Got Pizza??

First let me start off by saying that I promise I am not going to turn this into a food blog nor will I talk about "the diet" endlessly.

Having said that..can I pleeeeeease share with you the personal pan pizzas that my husband and I made for ourselves today for lunch? Look at this baby..doesn't it look delish, especially on my Target after Christmas clearance paper plate?



It tasted even better and the calorie count is less than 250, add a garden salad to it and you have yourself a nice healthy lunch.

Real quick I will tell you what we did. Our crust is 1/2 of a honey wheat pita pocket. (If you are near a Schnucks, this week they have Kangaroo Pita Pockets on sale $1 a package, not a shabby price at all.) For our sauce we each used 1/4 cup of a Ragu heart healthy pasta sauce. We then topped it with turkey bacon, followed by veggies of our choosing. For the finale we added a little oregano. Toasted them in our toaster oven and...............

BOOYAH!!! They were soooooo yummy!!!

We do/did the Little Ceasars $5 pizzas on Friday nights often, I am just excited that we can still do that for the kids and we (my husband and I) will enjoy our own pizza and not feel like we are missing anything!

Hope you are having a great day!!!

Menu Plan Monday - 01/03/2011

Ok so as previously posted one of my two resolutions revolutions for 2011 was to lose weight - my husband and I are doing it together, well, kind of. We are part of a Biggest Loser contest that has other contestants, so really we are competing against each other. In the end though it is about making healthy choices and while none of our children have an extra ounce on them, we know that unless we teach them now about eating healthy they could some day struggle with weight too.

Whew..did that make any sense? If so, read on....lol

Anyway, I have decided that in order to expand our taste buds, I am going to fix at least one meal every week that is new to us.

This week the new recipe is Gourmet Roast Beef Roll Ups. This is a Biggest Loser recipe. It sounds really good and I am anxious to give it a try. I don't know why, but the chili garlic sauce just sounds really appealing to me!

Here is our menu line for the week:

Monday: Tacos..for my husband and I it will be taco salad, using ground turkey and low calorie tortilla strips.

Tuesday: Baked Ziti - featuring whole wheat pasta and heart healthy Ragu sauce..

Wednesday: Gourmet roast beef roll ups ( I can't wait!)

Thursday: Grilled Chicken w/ salad and steamed vegetables

Friday: Turkey Burgers with baked potatoes and probably some mac and cheese for the kiddos.

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Dinner at my mom's - just another reason why I love Sundays!!!


That's our line up for the week. I will let you know if the if beef roll ups get a thumbs up or thumbs down.

2011 Revolution!!!

Every.Single.Year. I make resolutions and I usually do well.

For a few months.

Some things??

Just a few weeks.

Maybe that makes me a failure, maybe not. I get credit for trying though regardless, right?

Anyway, I will be trying again in 2011, but this year I am going to call it revolutions..(I got the idea from JOY FM!!)

Revolution •a drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving

I, personally, have only two goals for 2011..to grow more inwardly, while shedding pounds outwardly- to be fit inside and out.

I am excited that for once in my ADD life..getting organized is not on my list. I do not have the whole organization thing down completely, but I am more organized than I have ever been in my life. I know where the band aids are, I can find a pen very easily, you can open up cabinets and tupperware is not falling down on you (usually :))..you get the picture.

My husband and I have some financial goals that we are hoping to meet in 2011 as well, we at least have a plan to meet them.

I am excited about 2011..I feel the Lord has great things in store for me and my family.

Happy New Year everybody!!!!

Life Around the Dinner Table

My family knows..because I told them..that dinner time is my favorite part of the day. And yes, I do enjoy eating, but that is not my reason for loving this time of the day. After we give thanks we always ask the kids what their favorite part of the day was and what their least favorite part of their day was. Let me tell you that is very enlightening. Dinner time around here is more than eating the last meal of the day, it is where we learn about each other, we learn the latest jokes, we share our joys, we ask questions, etc. The dinner table isn't just for eating either, we craft, we play games, we carve pumpkins, we sit and talk while drinking hot cocoa and more.

The best thing is that it doesn't just have to be our dinner table..it can be Grandma's (my mom) dinner table, where we all get together, we reminisce, laugh and share. My brother, sister, mom and I have talked hours about our memories with my dad, we have cried at the dinner table too. Over the holidays we learned things about our family that were funny and some that were sad. We have enjoyed my mom's awesome cooking and baking... all around the dinner table.

I have also come to love my in-laws dinner table too. German immigrants they are, I love to hear the stories of the most amazing courage that my husband's grandparents had. Coming to the US by boat with their two young daughters, wanting a better life for them and doing what was necessary to make that happen. Their story is AMAZING!!

While the food around the dinner table will be changing soon ( healthier eating in the New Year..try, try again..isn't that what they say?), the conversation, the the laughter and the knowledge gained around the table, I pray will be unchanging!!!!

Buffalo Wild Wings - Party of Chaos

It has been a long time since we (my husband, kids and myself)have gone out to eat together. At a restaurant. A sit down, have a person come take your order, then deliver your food, refill your drinks kind of restaurant.

Since I had not gone to the grocery store and really had no desire to rummage through the fridge or freezer to make a mod podge dinner for my family, I decided to check to see if any local restaurants were having "kids night".

Unfortunately most of the restaurants near us had their "kid nights" on other nights. Tuesday and Thursdays seem to be a big night for those who live near me...

However, Buffalo Wild Wings have their night on Mondays. Perfect. $1.99 per kid and that included drink. Even more perfect. The age limit for BWW is 12...well, color me happy...all my kids were eating...and drinking...for $1.99 each!

So I go tell the kids to get there shoes on because we were going out to eat, totally expecting them to be excited since this is a rare thing.

Nope.

They were playing and didn't want to go out to eat.

Not a one of them.

After some time convincing them that this would be just as much fun as staying home and for sure a better dinner than what would otherwise be headed their way, they obliged.

Upon arrival to a pretty desolate BWW, which really surprised us since not only was it kids night, but it was also Monday Night Football. We really expected more people to be there. We were seated right away and were able to order our food right away, always a good thing.

I know you are wondering where the chaos is..I am getting to it.

While waiting for our food, Brian took the kids to look at the video games, only returning for me to fish through my purse for as many quarters as possible. BTW, we are proud owners of three very new and expensive bouncy balls. I sense your jealousy. At one point I hear workers gushing over a child that had apparently fallen. Oh yeah, it was one of ours. Our youngest who may have happened to wear her new dress up play, princess high heels out to dinner tonight. Only a little embarrassing. Not as embarrassing though as apparently our 11 year old was when she found out she would be ordering from the kids menu. I mean, really, if she ever won the clean plate award, we probably would have considered letting her order from the adult menu, but it is for kids 12 and under, it was only $1.99 with drink..ok so maybe we wouldn't have considered it. For the record, she did not finish her meal. In fact not a one of them did.

Not one.

Even my 8 year old who is the world's best eater, did not finish her meal. In fact about half way through she threw down her sandwich, tells me she needed to go to the bathroom...I look up at her and she was as white as a ghost. The prayers began for me, "Lord, please don't let her throw up, please...but if she has to, please, let her make it to the bathroom, please"Then the fears from the other kids begin.."Is Ash, sick, is she going to throw up?"

The kids are not as quiet as I am when I am saying my prayers.Thus the bold italics above!

Hearing that someone could possibly be vomiting, is not want the patrons of a restaurant want to hear..

She didn't get sick..thankfully. We asked for our check and some to go boxes and as quietly as a brood of six can be, we left.

I am pretty sure I heard applause upon our departure!!

Ok, so it wasn't that bad and pretty sure I was just being paranoid about people hearing us, but at any rate my husband and I did learn that if the kids say that they don't want to go out to eat, we will listen.

PB&J with a big glass of milk can make for a mighty fine dinner!!!