All out of flour

So after seeing the Healthy Pizza Pocket tutorial on The Busy Mom's Diet Blog I had to try it.

Now, if you haven't realized already, I make up my own rules when cooking and try things on the fly. I don't really follow recipes exactly and like to experiment. I find that when I do that my dinners turn out much better.

For starters, hubby was late and kind of messed me up, I wanted us to do this as a family. So I was doing this in a rush while watching Dinosaur climb on the couch and swiffer pole.

I didn't use whole wheat dough, I have bad reactions to whole so we used the dreaded white dough, LOL. I didn't have any flour, I thought we did, but we didn't. Without flour, a rolling pin was useless. But that is okay, we can improvise and figure it out. That's the fun part. I want my son, even though he wasn't helping this time, to know that cooking is fun. We are not supposed to be perfect and orderly, messy is good. Cooking should be fun, NOT a chore.

I used my sauce and homemade meatballs (with zucchini chunks). I have to sneak veggies in anyway I can. I also used soy cheddar cheese and totally forgot about the eggs. I will post about my meatballs on one of the Tuesday posts in the future.

I will now be moving Healthy Pizza Pockets  from my "Recipes to try" list on Pinterest to "Recipes I Tried and Loved"

Super messy, using just olive oil and sauce. I think I over did it on the sauce, oooops.

On the pan they looked horrific, I was worried they were going to be too thick and doughy. Next time I am going to bake them on the iron cast skillet.

On the plate they looked really good. The soy cheese was spilling out and the dough was red from sauce.

That first bite was magical, but the real test was Dinosaur. He totally approved and would not put the pizza pocket down in between bites.

He ate an ENTIRE pizza pocket. He is one messy, but sated dinosaur.

 Do you like to follow recipes exactly as they are written? 

Or do you prefer to experiment as you go?

I also wanted to share my stove with you. It's an electric stove and I spent ten years cooking on a gas one. I have to say electric heats up faster and cooks quicker, so it took some getting used to.

As I have stated in previous posts, we live in a small apartment and ALL of the appliances are outdated, but still work. That is what happens when you rent. How old is my stove? Well, I'm not sure, but here are some pics to show you how old it is.

If you can't see from that pic, how about this one? The timer and clock doesn't work, I use my phone to time how long foods are baking/boiling. Yes, there is a pocket knife on the stove, that is our letter opener. We open our mail right away and throw useless information in the garbage. It's not a perfect plan and we sometimes forget, but it works for the most part.

Do you have updated appliances? 

Or do you love your outdated appliances and all their quirks?

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CLEANING SCHEDULE

Daily: run washing machine if full, put away clothes, clean up kitchen

Tuesday: clean the bathroom 

7th: wash bathmats
What's your cleaning agenda today? 

  

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One, Two, Velcro my Shoe...

I got all these shoes at Sears for Dinosaur for only $36.33 when I brought him to the mall, or as he says I tricked him. It's not my best savings, but some stores sell ONE pair of shoes for $45 to $50 and I never understood that. I shop at Sears for shoes, since they seem to be the best price and the variety and quality of shoes are great.

They keep trying to get me to sign up for their rewards, but I did that before with my phone number and each time I went back I didn't have any points. I got fed up with their incompetence and don't give my phone number. I just wanted the shoes and that's it.

  

The two flip flops were originally $5.99 each, but they were on sale for $3.99 each.

 

The car's sandals were originally $22.99 but on sale for $14.99

The brown sandals were originally $17.98 on sale for $14.99

'Here's the receipt to prove how much I paid for the shoes. Did I get any for myself, NOPE. I'm a typical mom and always put my kid first. Though I do NEED to paper myself a bit more.

Original Price: $52.95

Sale Price: $36.33

Savings: $16.62

Not my best savings, but damn good if you ask me.

What's the cheapest price you paid for shoes? Do you shop for your kids more than yourself?

Dinosaur Approved Dinners - Pizza

PIZZA PIZZA We made pizza... PIZZA! Dinosaur LOVES pizza. Making the pizza is ALMOST as fun as eating it.

We add some Ragu pizza sauce, pepperoni, and left over meatballs. Pizza is a great way to use leftovers in the house. Toppings can be chicken, broccoli, sausage, carrots, pineapple, pork, green beans, hummus, olives, or any toppings you like. That's what's great about homemade pizza, there are NO rules and you make it the way YOU want.

If I don't watch dinosaur he'll eat all the toppings and try to eat the sauce all before we finish the pizzas. He's a hungry dino.

In our electric stove it only takes twenty minutes until they are perfectly ready for a hungry dinosaur with a huge appetite. I put them right on the rack, to ensure the bottom is crisp but not burnt.

Mini pizza's are perfect for Dinosaur to hold and take a crazy dinosaur bite. It is important for dinosaurs to try to fit the whole slice in their mouth. YUMMY!

What dinners do you love to make with your kids? How much do they help?

Pineapple Pancakes and Egg Cupcakes

Yes, pancakes again...but this time with pineapples. YES, pineapples. They were delicious and perfect. I cut the pineapples into tiny slices and added them into the batter. I did my usual mashed banana's in the syrup. Dinosaur loved them, even my picky dad ate some. 

More leftovers into eggs, only this time I have dinosaur calling them "Egg Cupcakes". Mom's are so good at being deceitful.

As you can tell from my previous recipes, I like to add lots of spices such as curry, garlic, onion, parsley and allspice. YUMMY

We used leftover fries, broccoli and fried chicken.

 Look how great that batter is, now time to cook the egg cupcakes.

Dinosaur couldn't eat them fast enough. Even though he saw green in the cupcakes, he gobbled them up. They were healthy, yummy, and filling.


What breakfast/lunch are you most proud of this week?

Mini Banana Muffins and Leftover Egg Muffins

Dinosaur loves to eat food he can hold in his hand. He can eat with a fork and spoon rather nicely, but the best way he eats is when he eats with his hands. As moms know, we have to get our kids to eat anyway we can.

I love taking a trusted banana bread mix and using it to make mini muffins. I follow the directions, instead I pour the batter into a mini cupcake pan.
 

 

 

Dinosaur loves to lick the spoon and being an only child you get to lick two spoons! 

 

  

After they are done, they look so yummy and smell delightful. They are the perfect size for Dinosaur's hands.

 

 

 These are perfect for daycare as breakfast or lunch, or even dessert with coconut or soy ice cream

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After seeing this all over pinterest, I had to try it. I chopped up our leftovers from the diner (chicken fingers, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and french fries)  and put them in a bowl with four eggs. I added parsley, onion, curry and garlic.
 

 They came out so unbelievably delicious. Dinosaur ate them right up.

Reminds me of quiche, may have to make these when company comes over. Would make a great appetizer.

Proud Mommy

Cashier at the grocery store said my son had good manners and was on the right path. Then she said it was a reflection of his mom. I almost cried.
Every mom wants to hear that. I want my son to be that kid that every loves and other parents know he'd a good kid. So glad that ours evident at only three years old.