Writing a Comic Book

I stumbled upon something wonderful yesterday while doing lessons with the 7 year old. He started reading Chance Fortune and the Outlaws by Shane Berryhill (http://www.shaneberryhill.com/). It is about a kid who wants to be a super hero. So far, he likes it. I had the idea of him writing his own comic book. It was a great exercise! He used his imagination, came up with qualities that make a good super hero, started drawing, came up with a back story for the character. So, stay tuned for the Adventures of Sonic Zoom! Our son reads on a 6th grade level. Books for his age range are just too easy for him. He really likes The Captain Underpants and Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. This book is a bit more advanced than Diary of a Wimpy Kid. We met Shane Berryhill at ConNooga. He was so nice and even autographed the book!

Chicken and Rice Bake

I can't wait to try this:
http://www.goodcheapeats.com/2010/02/chicken-and-wild-rice-bake.html

What's for lunch?

I have been surprised when I make this how many folks have never thought to use tortillas as a pizza crust. They work very well.

Tortilla Pizza
Tortillas for each pizza
Spaghetti or pizza sauce
Toppings (turkey pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers...whatever you like)
Cheese (i like Italian blend)

I can fit 3 - 4 tortillas on my pizza pan. You can make individual ones in the toaster oven as well.

spread sauce on the tortilla. The beauty of this is that each person can have as little or as much as they want.
Add toppings
Add cheese
bake at 350 for 10 - 15 minutes. The tortilla will crisp up very nicely and the cheese will get brown and bubbly. Again...it is your preferance.

EVERYONE loves these. I even make some philly cheesesteak ones once. They were so yummy! Get creative. Let me know what you come up with!
You can see more GREAT recipes and ideas at:
www.LifeasMOM.com

Brown Rice and Ground Beef Casserole

I try not to waste anything. When I brown ground beef for spaghetti, tacos, etc, I put about 2 cups in a container to freeze. So, when I need a quick dinner, I just pull out the cooked ground beef from the freezer and add it to pasta sauce or create a casserole. Last night, we made one that was really good. Everyone except our 7 year old liked it. Oh well. Here is what I did:

In a casserole dish, I mixed together:
1 cup of brown rice (uncooked)
1 can of mushrooms (drained)
1 can of mixed vegetables (drained)
2 cups of boiling water
chili powder to taste...we like a lot
1 Tbs minced onions (dried...but you could use fresh)
Leftover ground beef from the freezer (thawed in microwave)
1 cup shredded colby jack cheese

Cover and cook at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. I tasted it after one hour, and the rice was still not done.

If the rice is done, uncover, sprinkle cheddar cheese on the top, cook an additional 10 - 15 minutes to melt the cheese.

So YUMMY and so EASY! I'm all about yummy and easy! Enjoy....

If you try this, let me know what you thought and anything you did differently

Our First Comic/Sci-Fi Convention

We are a total family of nerds and geeks. But, we are totally proud of that! Hubby likes zombies, comics, horror movies; I like dragons, fairies, fantasy; 7year old like video games, super heros, comics...2 year old likes EVERYTHING. So, we went to a convention in Chattanooga. It was AWESOME. I can't explain how much fun we had.
The boys won the kids' costume contest dressed at Mario and Luigi from Super Mario Brothers. They were so cute!!!!! I know some of the "conventions" aren't as family oriented as some, but I have to say, ConNooga was so much fun. I'm having withdrawals. We went every day over the weekend.

How to Make a Motorcycle out of Old Watches (with video) - wikiHow

How to Make a Motorcycle out of Old Watches (with video) - wikiHow

Publix Gift Card Giveaway

I found this site via a Facebook friend. I'm all about saving money, and the more resources the better. But, they are giving away a $25 gift card to Publix, and you don't have to do much to enter.
http://mojosavings.com/2010/02/18/giveaway-25-gift-card-to-publix/

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

We tried to make some yeast-free cinnamon rolls this morning. What we ended up with were YUMMY cinnamon roll cookies. Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
2 cups flour (I used King Arthur, unbleached wheat white flour)
2 Tbsp sugar (I used organic crystals)
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
8 Tbsp butter (divided into 2 parts)
3/4 cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp cinnamon (I used a little more)

1. Combine 4 Tbs softened butter, cinnamon and brown sugar in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to spread.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt
3. Add in the other 4 Tbsp of softened butter (You might need to use your hands to mix this in)
4. Stir in milk
5. Knead slightly to combine all ingredients into a ball
6. Roll the ball out into a rectangular shape about 1/4 inch thick
7. Spread the filling onto the pastry mix.
8. Roll up the rectangle and slice with a sharp knife into small slices (about 1/2 an inch thick)
9. Place the rolls onto a greased cookie sheet (I used a non-stick cookie sheet without greasing it first, and they stuck).
10. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 - 25 minutes.
11. Let cool about 15 minutes before removing from pan
12. Let cool completely on wire rack then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

They are pretty, look like cinnamon rolls, and YUMMY!

Yield 15 - 18 cookies depending on how you slice them.

Things I'm thinking about today:

Things I'm thinking about today: What to do with the kids when I don't feel well, making a website just about recipes from left-overs, and bartering. I have already asked a local farm about trading work for food. I think this is a great idea! I have found several websites for bartering, and I hope to take advantage of some of them. Hubby and I are working on getting a web design business up and running again. What a better way than barter to get our local portfolio built back up? I'm excited about all of the possibilities. Now, to make them happen! Wish me luck!

Chicken Carbonara

I needed to make dinner tonight...what to make...what do I have to work with? I had one large chicken breast, 6 strips of turkey bacon, onions, mozarella cheese, cream of chicken soup, garlic, butter, and a can of peas. There is a little more than that in the house, but not much. So, I created chicken carbonara. And, it is GOOD!!!!! The kids didn't like it too much....They did like the peas, but they always like the peas. :)


Here is what I did:
Cooked the chicken breast
browned the bacon, onion and garlic in a little butter
Added a can of cream of chicken soup and about 3/4 can of evaporated milk to the mixture.
Mixed in about 1 1/2 cup of mozarella cheese
Cut the chicken into small bite size pieces.
Mixed in the chicken
Added some black pepper
Warmed up a can of peas and added some carrots for the kids.

So easy and so yummy! Not exactly health food. You could make it pretty healthy though....organic cream of chicken soup, local chicken, organic peas, low-fat mozarella, etc.

I'll post pictures soon!