Last Week I mentioned that we were going to have homemade pizza for dinner and that the boys were excited to help. I also mentioned if all goes as planned and wouldn't you know......nothing went as planned. I have this bad habit of reading through a recipe all the way before starting it. This time it came back to bite me. I had already started making the crust when I saw that i had to rise in the fridge overnight. Total bummer. My boys were sad and I wanted to rush out and pick up fast food. I quickly snapped back to reality and realized I had a freezer full of frozen cooked meat. So I thought for a moment and quickly changed our menu item to chicken tacos.
There were a few problems though.... 1). Tim had a deacon's metting that night so I was solo with all three kids. 2). It was 5:45 when I STARTED cooking the second dinner for the night 3). since Tim was gone I had no help tp get this meal prepared quickly.......or did I??
I am always in such a rush to get whatever I am making done that I neglect to let he kids join in and help out. My OCD and perfectionist mind set makes me want to scream when something gets accidentally split or they are wiggle worms while cooking around the stove etc..
Tonight was different, I genuinely needed their help and they were super excited to get to save mom from the lack of planning I did on my own part.
Rascal helped me shred the cheese:
Scooter helped me cook the corn tortillas on the skillet:
Since Scooter had a job that required him to stay by the stove and watch the tortillas carefully, rascal got to help me out with the sides too. Check out that tongue! He always sticks it out when he is concentrating hard. In this case when he is trying to use my scissors not intended for left handed people.
Our meal was one of the best I have ever eaten and we sat arounf the table talking about all the other things we could coke together. I do believe God showed me a valuable lesson that night. It's ok if something spills or it isn't chopped the way I would have done it. I saw how great it was to let go of my perfectionist side and let the kids be with me inthe kitchen. Now with that said I am not quie ready to let the kids free with the paint. I am still a bit OCD with that but I am learning to relax and enjoy this time.
So since we had already made the pizza crust and had it rising inthe fridge dinner the next night was a breeze.
I rolled out the crust and heated up the homemade pizza sauce (which I had made the night before too). Scooter shredded the mozzerella cheese for me.
And while Scooter shredded the cheese, Rascal spred the sauce on the pizza. I will admit I wanted to do that part myself. It took alot forme to let him do it and I did go back and make it more even. I didn't want all the sauce on one side, none on the other and a huge glob in the middle. That wouldn't be a bite you would want to eat.
They both helped spred the cheese on the pizza and then put the peperoni on it.
Here is our finished pizza and I promise you it was the best pizza you have ever put in your mouth! It makes all the difference in the world making it from scratch!!
You can find all the recipes I have posted about on my recipe blog. You can check there often because I am always adding new recipes we have tried. Some new ones..... soft pretzel bites, tomatillo salsa, tortilla soup and a few others.
My next recipe I am excited to try is a seafood gumbo. Man it looks so yummy and I can't wait to try making it.
Fun times in the kitchen! I let E help sometimes, and J has just recently started helping. I need to cook with them more often.
ReplyDeleteYAY for boys in the kitchen!Their wives will thank you for this one day! I need to try that pizza! It looks super yummy!
ReplyDeleteI'm also bad about not reading recipes in time for stuff like that. Have you tried pizza dough yeast? This looks the same as regular yeast, but rises more quickly. I won't say it has exactly the same flavor as regular yeast, but it's good in a pinch. Kroger usually has it -- in a green packet instead of the red.
ReplyDeleteWe used to be so good about making our own pizza sauce, but I've slipped recently. Got to do that again. I did, however, make my very own from scratch dumplings (as in chicken and dumplings) recently. I was surprised at how much better I like them versus Bisquick! It seemed so silly to buy Bisquick when really it was only flour, baking soda and salt, etc. I already have all that stuff.
I still don't like buying whole chickens though. Too much grossness to deal with for me. I usually buy skinless chicken tenderloins to cook for the dumplings, though a whole chicken would be better for making our own broth, which we also used to do more!
It's awesome to avoid all those processed foods. It does make grocery shopping easier, less bulky and cheaper! And it's cool you have helpers for Mexican food cooking! I always forget to do something when I'm cooking Mexican alone, like shred the cheese or cook the beans -- oops! I rarely forget to cook the corn tortillas on the iron skillet though. For some reason I like doing that : )
Oh, weird. I didn't realize I was signed in with my blogger account. I guess you know who madeleine is though! Well, maybe you don't, but here's a hint -- Oscar and Choco!
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