Packing sucks. I think pretty much every person in the entire worlds knows this. For me, it’s not so much putting my things in boxes, but having a mess everywhere I turn and not being able to easily walk through my own house without tripping over a giant box. That’s the part I hate. Izzy hates it all. She hates us moving, she hates the packing, the boxes everywhere, and the general stress that goes along with moving. Poor doggie. I keep telling her she’s getting a huuuuge backyard upgrade, but I don’t think she cares at the moment.
Cassidy, on the other hand, is still happy as a clam. She doesn’t care that we have a ga-jillion more boxes to pack…when it’s playtime, it’s PLAYTIME, people! Hmm, maybe that’s why I don’t seem to have gotten anything done…. 😉
That’s where these simple pizzas come in. There is ZERO time for cooking when there are boxes to be packed. I just don’t have time to spare in the kitchen. Not to mention, all my pots and pans are packed. I used whole wheat bagel thins for these and they were really good- I like the bread-to-topping ratio. I can see a lot of these in our future once we move. There’s nothing easier, and they’re pretty darn tasty too!
Bagel Pizzas
2 whole wheat bagel thins (or regular bagels, if you prefer)
marinara sauce
shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 a green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 a red onion, thinly sliced
black olives
thinly sliced button mushrooms
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lay the bagel halves in a single layer on a cookie sheet and toast for 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
Spread bagel thins with marinara and top with the vegetables, salt and pepper, then the cheese, using as much of each ingredient as you like. Place back in the oven for an additional 8-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serves 2.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
I have to admit, it’s been over six months since giving birth to Cassidy and I’m still having trouble losing the last bit of weight. We’ve been watching our portions and trying (TRY-ing) to cut back on sweets. However, for me, this proves veeeerrrry difficult…I can’t be expected to quit cold turkey! That’s why recipes like this make me happy- I still get my sweet fix, but I don’t have to feel so guilty afterwards!
This one couldn’t be easier- a box of angel food cake mix and a can of crushed pineapple. I loooove angel food cake, and the addition of pineapple makes it even yummier! Just bake it up in little cupcake liners and you have the perfect portion sizes! (of course, then, you’ll have to practice a little self control and not eat 12…..). 😉
Pineapple Angel Cakes
1 box angel food cake mix
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir the pineapple into the cake mix and pour into cupcake pans lined with cupcake liners (you’ll have enough batter to fill around 24 cups).*
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Cool before serving. Serves 24.
*You can also bake in a 9×13 pan or a tube pan.
Recipe source: adapted from allrecipes.com
Our anniversary (6 years, to be exact!) is coming up in the next month and we’ll be spending it in our new house! HOW exciting is that?! This will be a pretty big one- new town, new house, new baby- new life! We really prefer staying in on most special occasions- a nice, quiet evening at home, cooking together, sipping wine…it’s much better than going out to a loud, busy restaurant! Since we’ll have so much to celebrate, I think the entree of choice should be something extra special. Something like these pan-seared filets! YUM! They couldn’t be easier and they take less than 30 minutes to prepare! The end result is a tender, juicy steak with incredible flavor. A perfect meal for a perfect night at home (we may just send our little munchkin over to Pops and Mini’s house for the evening…)! 😉
Pan-Seared Filets with Mushrooms and Blue Cheese
2 8-ounce filets (this works great with ribeye too!)
vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper
1 pound button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
olive oil
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
splash red wine
crumbled blue cheese (as much or as little as you’d like)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot, 5 to 7 minutes.
Brush the steaks with the vegetable oil on each side and season with salt and pepper.
When the skillet is ready, add the steaks and sear on both sides for about 1 1/2 minutes per side.
Top each steak with a tablespoon of butter and place the skillet in the oven. Cook the steaks until cooked to desired doneness (about 10 minutes for medium and 15-20 minutes for well-done).
Remove the steaks to a platter, cover with foil, and allow to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes, while you cook the mushrooms.
To cook the mushrooms, heat 1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet. Add mushrooms, worcestershire sauce, wine, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently.
Top the cooked steaks with the sautéed mushrooms and a few crumbles of blue cheese. Serves 2.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
Chocolate + oatmeal + almonds = one yuuuuummy breakfast!
When you have a teething 6 month old with a fiery red-headed temper, you’re going to need a hearty breakfast to keep you going throughout the day. Let me rephrase that- a QUICK hearty breakfast. So lately, I’ve been microwaving up some quick-cooking steel cut oats and stirring in a few chocolate chips and sliced almonds. Fast, yummy, and filling!
Chocolate Almond Oatmeal
1/4 cup quick cooking steel cut oats*
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
dash salt
handful semi sweet chocolate chips
handful slivered almonds
milk, for stirring in at the end, if desired
Combine the oats, water, and salt in a small bowl and microwave for 4 minutes. Let sit for another 2 minutes or so. Stir in the sugar, chocolate chips, almonds, and milk. Serves 1.
*Feel free to use plain old quick cooking oats, if you can’t find steel cut.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
After months of keeping everything spotless, having showings on a moment’s notice, and all the other stresses of having your house on the market, it looks like we’ve finally sold our house. We’ll be moving at the end of the month and couldn’t be happier! I can barely sleep at night because I’m so busy decorating the new house in my head. We’ll be all moved in and settled just in time for fall- yay! I can’t wait to bake up lots of pumpkiny treats in my new kitchen!
Our sweet little ray of sunshine, miss Cassidy Grace is 6 MONTHS old! How did this happen?!
She’s crawling, eating solids like a champ (I’ll be posting a whole series on homemade baby food very soon!), sleeping 12 hours every night and keeping us on our toes constantly! 🙂
Here are just a few shots I took recently for her 6 month pictures:
I can’t even put into words how much we adore this little girl. She brings us so much joy on a daily basis and we are IN LOVE!
With everything that’s going on, things may be a little bit slow around here for the next couple of weeks, so stay with me! I promise things will get back to normal soon! Love you all!
