BBQ Chicken Pizza

Well, friends...here is a yummy, healthy recipe you can enjoy...even on a diet! I needed to find a recipe for a friend of mine who is doing Weight Watchers, and found this. I made it for them and for us, too and it was so good. We just had it for dinner again tonight. You can change it around if you'd like if you don't care about the Weight Watchers points. But here it is...

BBQ Chicken Pizza (Weight Watchers 5 Pts Per Slice)
Recipe #239279 | 25 min | 15 min prep
(It's especially fast if you use precooked chicken.)

SERVES 6 (change servings and units)

Ingredients:

* 1 Boboli whole wheat pizza crust
* 16 ounces chicken, cut into small pieces
* 6 tablespoons barbecue sauce (your favorite)
* 1/4 cup shredded lowfat mozzarella cheese
* 1/4 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup regular shredded cheddar cheese
* 1/2 large red onion

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Dice the onion and sauté the onion with 2 of the tablespoons of BBQ sauce. Add chicken and cook until chicken is cooked through.
2. Top your Boboli pizza with the remaining BBQ sauce, fat free cheddar, low fat mozzarella, onion chicken mixture, then the regular cheddar. Bake for approximately 10 minutes.


I have used whole wheat and white pizza crust from the store, and it was good on both. It doesn't have to be Boboli brand. I really don't measure how much sauce or cheese I use when I am making it just for us, and tonight I didn't use the fat free or lowfat cheese. You can also use frozen chopped white onion if you'd like. I also use a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil on the crust, and a little when cooking the chicken too but you don't have to. Like I said, make it your own! And enjoy it!

Earth Day. Really?

One of my friends had this posted on his Facebook page, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I thought it was worth re-posting here on my blog. Enjoy! (And thanks, Garet!)

My Own Earth Hour
Written by Michelle Malkin

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Today at 8:51am

Tonight at 8:30 p.m. EDT, my house is going to be lit up brighter than Perth, Australia when John Glenn flew over in Friendship 7. Here’s why…

Another “Earth Hour” is upon us. This is the night we’re supposed to turn off all our lights in solidarity with… darkness, or something. It’s also symbolic of a desire to “take action on global climate change.”

I tend to get a little offended at these kinds of things. For one, in my house, we celebrate Earth Hour every day. We don’t leave lights on in rooms that nobody is in. We keep the thermostat fairly low (mostly because I’m usually too hot). We carpool when possible. We don’t waste gas. We pick up trash alongside the road when we’re walking. We volunteer to clean up the riverwalk, and we plant trees because we like trees — not because we’ve fooled ourselves into believing that planting trees is helping make Streisand’s environmentally-unfriendly concert tours carbon-neutral.

As such, I tend to get a little put off when being preached to by fat cats who swim in their own heated pools, travel in private jets, heat mansions they’re not even living in for months at a time and ride in limo caravans to speeches to tell the rest of us how our Chevy Cobalts, lawn mowers, hamburgers and light bulbs are killing the planet.

Additionally, I refuse to acknowledge, symbolically or otherwise, that electricity is the problem and that civilization can be saved by turning itself into North Korea for any length of time. The harnessing of electricity is among the greatest discoveries ever. It’s helped make the world safer and more sanitary. Electricity runs the equipment that is used to make the medicine that saves lives. It runs the cameras that allow us to see evils that are being perpetuated around the world that we might not have otherwise known about — except in North Korea, where you can’t see crimes at night because Earth Hour is mandatory 365 days a year. The list goes on. We should be celebrating electricity instead of pretending it’s some sort of cancer that needs to be cut out of our lives.

Somebody on Facebook’s Earth Hour 2010 page actually wrote, “I can’t wait to turn everything off tonight!” Well why don’t you just turn everything off now then, Tesla?

After Earth Hour is over, I pledge to turn my lights off for a full eight hours or so, just like we do every night, no doubt while Al Gore’s pool filter is still whirring away and outdoor flood lights protect his property. But during Earth Hour, we’ll have so many lights on that my family will have tan lines by the time the 60 minutes is up. I realize I’ll probably get hit with an Obamacare tanning bed tax, but it’s a price I’m willing to pay.

Quarterback Tom Brady and his supermodel wife, Gisele Bündchen, have also joined the crusade to turn off our lights — just not during one of the Patriots night games at Gillette Stadium that goes through enough electricity to power my house until well into the 24th century:

And certainly don’t shut those lights off at one of Gisele’s photo shoots — however, if we did, we might be able to extend the life of the polar ice caps by at least a decade:

My own theory for the thinking behind Earth Hour is that Al Gore and his fellow enviro-scammers have settled on going dark as the single best way to make sure nobody can see them pick-pocketing the world.

Weekend in Wilmington

Well friends, I am posting AGAIN. I know...two posts in ONE day! Can you believe it? So, my iphoto uploader on the good 'ol Apple Computer won't work so updating all my pictures to Facebook was no easy task. I did upload over 30 (5 at a time...took me forever). But, I didn't get to these. So, I thought I would post some on the blog first! I know, you're excited. So, here are some of my favorites from our long weekend to Wilmington a few weeks ago. The first few are from when we visited the aquarium. The rest are from the beach. Enjoy!

Alina is not so sure about that alligator.

but she thinks the Albino one is pretty silly looking.

Here are some turtles chilling on a log outside the aquarium.

Alina and Daddy.

Alina and Mommy...and Giant Frog.

I loved how inquisitive she was about everything!

Alina and Da-Da on the beach.

Her Auntie Karen made her this one-of-a-kind sand chair.

She went from "sand is scary" to "let's throw sand on Da-Da."

This may have been about the point where we were ready to go. Sand in eyes, naptime...

Thanks for letting us stay with you, Auntie Karen!!! We love you!

Hitting is so not cool.

Hello dear friends and family....

Well, as some of you know my little sweetie pie has had another ear infection this week. This is only her third one, but if you have had a child with an ear infection, you know how miserable an experience it is...for the baby and for YOU! My usually super happy child was a super grump on Sunday evening through Tuesday. Thankfully, she is starting to feel a lot better. She has some strange red spots on her face that we are going to inquire about tomorrow from a dermatologist. (It is nice living in a medical community where the leader of your small group is a resident dermatologist that can get you an appointment in a day's notice.)

Anyways, my child has started hitting lately. And, I know this is very common with children her age...testing the limits, seeing what kind of reaction they can get, and that sort of thing. But, I am having difficulty knowing what to do about it. I believe in spanking...don't get me wrong...but does it make sense to spank, or "hit" in a sense, when the crime itself is hitting? I don't know if that is confusing to a child her age. Is time-out at this age effective? So, if you are a Mom, and are experiencing this problem, or have experienced this problem before...let me know what you do/did about it. I would love some ideas, opinions...advice! Thanks!

Rachael Ray is my hero!

Well, as many people know I was NEVER a good cook, nor did I ever even ENJOY the thought of cooking. Cooking to me was always a chore that got devoured in 5 minutes, leaving you with a heap of dishes to clean and the rest of a meal to save and eat over and over again until it was gone. Okay, so some of that is still true but I have found myself enjoying it for the first time in our marriage. You really can't blame me...if you know Joshua, you know he is a fabulous cook (especially with anything Italian), and he enjoys the whole cooking thing! So, I always let him do his thing in the kitchen. Well, with grad school and mounds of studying going on now, he has NO time. So, me being the stay-at-home Mom had to step up to the plate, and learn how to make some food!

My mom gave me some Rachael Ray magazines (which some day I will subscribe to and receive regularly), which inspired me to cook. A lot of her recipes are using things you may already have around the house, or that you can go out and buy fairly inexpensively. Now, some of her recipes are NOT, so you have to be smart, and look for things. But anyways, a lot of her recipes you can make in 30 minutes or less...and she makes it look so easy. Here is one of her recipes, that is cheap, healthy, and easy to change around if you want to make it healthier, or simpler, or even more extravagant...AND the whole meal can be made and ready to eat in 30 minutes. FABULOUS. My husband talks about this meal all the time since it is so easy to make, and yummy! Try it out!

Chicken Pasta
4 servings
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 15 min

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups shredded store-bought rotisserie chicken (or whatever kind of chicken you have, to shred. If you have to cook it, it will add a few extra steps and time to the preparation.)
1 cup frozen baby peas (You can use regular peas!)
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional - I don't use it)
12 ounces of wagon wheels or other short pasta (like penne pasta)
1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
1 tbsp. of butter
Salt

1. In large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet and heat through. Stir in the peas, broth, garlic and cayenne and simmer until the broth has reduced slightly, about two minutes. Keep warm over low heat.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta for 5 minutes. Drain and add to the chicken. Stir in the 1/2 cup of cheese and butter and simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the pasta is al dente, about 3 minutes. Season with salt, if necessary, and serve with additional parmesan.

You can probably make this even more healthy by using whole wheat pasta or low-fat cheese. I haven't tried that yet, but you never know! Hope you enjoy this easy, yummy meal! Thanks, Rachael!

Oh and remind me to post a yummy BBQ chicken pizza recipe I made for a weight watchers friend...that was SO yummy! That's right...pizza on a diet...and it was fabulous.

Healthy Kick

Well my friends, it is time to get in shape and get healthy for the Stone clan. Not that we have ever been non-healthy, fast food people by any means, but now I am really trying to think about the fat, sodium, calories...ya know..the stuff that leaves that layer of fat on your belly. haha. Anyways, there are many new recipes I am trying out lately and I plan to post the yummy ones. They may not all be low fat and what not, but they are pretty good. Good thing I like to cook now, huh? And I am working out 3 times a week, too. Ha! Should be more but you do what you can do, right?

Well, here is a recipe we did for today's lunch. SO yummy! Even my "burgers are made of beef" hubby enjoyed them. So, here is a good recipe for some turkey burgers! By the way, this recipe was for an army and yields 12 burgers...so if you just want 4 or something, you're gonna use one pound of the turkey, and so on. If you wanna let the computer calculate for you, go to: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Actually-Delicious-Turkey-Burgers/Detail.aspx?src=etaf
and it should take you to this site. I use www.allrecipes.com for everything. It is great! You can type in ingredients you want, and don't want...and it will show you the results. You can read reviews which are very helpful...etc. I love it. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3 pounds ground turkey
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup finely diced onion
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix ground turkey, seasoned bread crumbs, onion, egg whites, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Form into 12 patties.
2. Cook the patties in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning once, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C).