious.

Once the sauce was on I spread out my other toppings. Since I am not a huge fan of cooked tomatoes I left them off until the last stage of cooking...more on that in a second.

In no time I was ready to put it back in the oven for about 7 minutes or until your cheese has melted all the way through.

I pulled it out yet again and topped it with crushed tortilla chips a bit more cheese and my chopped tomato. Back in the oven it went for about five minutes and then it was ready.

I was really nervous to try this. When asking for ideas earlier James had said he just wanted cheese pizza, this was  a bit more than that but the kids loved it. It was voted really really good by the whole table and even Matty ate all his slice.

So there you go. A yummy new twist on pizza dinner night.

What are your favorite nacho toppings? What would you have added? Oh and what great pizza ideas do you have?