Pizza bites

I am always looking for quick, easy lunches I can fix for myself when Jason is working. I found a winner with these pizza bites.

mini french bread
tomato sauce (I usually have a jar in the fridge)
seasonings (I used Shirley J pizza and pasta season mix)
shredded cheese
pepperoni


Slice your bread fairly thin. Mix tomato sauce and seasonings to taste. Top each bread slice with a little sauce. Sprinkle on cheese and any toppings you might have in the fridge. Toast until the cheese is melted and bubbly. I use my toaster oven for this. It only takes 5 or 10 minutes. Just watch it close.

So yummy, so simple, so quick.

Powdered Laundry Detergent

In the past I have made and used liquid homemade laundry soap. You can find the liquid recipe here. 

Recently I made a batch of the powdered laundry soap. The powder uses the same dry ingredients and amounts as the liquid, but takes up much less room to store. I haven't had any problems with it clumping on my clothes, even when washing in cold water. I use about 2 tablespoons for a large load. Even using coupons, I find this much cheaper than any store bought detergent and it works VERY well. Because it is non-sudsy, it works fine in regular and HE washers. :)

Cheese Cake Fried Pie

As requested by so many of my Facebook Friends, here is my recipe:

Cheese Cake Fried Pie

Filling (this is to easy!):
1 package of cream cheese, softened
1 jar of marshmallow cream

Mix well in a bowl.

Everyone has their own favorite pie crust, so I am not even going there!
Just roll out your crust and cut into circles. I didn't bother pulling out the biscuit cutter. I had a wide mouth mason jar sitting on the counter waiting to be put away so I used it.

Place a scant spoonful of filling in the middle of each circle. Dampen your finger with water and run it around the edges of the circle. Fold the circle in half and kind of redistribute the filling with your hands to even it out and get rid of the excess air. Use a fork to seal the edges nice and pretty.

I fried my pies in a heavy bottom skillet with about an inch or so of canola oil heated to about 375 degrees. It only take a few minutes. When the pie starts to float, flip it over and brown the other side. These will burn quick so watch carefully!

Drain on a wire rack and paper towel. For an even better time, dust the hot pie lightly with powder sugar. Enjoy!

Vegetable Juice Potluck

Vegetable Juice Potluck

1 tomato (I used a handful of tomatoes off my plant)
2 celery stalks
2 large carrots
5 large broccoli florets
1/2 cucumber

I only give this juice a 5 out of 10. It has an after taste that I find unpleasant. I do like getting my veggies in though. It made a decent lunch.

Juice #3 How Sweet It Is

Today's juice is all fruit and all sweet:
Sweet Surprise
3 spears pineapple
1 orange (peeled)
4 fresh strawberries
1 bunch of grapes

I give this juice a 10 out of 10! It is sweet and smooth and easy on the taste buds. Just know that it has a lot of fruit sugars so if you have blood sugar issues be cautious!

Sweet Potato Surprise

Today's featured juice is Sweet Potato Surprise:

1 pear
2 carrots
1 orange (peeled)
1 sweet potato

I give this juice an 8 out of 10. The taste is awesome and almost creamy. There was a slightly gritty coating left on my tongue and mouth after each swallow, but not enough to be really bothersome. I am pretty sure this was from the sweet potato.  This is almost a dessert juice as it is sweet. Give it a try. :)

Fruits and Veggies

I have been wanting to add more fruits and vegetables into our diet. My sister told me about a juicing program that she was doing and I thought I might incorporate some of the principles into our menu. We will still eat lean proteins and prepared foods while adding in fresh vegetable and fruit juice. I will probably drink juice for at least one meal and one snack a day.

So I give you today's lunch:

Mean Green Juice
1 bunch of kale
4 stalks of celery
1 cucumber
2 granny smith apples
1/2 lemon
1 inch cut of ginger

Wash the vegetables and put through a juice machine. Leave skins and peels on for this juice!

Once I got past the green color, it was delicious! And think about how many vegetables you can get in by juicing. There is no way I could have eaten all that whole!
I am excited to try different combinations in the coming weeks and I will share some of my favorites :)