Food Friday - Grilled Pizza

My friend, Fatima, posted a recipe for grilled pizza on her blog a few weeks ago and I could not wait to try it! I know I just had a pizza recipe last week but this was just too delicious to not share right away. We had it for dinner over the weekend and it was absolutely scrumptious! We all loved it!

You can go to her blog post here and find the full recipe!

I did have to make a few changes because I do not have a stand mixer :(. Don't worry I have requested one for my next birthday or Christmas!! I used my bread maker to make the dough instead. I used the same ingreidents and same measurements (it is a bit more water than the recipe in my breadmakers recipe book calls for but it turned out fine). Put all of the wet ingredients into the breadmakers pan and then add the dry ingredients saving the yeast for last. Make a small "bowl" in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the yeast into that "bowl". Set your breadmaker to the dough setting and press start. My breadmaker took an hour and a half to mix, knead and rise the dough, definetly check the recipe book that came with your breadmaker for more specific directions.

The dough was perfect for the grill, it wasn't so soft that it made a mess. I also loved the homemade sauce, I added it on top of the traditional sauce and it was yummmmmy! We used sausage, a little pepperoni, green peppers and cheese for our toppings. A great benefit was there were very little dishes because it was all done on the grill. Give it a try and let me, and Fatima, know what you think!

Wordless Wednesday - It's Frightening!

Peoria Chiefs

The Peoria Chiefs play about 30 minutes from our house, so we decided to take the kids to their first baseball game! The weather was a little iffy but it turned out to be a nice night. Even better than the weather was the free hot dogs and peanuts they give out on their Wednesday night games! Trinity "caught" one of the soft baseballs they throw out to the crowd and one of the visiting teams players gave Keenan a real baseball (not included in the picture because he kept trying to throw it back!) Note the cute baseball shirt, I just couldn't resist! Our seats were on the rail behind the visiting team. Keenan and Trinity enjoyed being so close and it made it easier to contain Keenan :). Most of our time was spent doing this.....
and he actually left without any new bumps or bruises, even though he tried to climb over the rail! (Good thing his shirt was strong enough to hold him by). I have no idea who won and I think I saw a few batters bat, but a good time was had by all! We were able to stay till the end of the 5th inning, two and a half hours, which was a huge success in my book! We left with two baseballs, bellies full of free peanuts and hot dogs and the memories of our first baseball game.

Food Friday - Upsidedown Pizza

This dish probably doesn't fall into the low fat category but it's quick and yummy! I did use lean ground beef and low fat sour cream, cheese and crescent rolls so that helps with the calore count. We aren't big mushroom fans so I left them out and added a little pepperoni instead, you could probably add any "pizza topping" food and it would be tasty!

Upside Down Pizza
2 lbs. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 4 oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 1/4 oz. pkg. spaghetti sauce mix
2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 c. sour cream
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
8 oz. tube refrigerated crescent rolls

1. Brown beef, onion and mushrooms in a skillet; drain well. Stir in sauce mix and tomato sauce.

2.Pour into an ungreased 13"x9" baking pan.

3. Spread sour cream over top and sprinkle with cheese.

4. Roll out crescent dough; pinch seams closed and stretch dough to fit over top of pan, touching all edges. (No matter how hard I tried I could not get the dough to touch all the edges. I got as close as I could and it still turned out fine.)

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand several minutes before serving.

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Since I quit teaching...well for a pay check anyways, I have tried many ways to be frugal in an attempt to stretch our money as far as it would go. I have discovered a few things; I stink at the coupon thing, left-overs are not as bad as I once believed them to be and whoever puts out those "a stay-at-home-moms salary would be $120,000" reports needs to put their money where their mouth is :)!!! (I'll post something later about the coupons and left-overs.)

So when I came across a recipe on Facebook for homemade laundry detergent a couple of years ago it caught my eye. I wondered, could this really work and would it save enough money for it to be worth the time??? Well the answer to both of those is yes!


The ingredients:
1 bar grated Fels Naptha soap
3 cups Borax
3 cups Washing Soda (this is NOT baking soda)
5 gallon bucket with lid

I found the ingredients at Meijer (about $10) and the 5 gallon bucket with lid at Lowe's. Meijer had 5 gallon buckets but none with lids :(, so I finally just went to the hardware store.



The original recipe calls for you to melt each ingredient in 20 cups of water, which would be 60 cups when you were finished and I don't know about you but I don't own a pot that large so I changed things up a bit.....don't worry it still turns out fine!

The Directions:


Grate the bar of Fels-Naptha soap so that it is easier to melt. I just use my cheese grater. Over medium heat melt the grated soap in 6 cups of water, I let it slightly boil for just a minute to make sure that it is melted.







Add 3 cups of Borax and 6 more cups of water, let this dissolve completely. Add 3 cups of Washing Soda and enough water to fill the pot you are using and let that dissolve as well.




Pour this into the 5 gallon bucket. If it is really clumpy on the top skim this part off and put it back into the pot with a little more water and heat it again so that it can melt and then add it back to the 5 gallon bucket. Fill the bucket with water to the 5 gallon mark.

It took me about an hour to make and that was with stopping a few times to make sure the kids weren't trying to jump off the deck or anything crazy like that! I refill an old detergent bottle with a spout on it so that I don't have to drag out the 5 gallon bucket every time. You will also need to shake it before each use, it does separate. I have found that if you add a cup of store bought detergent to the old detergent bottle it will keep it from separating as much. So if you still have some Tide sitting on your shelf it wont go to waste, go ahead and try the homemade stuff and just use the Tide to keep it from separating!

I have been using this detergent since February and I love it!! Last week I made another batch, so one 5 gallon bucket lasted me about 3 months!! I have gotten out grass stains, blood, food stains and spaghetti sauce with it, it is great! It gets our clothes just as clean if not cleaner than Tide and is astronomically cheaper. You can make at least 3 batches from the box of Borax and Washing Soda. So give it a try and let me know how it goes!!


Keenan decided to help himself to a snack while I was working on it...Trinity should really show him how to get to the good snacks, he is munching on a plain piece of bread :)!

Food Friday - Chocolate Crinkles

Chocolate Crinkles
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
sifted powdered sugar

1. In a mixing bowl beat eggs, granulated sugar, chocolate, oil baking powder, and vanilla with an electric mixer till combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Cover and chill 1 to 2 hours or till easy to handle.

2 Shape dough in to 1-inch balls. Roll balls in powdered sugar to coat generously. Place balls 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes or till edges are set and tops are crackled. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. If desired, sprinkle with additional powdered sugar. Makes about 48 cookies.

This recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.

I thought I'd throw in a dessert this week and this is a yummmmmmmy one!! We love these cookies, they are very easy to make and I usually have the ingredients in my pantry. Try them out and tell me what you think :)!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day 2008

A Mother...

When you're a child she walks before you,
To set an example.

My mom set a wonderful, godly example and I hope to set the same example for my beautiful children.

When you're a teenager she walks behind you
To be there should you need her.

My mom was always there for me even when it wasn't the most pleasant place to be. Thanks Mom.

When you're an adult she walks beside you
So that as two friends you can enjoy life together..

My mom has become a wonderful friend! I enjoy sharing my life with her! I pray that by the example she has set I can walk my own children through these phases and come out on the other end as their friend.

Author Unknown

I had a wonderful day today!! Trinity sang at church, we went out for breakfast, we bought flowers, the kids took good naps, we planted our flowers, we went for a bike ride and enjoyed the evening outside! I also got the perfect cards one made by Trinity and one that said "Mom-we wanted to get you something FUN and exciting for Mother's Day------But you've already got us!" Boy isn't that the truth :)! I love being a mom.

Food Friday - Grilled Chicken Tostadas

It's Friday again! Where does the week go?!?

This Friday's recipe is one of our favorite summer grill recipes.

Grilled Chicken Tostadas

Marinade:
1/2 cup lime juice (fresh 3-4 limes or bottled)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Vegetable oil (plus more for brushing the tortillas
1 TBSP honey
2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp chili powder

Tostadas:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack
1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce

Optional toppings:
salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, green onions

1. Place chicken in a gallon size plastic bag and add all the marinade ingredients. Turn the bag to thoroughly coat the chicken, place it in a bowl, and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight), turning the bag occasionally. Remove the meat from the refrigerator 20 minutes before you want to start grilling.

2. Grill the chicken until it's no longer pink. Transfer it to a cutting board and let it rest for about 5 minutes before cutting it into 1/2 inch strips.

3. Lightly brush both sides of the tortillas with vegetable oil. Grill them on each side until they turn slightly brown. Before removing the tortillas from the grill, sprinkle each one with 1 TBSP of cheese.

4. To serve, layer the tortillas with shredded lettuce, the chicken strips, the remaining cheese, and any additional toppings.

I found this recipe on familyfun.go.com.

We absolutely love this meal!! The chicken is delicious. As an added bonus there are virtually no dishes because you do it ALL on the grill. Try it and let me know what you think!

About the picture, it is from the website....I have discovered that I am no good at taking pictures of food :(. I will work on that and see what I can do for next week :).

Thunder Over Louisville

Thunder Over Louisville is the opening ceremony to Louisville's Derby festivities. We had never taken the kids so we decided to try it this year. We didn't spend the whole day there like we used to (before the kids) but we managed to go for about 2 1/2 hours. Keenan loved the airplanes, we got down to the river at the very end of the airshow!
Trinity REALLY liked the fireworks!

Gabe and I were glad that the kids are getting old enough (well, Trinity is and Keenan gets to tag along) for us to take them to some of the things that we enjoy!
At the end of the show we were very glad we decided to brave the crowds and go!! Keenan was so thrilled by the whole experience..........
that he slept through the last half of it!! This is an amazing thing considering that the grand finale is so loud it shakes the ground!

As for the Derby, these were our picks: Me-10 Paddy O'Prado, Gabe-8 Dean's Kitten, Trinity-20 Sidney's Candy, Keenan- 17 Dublin. I pick by the silks, Gabe says the pink blanket #8 wins lots, Trinity picks by the name, and Keenan picked the Irish name ;). We watched the Derby live on TV and cheered LOUDLY for our horses. My horse came in third, that was the best we did so I guess it's good we didn't have any money on it. Super Saver won and received the Rose blanket (that is what Trinity calls it) better known as the Garland of Roses.

One crazy thing Trinity remembered who won last year!! I have no idea how, but she did!I was talking to her about the Derby and she said yeah we can watch "that bird", at the time I had no idea what she was talking about and didn't think anything of it. Later I looked up the 2009 Derby winner and it was Mine That Bird!! Her memory amazes me!! We all watched the race last year on TV and I'm sure we talked about who won, but only that day and a year later she still remembers! I guess we will wait until next year to see if she remembers that Super Saver won this year :).

Gabe says that we might try to go to the Derby next year :) :) :)! I have always wanted to go so that I could pick out a dress and beautiful hat, guess we will have to wait and see!!

Wordless Wednesday

Say What You Mean

"DAddy, DAddy, DAddy"...Trinity was yelling off our back deck the other night so the whole street could hear her! I chimed in "Honey (I must call her this frequently 'cause sometimes she refers to me with this term of endearment) I don't think Daddy can hear you". Actually he probably could he just wasn't going to YELL back to her from the front yard so the whole street could hear HIM too. Trinity's exact words, said very quickly so that I didn't have a chance to stop her "Maybe I should yell louder, DADDY, DADDY, DADDY". Now she is screaming so loud I'm pretty sure the whole neighborhood could hear her. I laughed and thought to myself that I did not choose the correct words to convey my message!! I said Daddy can't hear you, I meant stop yelling for the whole street and neighborhood to hear!

Then I began to wonder how often do I say one thing to her but she hears another and I get agrivated that she didn't "listen" or "follow my directions". I am saying one thing to her and I don't choose the correct words and she hears the opposite of what I mean! You can imagine that this can cause some discord! Thinking further I also wondered if I do this with other people also (I'm sure my husband would say yes)...so I am going to start working on saying what I mean! Especially with my kiddos because that might clear up a few misunderstandings, frustrations, and sitting on ones spot. Not beating around the bush, or talking in some code that only I get but saying what I mean.