The Crocheting Mom

Yes, you read that title right.  Strawberry Pizza!  I was confused, too, when my 5 year old came running over to me asking if we could make it. You see, for her 5th birthday, my Mom signed her up for a Highlights High Five Magazine Subscription .  My oldest got this as well, but has since moved up to the regular Highlights magazine.  It was written in my 5 year olds birthday card, that she would now be getting these magazines, but of course, at this age, she didn't really get it because she didn't have it in her hands at that moment.  When her first magazine came in though, she was so excited!  She doesn't normally get mail, unless it's her birthday or another holiday, so it was very exciting to her to get something of her own.  She was breezing though it, and then came running to me when she saw the recipe.  The Strawberry Pizza recipe.  She was so excited about it, there was no way I could say "No" to her.

I'm not huge into writing up recipes mainly because there are so many out there written by people who cook for a living, and also, because I don't usually use exact measurements when I cook for my family.  This meatloaf is a game changer though, and I wanted to share it with the world. This meatloaf is loved by everyone in my family, and has been one of the go to meals for many years now.  I think I saw a recipe online a few years ago, that spurred the recipe that I use now.  The secret ingredient:

         All parents know how expensive babies and children can be, having to buy diapers, wipes, food, toys, etc.  Why not save as much money as you can by making your own baby wipes.  If you use one tub of wipes per week, your family will spend, on average, $123.24 (based on huggies wipes at $2.37 for 64 wipes). Wouldn't you rather pay only $30.81 for the same amount of wipes per year?  Here's an easy way you can make these at home. 

I've mentioned in a post before, that my husband and I are on a diet, in particular, Nutrisystem .  One of the biggest questions when I tell people this, is how do you do that with your kids? We have 3 children, and they were the biggest issue when we decided to go on a diet.  I had to plan out a variety of meals, that they will most likely have often, that they will enjoy, and more importantly, that will not take very long to cook!

So not to hop on the cliche wagon, but we (my husband and I) have decided to try to loose weight again.  It's not new year related, though, it just happened to fall during this time.  About 4 years ago, we did Nutrisystem for a couple of months and were happy with the results.  In that two months I had lost 20 pounds!  

In a previous post I talked about our decision of trying to cut out as much sugar as possible from our diets.  One of our favorite meals has been Nachos.  We don't look at the calories anymore, just the sugar intake.  You can purchase all these ingredients with no sugar, you just have to look.  I can buy all this stuff at our local grocery store, but if for some reason you cant, then any of the "organic" type stores (Lucky's, Trader Joes, etc..) should have them.  Even my extremely picky 7 year old loves this meal!

     I hate cutting onions!  I used to be able to cut them with no side affect, but for the past couple of years, onions make me cry as if my favorite character on a TV show died!  It's so frustrating, because I put onions in a lot of my meals.  I always have to grab a tissue or a paper towel, just to prep myself before beginning to cut.      And then I learned about the culprit.

     While making all of my Christmas cookies, I thought it would be a good idea to post a recipe to one of the favorites.  I have always gotten rave responses about the Peanut Butter Blossoms from my family and friends.  It's a classic cookie, and I realize that there are lots of recipes out there, but some work for some and some work better for others.  So here's mine.

     When I think of summertime food, I always think of the macaroni salad that my mom made.  I mostly remember it as a teenager.  I would claim it as mine, or eat all I could before it was gone.  It was my favorite breakfast, lunch, and dinner food, well, maybe not breakfast!  I didn't do a lot of cooking when I was younger, so I never asked my mom how she made it.  When I went home recently, I requested her to make it, so I could finally learn.  It's actually really easy!

     It was Easter day, and I wanted to make a yummy home cooked meal.  I haven't made cornbread at home in a long time, well because I used to use the classic boxed recipe, and it always came out dry for me.  So when my husband suggested cornbread, I went online to see if I could maybe make it from scratch.  I found a recipe, tweaked it a little, and this is what I came up with.  The bread actually tastes really good and moist!  This is now going to be my go to cornbread if I need to make some at home!

     Maybe its because I'm a diet, or maybe it's because I'm a vegetable fiend, but this broccoli tastes so good to me!  I'm so used to making broccoli one way:  boiling on the stove, and then adding some butter and pepper.  My husband asked me to make it different somehow, since it was getting pretty boring, so I tried this recipe, and we both really liked it.  My almost two year old seemed to really enjoy it as well, having seconds of it even.  My five year old was the only one who didn't love it, but that's only because I wouldn't let her dip it in ranch.  She's a dipper.  Most likely if she can't dip her food in something, then she will not eat it!

April is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month!  Who doesn't love a grilled cheese?  Bread, cheese and a little butter.  But wait, there are so many other options.  I went looking for some more creative ways to make grilled cheese, and there are many!  I pinned many of these amazing ideas to my pinterest board, here .  Here are some of my favorite ideas! **Disclaimer:  Do not look at these when you are on a diet.  They will make your mouth water!!!!**

     A couple of weeks ago my husband found a recipe for "Meatball Sub on a Stick" that was going around facebook.  He told me about it so I went looking online for it.  I found it at a blog called, Cookies & Cups .  

     I love making new things in the kitchen.  Playing with the ingredients to make things taste different than what is expected, is fun for me.  I remembered a while back I had made a sweet potato shepherd's pie but I could not remember the recipe I used for it.  So I did what I usually do anyways, and put together my own, or what my husband calls it, actually cooking!  I looked at the other recipes out there and took some ideas from each, and made it to what I was looking for.      I made it and waited for the reviews from the family.  I got a thumbs up from the husband, the toddler, myself, but not the five year old, nothing pleases her though.  She just wanted to take the meat out and eat only that.  It must have not been too bad for her though, because when told there would be no sweet dessert if she didn't eat, she did eventually consume it.

Today is my husband's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Jason!!!  Each year I ask him what he would like me to make for his birthday dessert.  This year, he wanted a Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp.  I have never made one before so I went to allrecipes.com to find out how to make it.  I sorted through the recipes, "No, I don't want sugar free,""Yes, I want extra crisp," and so on.  

What...have...I...done??? This brownie in a mug is so easy to make, and you will most likely have all the ingredients in your house already.  Perfect for that night that you are just craving chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate! My children, heck my whole family, is not known for turning down sweets, especially brownies, so this recipe may be well visited from now on.

         This is a recipe that I got from my Mother In Law.  My husband grew up having this soup, and now he has shared it with me so I can bring the tradition down to our children.  It's really creamy and a great soup during the cold, frigid, winter days.  It's not hard to make at all, nor does it take very long, and it tastes delicious.

      Its that time of year again.  Super Bowl 48 is happening this Sunday.  Bronco fans and Seahawk fans will all be finding a party, or just a seat, in front of the tube.  Make these times even yummier with some great appetizers to snack on during the game.  Whether you are watching with your family and children, with a group of friends, or just by yourself while you crochet, everyone is sure to enjoy these quick and easy appetizers!

   Are your children picky eaters?  Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothies may be my children's favorite breakfast, snack, lunch or whatever meal!  It disappears quicker than anything else I make them, and there is always a request for seconds.  My oldest is so skinny and very athletic, so I'm always looking for good fat-filled food for her.  The peanut butter is great for this.  I'm pretty sure my youngest would have this any day of the week.  First of all, she gets to drink out of a big kid cup with a straw, (woohoo!)  and second, because it just tastes so yummy!  Either way, it is definitely my go to drink when they are hungry.

     My family was craving pizza one day and my husband suggested making these!  We had all the ingredients in the house and they were quick and easy to make.  These are very delicious and even our children enjoy them.  Good for lunch, or double the recipe for dinner.  As always, with my recipes, I use approximations on amounts.  Have fun with it and be creative.  Here's the recipe.