PIZZADOGS for lunch...

Hi Friends! I hope you are all having a great summer! We sure are, and we have been super busy. The fam and I spent some time at the lake last week with our Squeasy Gear. (Learn more about Squeasy Gear HERE.) Look for a post all about our lake adventure very soon. And we're back on the road again next week. But, I thought I'd pop in for some quick blogging as this is a super post-worthy lunch. My kids are big fans of pizza (like that's a big surprise), and they love hotdogs (bigger surprise??!!). So, what do you get when you combine yummy pizza with a juicy hotdog? You guessed it....a super scrumptiously delicious taste explosion...the PIZZADOG. Yep, you heard right...Pizza + hotdog = PIZZADOG. I so wish I could take credit for this awesome culinary combo, but I ran across the recipe on Pinterest, and, of course, it immediately found its way to my food board.

So, I made a pizzadog for both of my kids for lunch today, and they demolished it beyond recognition. Yep, I was the cool lunch mom! So yeah, I can see this one happening at my house on a regular basis. I know, I know. The PIZZADOG is definitely not health food, but I healthified (hey...it's a word) the PIZZADOG the best I could. I used a King's Hawaiian hot dog bun (an ordinary hotdog bun would have been fine, but the King's Hawaiian bun just sent this over the edge!), Natural Selects nitrate-free hotdogs, Muir Glen organic pizza sauce, Applegate pepperoni, and fresh mozzarella/cheddar cheese. I threw in some black olives, carrots, Sunburst cherry tomatoes, and grapes. And, of course, packed in our favorite lunchbox, the Easylunchboxes, we have lunch success! Friends, these were sooooo good. I hope you will try them.

Here's a brief rundown of the PIZZADOG:

INGREDIENTS:

• Hotdog buns
• Hotdogs
• Pizza sauce
• Mozzarella and cheddar cheese
• Pepperoni
• Italian seasoning

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 400*.
2. Cook the hotdogs according to your preference. I used the microwave for convenience.
3. Place hotdog in a hotdog bun. Top each hotdog with the pizza sauce....the more, the better.
4. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning onto the pizza sauce.
5. Add the cheese on top of the pizza sauce....again, more is better.
6. Place pepperoni on top of the cheese.
7. Cook in the oven for appx. 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is oozey and melted and the bun is toasted.
8. Repeat, as you are going to want a second one.

These are easy, simple, and can be changed up for your family's taste. Add olives and mushrooms. Add your family's favorite pizza toppings. Change up the cheese. These will still be yummy. 

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

Tortilla Pizza Cups....

Ok. I admit it. I have two addicts in my house. Two pizza addicts, that is. Yes, my kiddos are totally addicted to pizza. I could serve pizza everyday, and I don't think they would tire of it. My little guy especially suffers from this addiction to the point that when asked what he would like for dinner, his first and immediate response is, "Pizza!". Can any of you relate? I can't really blame him, though.
We LOVE.....

So, to accommodate my kids' love for this delicious culinary delight, I am constantly looking for new pizza-like recipes that I can modify to fit my family's taste. Pinterest is my best resource in this endeavor. Pinterest.....oh, how I love thee!! I have a definite grown-up addiction to Pinterest. I was perusing Pinterest the other day, and these mini tortilla crust pizzas caught my attention. Very unassuming at first glance, but upon further investigation, I was very intrigued by these little bits. Tortilla pizza cups (as I like to call them)......a fusion of pizza and tacos. WHAT!!!! Pizza and tacos, ok I'm there! You had me at hello and all that. 

Tortilla pizza cups are mini pizzas with a crispy tortilla shell crust. If you are interested in the recipe, you can find it HERE. I followed this recipe when I made mine. I always use Glen Muir pizza sauce in my own cooking, adding some extra spices to suit my family's palate. I used a good quality pizza blend cheese, and Vermont Smoke and Cure nitrate-free pepperoni slices. I made these two ways. In the first batch, I placed the pepperoni on top of the cheese like in the recipe. (I used regular sized pepperoni, not the minis). In the second batch, I placed the pepperoni under the cheese. Personally, I liked the ones with the pepperoni under the cheese best. They tasted the same, but they weren't as greasy on top, if you know what I mean. The fact that I used regular size pepperoni and not the minis may have played into that. I'm not sure, but my son's lunch has the ones with the pepperoni under the cheese.

I will definitely make these again. We all liked them, even the hubbz. The next time I make them, I'm going to use a bigger circle cutter so that the tortilla cups are deeper. These were very shallow and only had room for the sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. I would like to add some veggies to them. Next time, I will use the mini pepps, also.

These are mini, cute, delicious, and full of oozey, goozey cheesy pizza goodness! Enough said!!! Go make some, y'all!!!!


This lunch is packed in EasyLunchboxes.

• Tortilla Pizza Cups
• Rold Gold pretzel snaps
• black olives
• Baby carrots and zucchini slices
• Brothers-All-Natural Fuji apple fruit clusters and raspberry crisps
• Hershey's milk chocolate Miniature 

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

Chicken and cheese lunch...

Hey there!! Hope you are all doing well. Are you all ready for the plethora of leftover turkey meals headed your way next week...turkey sandwiches, wraps, soup, turkey pot pie, turkey-ala-king, turkey tetrazzini. I sure am. I love a good smoked turkey...gobble, gobble! Yum!! I'm ready for the school break, too. I love having my kidlets home with me. I seriously owe you all a huge apology. I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so sorry that my blogging mojo has been quite lax lately. I still make lunches for my little guy everyday, but I'm just not finding many of them to be blog worthy. Translation: B O R I N G!! Yes, boring lunches have been the order of the day recently. Today's lunch is not that exciting either, but I did at least put a bit more effort into it.

I hope you all enjoy your time with your family next week, friends, and I'll be back the following week.

This lunch is packed in EasyLunchboxes.

• Whole Foods balsamic grilled chicken strips
• string cheese
• Rold Gold pretzel snaps
• zucchini and baby carrots with homemade spinach/artichoke dip in the rainbow box
• red seedless grapes and Halo mandarins
• Annie's chocolate bunny graham cookies in the blue container

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

There's a bear in my lunch....

Hi Friends! I hope you all have had a good week. Been pretty busy around here...my oldest has the flu. Blerg!!!! Don't ya hate it when your kiddos are sick? Eighty percent of my time has been spent wiping everything down with Clorox wipes. Yes....Every. Single. Thing. He's pretty much quarantined in his bedroom, but I'm taking no chances. What's totally ironic about this is that both kidlets actually have an appointment with their pediatrician on Thursday for wellness visits and flu shots. Yeah, bummer, I know!! So that appointment has been rescheduled. I hope all your kiddos are staying well!!

I don't make many cutesy lunches anymore because my little guy has moved on to a more mature style lunch (unhappy face) and because of lack of time on my part. Boo!!! But, his class is studying about different types of bears, so I decided he needed a bear themed lunch for today...well, sorta a bear themed lunch. Ok, a bear face sandwich. He got a bear face sandwich for lunch. I do kinda miss making the fun, cutesy lunches for him, so maybe I'll start throwing one in every once and a while.

This lunch has my homemade spinach/artichoke dip in it. I made a huge bowl of it over the weekend. My kids love this stuff. The little guy will eat it with a spoon. It's yummo!!! He prefers it over the Ranch dips. Hey....veggies go down much easier when there a delish dip on hand, right? I wish I had a real recipe to share, but I've been making this for so long, I literally throw the mixings in a bowl without thinking about it. The closest recipe to mine that I could find is this one HERE from King's Hawaiian. It has all the ingredients that mine has. I also add salt, pepper, and garlic to mine. I use full fat mayo and sour cream, and I use a really good quality Parmesan cheese. If I have them, I'll add a few green onions.

This is great with veggies, of course, but we also love it with tortilla chips, crackers, and King's Hawaiian bread. It's fabulous as a spread on a ham and cheese sandwich, and my hubby loves it on a chicken tortilla wrap. Ok, it's basically fabulous any way you eat it. Go make some, y'all!!!!

This lunch is packed in EasyLunchboxes.

• peanut butter and strawberry all-fruit spread sandwich- I used a small bear shaped cutter in the center of the bread and used 2 candy eyes and a chocolate chip for the face.
• veggie chips
• baby carrots and zucchini chips with spinach/artichoke dip
• Brothers-All-Natural freeze dried fruit mixture- bananas, raspberries, mango, blackberries
• golden raisins and Happy Melts organic yogurt drops in the blue container

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

Pizzadilla leftovers....

Leftovers are a beautiful thing....you cook once and eat twice. They are especially great when you are in hurry and need to make lunch FAST!! Leftovers just taste better on the second day, too, don't they? Monday was a crazy busy day for me, and then last night, the hubbz, kids, and I had a school open house to attend. Doncha just love open house!! The kidlets came home from school, and it was like a tornado around our house getting homework done, dinner prepared, and lunches made. Dinner ended up being quick pizza quesadillas which I call pizzadillas....all the yummy toppings of a pizza folded inside a warm, crispy tortilla. Oh yeah!! My kids love these. I intentionally made a few extra so I could send them in Z's lunch.

My pizzadillas are very easy and quick to make.  I like to serve the marinara sauce on the side instead of layering it on the quesadillas (cuts down on the messiness). When I make these, I layer Monterey Jack cheese, pepperoni slices, mushrooms, and sautéed onions on the tortilla, and I cook them in a large skillet on medium heat (I spray the pan with Pam butter cooking spray) until the cheese is oozey, goozey melted goodness, and the tortilla shells have crisped up.

Pizzadillas are delish, and YES, my kiddo will eat them at room temp. Give them a try...your kids just might like them room temp, too.

This lunch is packed in EasyLunchboxes.

• Pizzadillas served with marinara sauce for dipping- made with Sargento Cheddar/Jack cheese and Vermont Smoke and Cure nitrate and additive free pepperoni slices
• black olives
• Sun World Scarlotta red seedless grapes- These grapes are soooo sweet and delicious.
• green beans tossed in balsamic dressing
• yogurt tube- This is the Kroger brand yogurt tube with no artificial colors or flavors.

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

Look....Lunch! #5

Aahhhh!! Fall break! We love fall break. I can hardly believe my kiddos have been in school for 9 weeks. The weather is gorgeous here in the M-town, so the fam and I are headed to the lake for some R&R on Wednesday....one last visit this year before it gets too cold. A big shout out of thanks to my mom and step-dad for looking after my fur baby. I hope you all have a great week, and I'll talk to ya next week.

Look....Lunch! #5
Here's the little guy's lunch from last Friday:

"Look.....Lunch!" is a series of lunch posts for those days when I just don't have time to say anything more than, "Look.....Lunch!".


This lunch is packed in the Lunchbots Cinco.
You can read my original post on the Lunchbots Cinco HERE.

• Vermont Smoke and Cure pepperoni and ham chunks- nitrate, hormone, and additive free
• Kim and Scott's organic soft pretzel bites with mustard for dipping- I brushed off all the salt sprinkles on top as my kidlet doesn't like the salt. I found these at Costco.
• red seedless grapes
• baby carrots and Sunburst cherry tomatoes with spinach/artichoke dip in the rainbow box
• Dannon Danimals strawberry Greek yogurt with a few sprinkles

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch: