Zucchini Pizza

LL Cool J said it best in his lyrics...

"Don't call it a comeback...I've been here for years..."

I have indeed been here for years - I just haven't posted anything in forever! Three months to be exact.

What better way to come back on the scene than with a yummy recipe?!?!

I really enjoy cooking and trying new things in the summertime. I think it's because we're not pressured to get to all our after-school commitments, do homework, and stay on a rigid bedtime schedule. There's extra time in the evening to "play" in the kitchen...so I'm more inclined to try something new.

I've been seeing these zucchini pizzas pop up all over pinterest and facebook and decided to give them a whirl myself. I didn't really search for a recipe, I just concocted my own based on what I had seen in pics. I love zucchini and squash ALL the time, but especially in the summer. I always look for a way to throw it in to our meals. I think I just found my NEW favorite...without all the guilt!

I recruited a couple of helpers to join me in the kitchen. I lost one early on to Scooby-Doo. But the littlest one hung in there and couldn't wait to try his tasty masterpiece!

Okay so here's how it went down...

1. I used 3 rather large zucchini, sliced them lengthwise into thirds {I ended up with 9 slices...just in case you're mathematically challenged like moi!}, and arranged them on a cookie sheet coated with non-stick spray.

2. We spread each zucchini slice with a layer of store-bought {Shhhh...don't tell. My great-grandmother would turn over in her grave.} spaghetti sauce.

3. And my littlest helper added even more sauce just for good measure!

4. We sprinkled each zucchini slice with mozzarella cheese.

5. Then we added those cute mini pepperonis to each zucchini slice. {We may or may not have added some extra cheese on top. ;-)}

6. Our zucchini pizzas were ready for the oven. We baked them at 350* for about 40-45 minutes.

They took a while to cool and were easier to manage cut in halves or in thirds.

THEY WERE SO YUMMY!!! I even got a request to make them again soon!

Now I know why it has been posted and reposted so many times and I'm so happy to have a healthier alternative to pizza to add to my dinner menu.

I hope y'all will try them and enjoy them as much as we did!

Get into the groove...

So far, so good with the first week of school. We are gettin' into the groove!

This week I have been super busy, but trying to stay super organized too. During the summer I threw all meal-planning, laundry schedules, and anything "organized" out the window. I have a lot of catching up to!

This week, I've got the boys back on their "Hamburger Helpers" chore chart, I started a meal plan again, and have been trying to get my laundry system back in gear. So, it's not just the first week back for the boys...it's the first week back for mom.

While meal planning I thought about how great slow cooker meals are. I have always loved my using Crock Pot, but I think it only made it to my counter top once this summer. I decided to drag it out and dust it off.

{And you might have gotten married around 1999 if your Crock Pot looks like this...}

 

{Someone please tell my husband that I want need this one! Mine is 13ish years old and the plastic lid is now cracked.}

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I am hoping to return to work a couple of days a week this school year and thought it'd make my life easier if I did a few crock pot meals a week. So I started shopping around my favorite blogs and Pinterest for some new recipes.

The first first one I found was an Easy Crock Pot Lasagna... and it was! And it was also very tasty.

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Ingredients

• 1 pound (16 ounces) ground beef {I used ground turkey.}
• 1/2 cup diced white onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 (24 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce {shhhhhh! Don't tell my family!}
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 whole egg
• 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 6 uncooked lasagna noodles {Whole wheat noodles work just the same.}

Directions

1. In a large skillet brown beef and onion. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Drain.
2. Add spaghetti sauce and water and simmer for about 5 minutes.
3. Mix ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tablespoons Parmesan, egg and parsley.
4. Pour 1 cup of spaghetti meat sauce into a 4 to 6 quart sized slow cooker. Place half of the noodles and half of the ricotta mixture on top of the sauce. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles (If the noodles don't fit exactly break them to fit) and cheese mixture and meat sauce.
5. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or until noodles are soft. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella and remaining parmesan. Cover with the lid to melt the cheese and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.
6. Do not overcook and don't try to speed up the process by cooking it on high.
7. *Works best with a 4 to 6 quart size slow cooker.

No complaints from the fam, except for maybe a certain 3 year-old who happens to currently detest all food, so it's a keeper!

Next up...

This yummy Crock Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice from a blog I love called Skinny Mom. I'll let you know how that comes out too.

I'd love to hear if your family has any tried and true crock pot recipes.

Now, on to my pile of laundry!

XO,

Once Upon a Pin 1

If you haven't already, you need to get on Pinterest. Pinterest is like Crack for the Crafty and everyone in between! I was introduced to Pinterest by a fellow blogger about a year ago and was instantly hooked.
I have tried a few projects that I have pinned and even blogged about one. I have a few I still want to blog.

This week I tried a recipe. I am a soup lover! There is just something more appealing about soggy veggies that float. I'll try most any soup, as long as there are no weird meats in them.

This recipe was right up my alley.

It originally came from a great website called 365 Days of Slow Cooking

Day 56: Tomato-Basil Parmesan Soup

Photo by Clair Buys/BYU Magazine

Makes about 2 quarts

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T fresh oregano
1 T dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
4 cups chicken broth
½ bay leaf
½ cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup butter
2 cups half and half, warmed
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

1. Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.
3. About 30 minutes before serving prepare a roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup. Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back into the slow cooker. Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper. Add additional basil and oregano if needed (the slow cooker does a number on spices and they get bland over time, so don't be afraid to always season to taste at the end).
4. Cover and cook on LOW for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve.

Review:
So it's starting to be spring and soup season is about over, but add this recipe to try someday when it's cold because it is delicious! This is a recipe from my family cookbook and I just adapted it to the slow cooker. It turned out great. I brought it to a church dinner and it was completely gone, so I'm thinking that means it was good. It is very creamy and rich. If you wanted to make it a bit healthier, you could leave out the half and half and put skim milk or evaporated milk in. I've tried that before and it has turned out fine...just not as rich and fattening. I give this recipe 5 stars.

I actually made a few changes but thought it was super tasty, nonetheless!

1. I did mine on the stove top because I forgot that it was on the menu for the night and missed my "crock pot window."

2. I strained the veggies and pureed them in the blender for 2 reasons... 1. to disguise any undesirable veggies from my boys and 2. for a thicker base

3. I used only 1 cup of the 1/2 & 1/2 and substituted 1 cup of skim milk.

Here's mine!

I served it with a yummy piece of cheese bread!!! I was surprised that the boys ate as much as they did. Another plus, the recipe made so much that I've got a big ol' bowl left over in the freezer

I think it's definitely a keeper.

Thanks, Pinterest.

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Waste Not Wednesday

Whether it's trash to treasures or day old bread, I am finding great pleasure in re-purposing things these day. I recently had a conversation with one of the world's greatest aunts...my Aunt Laynie. My how I *heart* her! We were talking about the soon to be over-ripe borderline rotten bananas in the fruit basket on my kitchen counter. We had also been talking about the cost of feeding 2 big boys and 1 quickly growing toddler. She suggested turning those over-ripe bananas into a yummy snack for the boys. No, I am not going to give you a recipe for banana bread (which I personally DO NOT care for). This is even better because it involves God's gift to women...CHOCOLATE!!!! When I was little and I'd go visit her, she'd make the coolest breakfasts, most special lunches and snacks, and gourmet dinners that would make an 8-year-old little girl with glasses "wanna slap her momma". She still proves to have the best ideas for jazzing up food...even rotten bananas.

She reminded me that for a snack, she would roll bananas in chocolate and sprinkle nuts or something crunchy on top.Then she'd put them in the freezer for a tasty frozen treat. So I did just that!

• I took my almost rotten bananas and grabbed some chocolate morsels out of the cabinet.
• I peeled the bananas, cut them in half, and put them on parchment paper
• I melted the morsels in a micro safe bowl at 15 second intervals, stirring in between. I even added a splash of milk to thin it just a tad.
• I drizzled and rolled the bananas in the the chocolate until they were good and coated
• I skipped the nuts part because MM2 is allergic...but you could use crushed toffee of rice krispies---I was just fresh out of those two things
• I put them back on the parchment paper and put them in the freezer.
• And what a yummy treat we had a couple of hours later...YUM!!!

Try it...I promise you won't be disappointed and you won't feel sorry for your uneaten bananas that get thrown away and you won't pay an arm and a leg for the ones in the freezer section at the store!

Re-purpose.

Practically Yours,

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Read about it here!

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Practically Yours,