Pizza with Pazazz

Gavin's Snake

Not that you generally need a way to make pizza more appealing to kids, but here's a fun way to eat their favorite food with a little more pizazz!  I let the boys each pick their favorite animal and viola...we had an alligator and a snake calazone!

Supplies:

• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Pizza Dough
• Pizza Sauce
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Any desired toppings (pepperoni, etc)
• Olives for eyes (although I had to cheat because I ran out...mine our kidney beans :)
• Scissors
• Rolling Pin

Directions:

1. pick and animal (snake is the easiest because it doesn't have legs)
2. roll out long oval about 4" wide by 12" or more long. Try to make the dough about 1/4" thick
3. spoon a thin layer of pizza sauce only down the center of the snake...DO NOT GET SAUCE ON THE EDGES OF THE DOUGH!
4. Fill with cheese and other toppings
5. Carefully stretch dough over and pinch it to the adjacent side (should look like a long pot sticker)
6. Roll the snake body so the pinched seam is underneath
7. Coil the snake in a circle leaving the head slightly apart from the body
8. Pinch two eye holes and insert olives or beans
9. Take a pair of scissors and snip little "v's" into the top layer of dough. Be sure to not cut into the middle part or your fillings with bake out of your snake
10. Bake at 425 degrees for about 15-20 min or until golden brown 

Enjoy

Gage's Alligator

LEMONADE!!! Enough said!

Image from www.newsalerts.com

What better way to celebrate summer's rapid approach than LEMONADE!!! This is by far the best recipe I have tried. I hope you enjoy it! It also taste great using less sugar or sugar substitute instead.

Ingredients:
2-2 1/2 c Sugar
5 c water, divided
1 Tbsp grated lemon peel
1-3/4 c lemon juice (about 6 lemons)

Directions:
1. Combine sugar, 1 c. water and lemon zest in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Remove from heat. Stir sugar mixture with remaining water and lemon juice. Store in pitcher and refrigerate until well chilled. Serve over ice.

This recipe for Old-Fashioned Lemonade is from Best of Taste of Home Spring 2009

Sweet Success with Edible Art

Image from naturenest.wordpress.com

This one won't have a picture because my little guy is sooooo allergic to peanut butter, but it is so fun I need to share. Making edible play-dough is super easy and delicious. I make mine with almond butter, but now Gage is sensitive to that too :(

1 c. peanut butter
1 c. marshmallow whip
snack foods for decorating (stick pretzals, fruit slices, carrots, celery, rasins, chocolate chips etc)

Directions:
Mix the PB with the marshmallow cream until blended. Serve a small ball with other snack foods and let the art begin. We like to review letters, built houses, and what ever other creative things the boys make...Gavin made a volcano with celery lava.

To see or not to see!

Isn't it amazing how cute your kids are in the morning? I'm pretty sure that's God's way of making you forget all the bad things that come with parenthood and to focus on the great things....that or it's that you've had a solid 3 hours alone :) My guys love starting off their mornings with secret message toast and we hope you will too!

Supplies:
Piece of bread
Splash of milk
Q-tip
Toaster

Directions:
1.) Gather supplies and put milk in a tiny container.

2.) Wet the end of the Q-tip in milk and draw a hidden message on the bread. (It may take a few times of dipping it in milk to complete the message...also dotting it works great, but don't dint the bread)

3.) Toast it to golden brown and viola!

Before

4.) Serve with love

Happily Ever After