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?

Easy gift ideas

I meant to have this up a lot earlier but tis the season. 

I love making homemade gifts, my problem is I don't usually have time to make them. That is why I try to find some fun simple, easy ideas that can fit into anyone's schedules...and in my case...abilities. 

The first was what I call the Grandpa Book. We made this for my dad for father's day and for Christian's dad for his birthday.  We just got pictures of each individual grandchild and printed them off on the computer. The kids then each drew a picture or wrote a note explaining why they loved their grandpa. After I just went and bound the books with a cover sheet of all the cousins on it. 

These were a lot of fun to make and so super easy.

The second thing was friend gifts for the girls. I thought of just going to buy candy for them to give but when you have three kids with friends that can start making them very pricey. So I ran across a fun easy craft that cost as much as three Christmas candies but we made 14 gifts for the same price. 

This is simple to make and do. Just get those metal washers and paint them with nail polish. We painted them with white nail polish first then the girls went to town designing and painting (still with nail polish) whatever they wanted. After they dried we put on a a coat of clear polish and then tied it with a ribbon to make a necklace. They were simple and quick, and the girls loved it.

Bye Grandma!

When I was sixteen I was playing a grandmother in a school play. The director of our show was getting very frustrated with  the exuberant energetic grandmother I was portraying. He pulled me aside and asked me what my grandma was doing right then, I honestly replied, "she's hiking in the Amazon." He looked at me and told me to act like someone else's grandma not like mine.

My Grandma passed away last Tuesday night after her final bout with cancer.  I was lucky enough to get to spend her final hours with her, holding her hand and saying goodbye. She was visited all day by family, friends, and neighbors. Everyone sat with her and shared special memories as we all said goodbye.  When the time came she was surrounded by her children and a few of her grandchildren.

Now most people would call their grandmothers sweet. Um that is not an adjective I would ever use to describe my grandma. She was a feisty red head, a true diva that still visited the salon once a week to get her hair done.  Her glasses were legendary among her grandchildren and we loved to look through the pictures on her wall to see how far back we could date the glasses.

I had a very special relationship with my grandma. She is also the reason I still can't eat my fries until my burger is gone. I remember swimming at her condo during summers and then going to the park for a picnic of tuna sandwiches-with cheese, pringles, and teddy grahams. There were sleep overs where the couch magically transformed into a bed and the next morning we would go out and get our work out in walking the mall. As I got older outings turned to the mall, minus the morning work outs, and trips to Gardner's Village.  I spent many Thanksgiving Eves and Thanksgving mornings at Grandma's, helping getting ready for Thanksgiving. It was still a blow when I found out that her pies came from Marie Calendars and her carrot cake came from a local bakery. Oh and when I found out that she didn't make the Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies I was crushed for weeks.

As I entered my twenties our relationship morphed again. We started travelling a bit together. Our first trip was with my brother and Poppa to the Shakespeare Festival where we extended it and went to Bryce Canyon for a day. Then there was our trip to Boise where she showed me and my coworkers how to make a proper mimosa.  We went to Santa Barbara for my cousin's wedding and boy what an adventure that was! We toured a few of the missions, went to Slovang, and spent time on the beach. We started going to the Shakespeare festival every year with her sister Mary and my friend Katie. It was there I started to refer to her as a member of the Ya-Yas. And though she drove me crazy on those trips to Cedar she always said what a wonderful time she had, and after we got two different hotel rooms I usually had a pretty good time too.  She paid for my plane ticket to Atlanta where I did my first 3-day cancer walk in her honor. And she took me to DC with my parents where she whacked everyone with her cane while Dad pushed her in her wheelchair.

When I got married she accepted my new children without any thought. They were now hers and sure enough the cards on birthdays, valentines day, and Halloween came without fail.

I would often get little articles or comics from her in the mail. I will miss that. We spent many evenings together watching BBC movies and eating pork chops after my grandpa died. And  I was so grateful when I went out to lunch with her just a few weeks ago. She loved to show my children off and she made me feel like the best mother and granddaughter around with all the undeserved praise she heaped on me.

So Grandma, thank you for the adventure and for what you have taught me the last 33 years. Thank you for supporting me, for inviting yourself on my vacations, for teaching me to love Shakespeare, for driving me crazy, for loving me, and for letting me be part of the last years of your life. I will miss you and our lunches.