You have to get the Mama says, “No More Frozen Pizza!” cookbook. This is the coolest cookbook I have ever owned. This cookbook has 24 nutritious recipes that are designed for new cooks! Now, the first thing that makes this cookbook unique is that it is in the shape of an order out pizza box. It looks like a pizza. When you open the box, you will be for a surprise. I know I was! Each recipe is on paper that is shaped like a pizza (circle). You can easily go in there and grab the recipe you want. The first thing you see is a picture of a pizza. When you flip it over, there is a nice little forward about the book. Plus, there is also some advice: “All we ask is that you wipe off the recipe cards before you store them, do the dishes within one week’s time, and send a “thank you” not to whomever sent you this recipe box. Oh, and call your mother once in awhile”.
Now, each recipe card is pretty unique. There is a picture one side of the card, and all of the recipes look absolutely delicious. When you flip the card over, it tells you what the recipe is, how long it takes to make, and how many it will feed. They also have an ingredient list, how to make list (preparation), and equipment. I have to giggle that under equipment they include things like a can opener, large knife, and large frying pan with lid.

There are several awesome recipes we will trying this next week are Dad’s Special Meat Loaf, Italian Roasted Potatoes, and Southwest Chicken Soup. These easy to make recipes are perfect for new cooks (and not so new cooks) with limited time and limited budgets.

This easy to make recipe is take off of our well known french toasts. However, if you are looking for something a little different, definitely try out these french toast rounds.

I recommend using Wolferman’s English Muffins for this recipe for several reasons.  First, I love the size of them.  That is literally the first thing you will notice.  If you are like me, you are buying whatever is cheaper at the store.  However, cheap does not equal same quality.  Wolferman’s English Muffins are double the size of what I normally buy.  I also noticed right away that I didn’t have to slice these open.  With little ones, I try to use knives the least amount as possible.  These you just have to gently pull them apart.  These are super yummy too.  I cannot believe the taste difference.  When you open the bag, you immediately can smell the flavor.  The cinnamon and raison english muffins is one of the best scents.  Another favorite flavor for our house was the Apple Orchards (I liked the scent of this one too).  If you need english muffins, I highly recommend Wolferman’s.  Without further ado, here is the recipe:

4 Wolferman’s 1910 Original Signature English Muffins (you could also use the Honey & Oats, Cinnamon & Raisin, and Cranberry English Muffins)
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon until well blended. Heat a lightly oiled griddle to medium/hot. Dip both sides of the muffin halves into the egg mixture. Place slices on heated griddle. Cook until golden brown on both sides.

Both my kids and I liked this (hubby missed it due to being at the Chicago Bears game).  Let me know if you have a great french toast recipe I should try on our next bag of English muffins.

My family and I recently got the opportunity to try several Pillsbury products.  Needless to say, they were a big hit in our house.  The first item we tried was the Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. We have both the normal sized ones and the mini ones.  I love how easy they are to make. All you need to do is open the package, put them on the cookie sheet, and throw them in the oven. It is so easy that Madison (my four-year-old) can do it.  We made these with her on Sunday morning before my parents left to go home (back to Green Bay). The mini cinnamon rolls are the perfect size for little kids. Both of my kids love them. If you are watching your portion control, these are great for you also.  All of the rolls were eaten for breakfast Sunday morning.

Tonight, we tried making pizza with the Pillsbury thin pizza crust.  Normally, pizza making is my husband’s job.  With two little ones underfoot, it is a pain to have to take dough and shape into a pizza.  It just takes way too long.  We were both pleasantly surprised when we open the thin crust pizza dough and found that it fit right into our cookie sheets. Actually, my husband was ecstatic.  Since we did not have to shape the dough, pizza making took half the time it normally does.  We actually like to make homemade pizzas, because it becomes a family event.  We are able to include Madison, and she truly enjoys that.  In a couple of years, Will will be able to join us also.  The pizzas only took about nine minutes to cook.   The cheese was melted, and the crust was cooked to perfection.  What more can you ask for?

The only thing we have left to try are the Crescent Recipe Creations. They are just like the crescent rolls, but without the perforations! I am hoping to try those within the next couple of days and let you know how they are.

Right now, I have been told by my husband that I need to buy these two items (especially the next time I go shopping, because they are a huge hit here!  Have you tried these yet?  If not, what are you waiting for?

Many of us have already seen the previews for the movie Blindness. If not, let me give you a short synopsis.  Blindness is based on a novel written by Jose Saramago. It is about how humanity acts when an epidemic happens. In this story, the epidemic is blindness. All those who are infected are quarantined into a mental asylum.  It is about how society can go a little wacky on itself in stressful times and how people truly do end up prevailing for the better of everyone.

There is a site dedicated to this film and its themes called i am blind.   It is all user generated content and has a very busy forum around the concepts discussed in this film.  They talk about what life would really be like if this happened.  However, they also have an excellent photostream of the last thing you would want to see if you would happen to go blind.  I am including this for my readers since the picture above is the only food picture on their photostream!

Image by chotda via Flickr

Now, there has to be a few more excellent food photos that definitely need to be included on there!  I’d like to see some cakes, ice cream, and even some chocolate.  Plus, if you think about, imagine how much better your food would taste.  There has been studies down about how if you lose one sense, they other ones get better.  I am sure the recipes on this blog would taste that much better!

What are some of the last things you would like to see if you were to go blind?

I love Pizza Hut.  When I heard they were coming out with the Premium Bacon Mac ‘n cheese Tuscani Pasta, I knew we had to try it. This did not disappoint.  The rotini pasta is covered with an awesome chedder cheese sauce.  That is then topped with more cheese and bacon.  An order of the Premium Bacon Mac ‘n cheese is about 3 pounds and should feed a family of four.  It also comes with 5 breadsticks.  This dinner is quite affordable too — it is only $12.99!  Everyone at my house truly like it.  I like how cheesy it was, my husband loved the bacon topping, Will (my one year old) could actually feed this to himself, and Madison (my four year old) just thought the whole thing was “super yummy in my tummy”.

Interested in trying this at your house?  I have been the opportunity to give not one, not two, but 3 certificates to my readers to try the Premium Bacon Mac ‘n cheese Tuscani Pasta.  What do you have to do to win this?

Each one of these things will give you one entry:

1. Leave a comment on this post. I want to know why you would like to try this or why you like Pizza Hut.
2. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify.
3. Stumble this post. If you don’t know what Stumble Upon is, please read Lori’s post at Blogging Cents. She explains it extremely well.
4. Add this post to other social media sites like Digg, Kirtsy, Blogging Zoom, Reddit, Propeller, Etc.

For 5 additional entries,

1.  Blog about this on your blog.  Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
2.  Add this to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
3.  Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed
4. Add my badge to your sidebar:

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Good luck!  This contest will end Sept. 17, 2008 at 8:00 PM CST and is for US residents only.