DQ

DD and I par took (sp?) in our local DQ's "Customer Appreciation Day."  Yep, I better get up early, early and hit the gym before he leaves early for out of town.

Double Fudge Cookie Dough Blizzard and Raspberry Truffle Blizzard taste very good when shared together.  Though we couldn't get Thing 1&2 to try it that way.  Next time, we will get a Raspberry Double Fudge Cookie Dough Blizzard and call it a day.  Splitting one between four isn't ....so bad right?

Cheeseburger Pizza, Not quite there...

     So tonight, Dear Dad (DD) is working late, and I was scrambling my brain as to what to make Thing 1&2 and myself for dinner.  (For those of you Stay At Home Parents I know I am not alone when I say dinner morphs when DD isn't present. It usually goes towards the breakfast for supper or "brupper" as I call it (even though I call it dinner usually), or something really easy, or something that I'm not sure DD will eat).  Tonight, there would be no brupper, as I'm out of eggs (not in the mood to drag two kids to the store), and then I thought of picking up a $5.00 pizza (they have a drive though, and they're not half bad for $5.00), then I thought, "hey, why don't we make a pizza".  Of course Thing 1 wanted pepperoni, and something in me said "cheeseburger pizza." 

    So I threw all the good stuff in my mixer, made some dough, and proceeded to make the pizzas - kiddos first of course.  The pepperoni pizza was pretty straight forward, with the exception that Thing 1 insisted that it be in the shape of a triangle.  For Easter.  (He decided this should be the recognized shape of Easter - triangle Easter chocolates coming your way soon ;).  So a triangle pizza we made.

    While that one was cooking I made up mine.  I had memories of Godfather's Cheeseburger Pizza floating through my head the whole time.  Unfortunately, it didn't quite turn out how my memory expected it to be :(  It was, OK, but not great.  The crust was good and crunchy, and the flavor was OK, but only so.  I was going for mouthwatering, I want to eat the whole thing, great.

Here's what I did:

• Dough (I added garlic and onion powder to it)
• Sauce (equal parts Miracle Whip and Ketchup with a good squirt of mustard)
• Browned Beef/Turkey mix seasoned
• Mix of Cheddar and Mozzarella cheese
• Dill Pickle coins

     I made it on parchment paper, on top of my Epicurean  (got it for 40% off at my fave Knife sharpening place) cutting board, for ease of transfer.  (I'm in love with this cutting board - it's heat resistant for one thing - but that's another post).  Baked it on the parchment for 10 minutes on my pizza stone at 400 degrees, then slid the paper out, so the crust could crisp up, and cooked for another 10 minutes.

Here's what I think I'll do next time

• Pizza Sauce this time? Or leave out one of the three condiment/sauces
• Either use relish in the condiment sauce so there is more pickly-ness to it, or at least at pickle juice to sauce.  Or add pickles after it's cooked
• Add sauteed onions to toppings (I was too lazy to unthaw mine from the freezer)
• Add Crumbled Bacon
• Plan ahead and have lettuce and tomato to shred to top after it's cooked

     So I'm wondering if anyone has made lately a cheeseburger pizza they really loved?  Or have you dined at Godfather's and had their deliciousness lately (I'm really curious if they use a red sauce or a condiment sauce)?  Any pointers?  Any thoughts on what I could do for next time?

     Maybe I'll try recreating a BLT pizza next time.  Jet's Pizza makes a mean BLT hand tossed....yum...good thing I made the gym this morning ;)

***Editor's Note: I'm feeling better about my creation - DD just got home and had some - he said it was "yummy."  I'm also feeling good about myself that I was able to save $$ by making this at home.  I was looking through today's mail and noticed a Papa Murphy's ad for a Cheeseburger Pizza for $10 - $12 for the family size.  ***

Meat Loaf Recipe (compliments of MIL)

Yeah, I'm sure everyone has their own recipe, but this one deserves a try - it's so tasty!  I got it from my MIL - it is my go to recipe for meatloaf!

1  Egg

1 tsp.  Poultry Seasoning (*this is what MAKES the recipe)

1/4 Cup  Minced Onion

2-3 Lbs  Hamburger

1 Cup  Milk

dash  Pepper

4 Cups  Rice Krispies - Crushed

1 - 8 oz  Mozzarella Cheese Shredded and/or Mozzarella sticks ripped into half put down the center in middle of meat)

Ketchup

(*Original recipe called for 2 tsp. Salt - I omit - I feel the Poultry Seasoning and cheese have plenty of salt)

•Mix together except for cereal and cheese

•Add cereal and cheese - mix by hand.  If you are just using the mozzarella sticks - put half (or a quarter if you're doing two loaves) mix in the pan, put the mozz sticks in, then cover with the rest of the mix.  Another cool idea, put in muffin tin pans.  Then you have individual servings that can be frozen and reheated as necessary.

•Bake 350 degrees.  One big loaf for 1-1/2 to 2 hours Uncovered, or split into two loaves for 1 hour each (I freeze the second one usually - or cook both both this way if I'm pressed for time which is almost always...)  If you are using muffin tins, bake for about 45 mins.  All meat should be cooked to appropriate temps - remember carry over times (but that's another page;))

•Baste ketchup on top after baked, and broil till it just starts to brown.

Not my own pic (coming the next time I make one I'll switch it) - thx Food is a Blessing!

Homecooked meals when I don't feel like cooking.

This is what you make for dinner when you really don't feel like cooking (or have the time, anything planned, whatever) - build an arsenol of food in your freezer  (without a lot of extra work).

To easily build a freezer full of meals with minimal extra work, follow this easy simply tip I read in a blog somewhere.  

Couldn't get the picture to turn :(

1. When you make a recipe that goes in a pan to double it (or triple). 
2. In your extra pan(s) put a layer of tinfoil down first (with extra to wrap over top).  Construct the dish as normal (with out fresh veggies/crunchies etc.). 
3. Wrap extra tinfoil over the top.  Freeze till solid in the baking dish. 
4. Take out of dish, put in ziptop bag (using a straw to suck out extra air).  LABEL the dish with date and what it is and put back in freezer. 
5. When you're ready to make it, put the casserole back in the original dish, rip off the extra tinfoil (but save in case you need to cover to stop browning) and cook for 1.5 the normal time it would take unfrozen (if it normally takes 1 hour, cook for 1.5 hours).  I do keep an eye on it so it doesn't get too brown on top.
6. Add any fresh veggies/crunchies you would normally add. 
7. The best part - if you're careful with the tinfoil when you dish up, no/little cleaning! :D

If I'm doing this with meatloaf, I let it sit on the counter for maybe 10 minutes so I can peel it out of the tinfoil and still use my meatloaf pan.  This method allows you to have bunch of home cooked meals in your freezer that don't take up much space.  You get your dishes back same day (really within a few hours).

Yeah, this one either :(

The way to a man's heart...

The way to a man's heart....

So very talented friend of mine made this for her "huspin" this year for Valentine's day. 

*A Dozen Bacon Roses, nestled in pistachios (I'm guessing this is his favorite, any favorite nut or candy could be substituted - I'd probably use peanut M&M's) with hard boiled egg "flowers" with an ice cold Guinness.

I'm just so impressed by her creativity, I had to share. (As my Google search shows, the roses were not an original idea, but the presentation is first class!)

For anyone who'd like to try this on their own, I found a link to a site for directions.  You do need to sacrifice a cheap mini muffin pan, but this could make some guys day!

Cumin, my new best friend!

So recently I've become a member of Pinterest and have found so many yummy recipes lately.  And I have found a new love of cilantro and black beans (which I never used to like - I credit Thing Two for changing my taste for these), and along with cumin, avacado (sometimes), lime and anything Mexican flavored.  Last night I made Crockpot Salsa Chicken with Cilantro Lime Rice - yum!  Not quite as good as Chipotle, but a great first start for sure!

So this isn't mine (didn't get a picture taken, and I made wraps).  Two quick recipes to make.
Crockpot Salsa Chicken Tacos
Throw in a crockpot for 2-4 hours (mine cooks hot and fast)
*2 Large chicken breasts
*1 Jar Salsa
*1 Package Taco Seasoning
*1/2 can black beans
Shred after cooking, before serving.

Cilantro Lime Rice
*2 Cups Rice (I had some brown long grain pre-cooked and frozen that I used)
*1 Tbls Oil of your choice (I used safflower)
*3 Tbls of chopped Cilantro
*2 Tbls Lime Juice
*~ 3/4 Cup Corn

I threw the chicken and rice on a wrap with a little low-fat sour cream, tomato, lettuce, and a bit of chedder cheese.  YUM!