Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Wall Art

March 27, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

If you’re a mom of young boys, I’d dare guess that they love Ninja Turtles. My three boys (and even my girl) are obsessed with them! That’s why we chose that for our playroom remodel theme, and it’s coming right along now that I’ve added this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Wall Art!

There’s going to be a lot of Ninja Turtle stuff going on, so I wanted this art to be a little less detailed (no eyes) and fun. The boys knew EXACTLY who each of the canvas’ represented, then the PIZZA made it even more ‘rad’, as Mikey would say!

Supplies

4 Canvas Wraps
Paint: green, red, orange, blue, purple, white, brown
Paint brushes/etc.
Letters: P – I – Z – Z – A
Thin wood board, for mounting (painted color of choice – I did grey metallic)
Hot glue gun/glue
Nails/hammer

Directions

Paint your canvases all green, allowing to dry. Use a piece of straight cardboard (or similar straight edged item) to help you do your mask lines – then do one of each: blue, orange, red, and purple. Allow to dry completely.
Paint your PIZZA letters, allowing to dry. Use hot glue to attach your letters to a thin board (this is how you’ll mount them to the wall). Let the glue dry completely.
Use nails to attach your board to the wall. Use a nail for each canvas to hang those, also.

That’s it! Now you’ve got an awesome Ninja Turtle wall display!

We’ve got a TON more exciting plans for our playroom remodel, and can’t wait to share them all with you! A super fun themed playhouse (clue: not actually a ‘house’!) is coming up in the next week, so be sure to check back!

Pizza Hut ‘Flavor of Now’

January 23, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

This shop has been compensated by TapInfluence and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #flavorofnow #sponsored

If you know my family at all, you know we’re HUGE pizza-lovers. It’s especially great to save me some time cooking in the kitchen during a busy day! Whether we make our own or order out, family pizza night is one of our favorites! We won’t settle for ‘good’ pizza, though, only amazingly delicious kinds. When we heard about the new Pizza Hut ‘Flavor of Now’ Menu, we had to give it a try…and were blown away!

If you haven’t tried their ‘Flavor of Now’ options, you’re really missing out because there’s items for EVERY taste preference! I couldn’t choose just one when we ordered this week, so got THREE….

Pizza #1: Garden Party™

This was a pre-designed flavoring which ended up being Hubby’s absolute favorite of the three (my second)! It had their new Hut Favorite Crust Flavor, Premium Crushed Tomato Sauce, Fresh Spinach, Green Peppers, Mushrooms, Onions, Diced Tomatoes and a Balsamic Drizzle to top it off.

I will say this was my favorite Crust Flavor…perfectly seasoned and bursting with great taste!

Pizza #2: Giddy-Up BBQ Chicken™

THIS one was my very favorite of the three (although I loved all of them!). Also a pre-made Flavor of Now combination, it had the Honey BBQ Sauce, Bacon, Chicken, Onions, new Toasted Cheddar Crust Flavor and a BBQ Drizzle. SUPER yummy!

Pizza #3: My Customized Flavor of Now Pizza

This one I customized, mixing and matching some of their new toppings (there’s 5 new ones!), crust flavor, and sauce! For this one I chose to try out the Garlic Butter Blend Crust Flavor, Creamy Garlic Parmesan Sauce, Green Peppers, Ham, Mushrooms, Onions, Black Olives, Italian Sausage and Diced Tomatoes. I didn’t do a drizzle on this one, since I thought it was already perfect…and Oh. My. Gosh! It was fabulous! My kiddos downed this one way fast.

I also received the most AMAZING customer service! I had ordered the pizza early on in the day for later on their website, and 5 minutes before it was suppose to be delivered I received a call from the manager apologizing that they would be a little late due to so many orders. Guess how late they were probably going to be? Only 5-10 minutes! Seriously, that’s not much, but it was still so generous of them to make the effort to keep us happy and take the time to call personally to apologize. I was definitely impressed!

Give Pizza Hut’s all-new menu a try with 5 premium new ingredients, 6 bold new sauces and 10 amazing new crust flavors. Build your own creation now at PizzaHut.com.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Pizza Hut. The opinions and text are all mine.

Caprese Pizza

December 31, 2014 by Kelly Dedeaux

Who else loves a homemade pizza? We sure do, and usually have a family pizza night at least once or twice a month! Instead of doing the same recipe every time, though, we like to try new flavor combinations. This week we tried one of my favorite classic flavorings…Caprese…in pizza form and It. Was. Amazing! So check out our Caprese Pizza to decide for yourself!

I’ve tried other things as ‘Caprese’ flavorings, like my want-it-all-the-time Caprese Salad, or even our Caprese Lasagna…yumm-o! This pizza is no exception to the deliciousness, and I absolutely LOVE how simple it is to make, plus how budget-friendly it is. Bonus!

Ingredients

Pizza Dough (recipe here)
Marinara Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
Sliced Tomatoes
Fresh or Ground Basil
Olive Oil

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375 Degrees F. Prepare a pizza pan (either spray, or with corn meal, etc.) and set aside.
Roll your pizza dough and place on your prepared pan. Brush all the edges with olive oil, to prevent burning. Spread some marinara sauce to within 1/2 – 1 inch of the edge. Top with a sprinkling of cheese. Spread the tomato slices in one nice layer all over the pizza. Top with more shredded cheese, then sprinkle basil on top.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until dough is cooked through. Allow to cool a bit, then slice and serve!

If you’re looking for some other pizza inspirations, be sure to check out our Homemade Chicken Alfredo Pizza, our tangy BBQ Chicken Pizza, or the delish Veggie Pizza!

Best Ever Pony Express Pizza Garlic Butter

October 23, 2014 by Kelly Dedeaux

You know those things that seem to go with almost everything? I think garlic bread is just that…it goes with pastas, pizza, some salads. Sometimes before the meal or with it. So versatile, and absolutely delicious! My go-to recipe is this Best Ever Pony Express Pizza Garlic Butter!

If you saw yesterday’s Creepy Mini Pizzas post, you read about how I grew up in a store called Pony Express Pizza. My folks owned it, and they served the best pizzas around (even though they stopped over 16 years ago now, people in town STILL ask for the recipes!). It was so fun learning how it all worked, ‘helping’ around the store, and of course taste testing! I still remember they’d make these huge tubs of their garlic butter, and I would beg for some with each batch because it was the most creamy, delicious stuff ever!

As I grew up and moved away, I tried so many times to repeat the flavorful goodness of this recipe, but it always ended up a total fail. Then when my family visited in September, my Dad made sure we took the time to remake the RIGHT recipe with huge success! Yup, it was as amazing as I remember it to be, and now I make it all the time for my kiddos! Thanks, Daddy!

*This is enough to do about 1 French Bread loaf

Ingredients

1 cube Margarine (you CAN use butter, but it won’t be as creamy)
1/2 tbsp. plus 1/2 tsp. Garlic Salt
1/2 tbsp. plus 1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tbsp. Parmesan Cheese (use the green container kind)
1/6 cup Mayo
1 tbsp. Parsley

Directions

In a stand mixer (or by hand, if you really must) combine all of the ingredients and whip until it’s doubled in size. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
The flavor is best after the 1st day, after all the ingredients have really come together.

Note: It also freezes really well, so make a larger batch and store some for another time!

Family Fun with Creepy Mini Pizzas

October 22, 2014 by Kelly Dedeaux

*This post is sponsored by Fleischmann’s Yeast. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

My history with pizza and family time goes WAY back, to the years I spent growing up in a pizza place. So when I got the chance to try Fleischmann’s quick-rising yeast in a delicious pizza crust recipe, I was definitely all for it! To make it a full-on activity, we had some major Family Fun with Creepy Mini Pizzas!

Now, when I say grew up in a pizza place, I don’t mean going and eating there often…my parents owned Pony Express Pizza in northern Utah up until I was about 11 years old, so I spent much of my childhood there. I remember rolling out the huge cans of olives to my parents so they can open them. I was super ‘helpful’! I also remember the HUGE dough mixer where every day they’d make ginormous batches of pizza dough. It was so neat, and I really loved the smell of the yeast. Call me crazy, but I loved it!

Having this deep love for good pizza, we love making them at our own home all the time. My kids know that at least once a month we’ll be having a family pizza night, and they love getting to help choose the types! Pizzas are great that way…switch up the sauces, or toppings, or even the cheese, and you’ve got something new!

One problem I tend to have is planning ahead, though. Since most pizza dough requires you allow it to rise for a certain amount of time, there’s been so many occasions when I just didn’t get it ready in time, so pizza night was postponed. Not with this Fleischmann’s Fast & Easy Pizza Crust Yeast! Less than an hour to completely make the pizza dough, pre-bake it, decorate our Creepy Mini Pizzas, then cook the final creations! Now THAT’S what I call an awesome family night!

*Makes 8 (6-inch) Pizzas

Ingredients – Crust

3 1/4 to 3 3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 envelope Fleischmann’s Pizza Crust Yeast
1 1/2 tbsp. Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/3 cup Warm Water
1/3 cup Veggie Oil

Directions – Crust

Preheat oven to 425 Degrees F.
Add all of the ingredients together (start with the less amount of flour) and mix until well-blended. If it’s too sticky, gradually add more flour in until it’s a nice, elastic, soft dough. Knead as needed, then divide into 8 portions.
Roll each portion into a nice circle and pinch the edges to form a rim. You can fit 2 of these on a sprayed baking sheet. Don’t add any toppings yet! Bake for 6-7 minutes until set and very lightly browned on the bottom.
Remove and either add toppings for immediate consumption, or put in freezer bags and freeze for up to 1 month. If using right away, add sauce, cheese, and toppings, then bake at 475 Degrees F. for about 6-8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cheese is melted.

Ingredients – Toppings (pick and choose your favs!)

Your favorite sauce (try our delicious Alfredo or tasty BBQ)
Cheese
Bell Peppers: green, red, yellow, orange
Mushrooms
Black Olives
Pepperoni Slices
Ham Slices
Salami Slices
Lettuce

Here’s our Creepy Mini Pizza Creations

Cat Woman (our exchange student) helped Green Lantern with his mini pizza. Their monster-man was super fun!

Wonder Woman wanted a big-eared ‘dude’ for her dinner, and the green peppers worked perfectly! Add some olive eyes for the perfect finishing touch.

I think Batman’s fabulous Halloween Owl pizza was my favorite! I loved the big eyes, green pepper wings and colorful feathered belly. And the fact the my 4-year-old pulled this off without ANY help was a proud mama moment indeed!

Okay, so I don’t have a final photo of Superman’s pizza…partially because he wouldn’t hold still, and he kept saying ‘wait, one more’. It turned out a Picasso type monster 🙂

In the past it’s often happened that I just bought pre-made pizza dough because I didn’t have any extra time to spend making homemade dough. I hated the cost difference, and it just doesn’t taste the same! Now that I’ve learned how easy and quick Fleischmann’s Yeast makes pizza night…plus how delicious it turns out…I can serve up homemade pizza in a flash!

For additional information, recipes and tips and tricks, visit the Fleischmann’s Yeast resource center online.

Veggie Pizza

January 28, 2014 by Kelly Dedeaux

So awhile ago I went to a neighbors for one of our friend’s going away parties. She had such a great assortment of tasty treats, but my absolute FAVORITE was this super delicious Veggie Pizza. I practically begged her for the recipe, which she so wonderfully shared. I didn’t realize it was So. Dang. Easy! Seriously, I now make this all the time. The kids eat them like there’s no tomorrow, which is a definite bonus!

Ingredients

2 cans Crescent Rolls

16 oz. Cream Cheese, softened

2/3 cup Mayo (or Miracle Whip)

1 Tbsp. Dill Weed

1 tbsp. Onion Powder

Optional Veggie Toppings:

Diced Tomatoes

Diced Green Onions

Diced Green Pepper

Grated Radishes

Grated Carrots

Diced Cucumber

Diced Zucchini

Chopped Cauliflower

Chopped Broccoli

Diced Mushrooms

Chopped Olives

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.

Spread out the crescent roll dough onto a sprayed pizza pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely; you can use this time to prep the veggies and spread!

In a bowl, mix the Cream Cheese, Mayo, Dill Weed, and Onion Powder. Spread over the mostly cooled crust.

Top with desired veggies, cut into squares (or whatever shape you want), and SERVE!

Be warned: These won’t last long, they’re SO GOOD!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

January 9, 2014 by Kelly Dedeaux

Have you noticed by now that I really like pizza? Between my folks owning a Pony Express Pizza while I was younger, and then working in a Papa Murpheys while in college, it’s just always been there for me. It’s delicious, versatile, and EASY. Oh, and especially cost-effective if you make your own (yes, we order it out sometimes, sorry)!

Ingredients – Sauce
3/4 cup Ketchup
1/4 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp. Garlic, minced
1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Paprika
1/4 cup Water

Directions – Sauce
Put all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir well. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and simmer about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pizza
Preheat oven (and pizza stone, if using) to 375 Degrees F.

Roll out some premade pizza dough to make your crust. (recipe here)

Brush some olive oil along the edges of the circular dough, to prevent burning.

Spread the sauce evenly over the rolled out dough, about an inch from the sides.

Top with a layer of cheese (Mozzarella is what I prefer) – I do about 1 cup here, but base it on your own preference.

Add other toppings: Chicken (cooked) pieces, bacon bits, green onion dices, red onion dices, tomatoes…up to you!

Then top with another good layer of cheese – I do about 1 1/2 to 2 cups here. I like cheese!!!

Bake for about 20-25 minutes.

What other types of pizza recipes would YOU like to see here?

Easy Pizza Dough

October 11, 2013 by Kelly Dedeaux

I’m not the type of person who enjoys making bread things. Not sure why, just not me! So please don’t be too surprised at today’s recipe: Easy Pizza Dough!

I miss Papa John’s pizza. When we first moved to Texas, I would watch for deals and order their pizza once a month for our family. It was great, and having a night off from cooking was AWESOME!!! However, in our new house there aren’t any close enough to deliver, and it’s a 20 minute drive EACH WAY to do carry-out, so I may as well take the time to cook something and save money. Yes, there’s other pizza places, but it’s just our family’s thing to always do Papa’s.

Anywho, what’s a girl to do in a situation like this? Learn how to make our own delicious pizza, of course! A couple weeks ago I shared our first ‘successful’ pizza – Homemade Chicken Alfredo. Delish!!! Now I’ve gotten the pizza dough down, and want to share this super easy recipe with you – it turns out nice and soft-yet-cooked-through, some flakyness….just try it, it’s ‘da-bomb’!

Ingredients
1 cup Warm Water
1 1/4 oz. Yeast Packet
2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 tbsp. Baking Powder
4 tbsp. Butter, melted
Olive or Vegetable Oil
Flour for dusting/rolling

Directions
Put the Water in a bowl and add the Yeast, stirring really quick to dissolve it. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix the Flour, Salt and Baking Powder together. Add the Butter, then the yeast mixture. Make sure it’s well-combined.

Take a bowl and swipe the inside with a bit of Olive or Vegetable oil. Place the dough ball inside, turning until dough is covered with the oil. Cover the bowl with a damp paper towel and allow to rise for about an hour.

Knead dough ball on a lightly floured surface until no longer sticky, and well combined.

Use in your favorite recipes, such as our Homemade Chicken Alfredo Pizza!!!

Homemade Chicken Alfredo Pizza

September 24, 2013 by Kelly Dedeaux

While I was little, probably up until I was 11-ish, my parents owned a local pizza store. I remember spending summers there ‘helping’ out, playing in the back office, watching them all make these delicious pizzas. I thought I was ‘the coolest’ because my parents would arrange for a huge pizza party for my school classes. Those were fun times! Anywho…this Chicken Alfredo Pizza recipe is NOT from that pizza store, unfortunately, but it is still super delicious and one of Hubby and I’s absolute favs! The alfredo sauce has just a bit of a kick to it, really making this a fully flavorful pizza!

Ingredients
16 oz. Dough ball
2 tbsp. Butter
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 tsp. Red Pepper flakes
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 tbsp. All-purpose Flour
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated or shredded
Additional Flour for work surface
1-2 cups Chicken, cooked and diced
2-3 cups Mozzerella cheese, shredded
1 cup Tomatoes, diced
1-2 tbsp. Basil, crushed
2-3 tbsp. Olive Oil, for brushing crust
Cornmeal, for pizza stone or tray

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 Degrees. Spread a bit of Cornmeal over the pizza stone, then place in oven to preheat.

In a medium saucepan, melt the Butter over medium heat.

Add the Red Pepper Flakes (adjust based on your desired ‘kick’) and minced Garlic, cooking about 1 minute or until fragrant.

Mix in the Flour; cook until light tan in color.

Mix in the Cream, reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the Parmesan, stirring until melted in, then remove saucepan from heat.

Spread some flour on your work surface and roll out the Dough until it’s about a 13-inch diameter.

Being very careful, remove the pizza stone from oven. Sprinkle a bit more cornmeal on the bottom of the pizza dough, then place it on the hot pizza stone.

Spread the sauce over the pizza, almost to the edges, then cover with about 3/4 of the Mozzarella.

Top with the Chicken, Tomatoes and the remaining Mozzarella, then sprinkle the top with the Basil.

Use a basting brush to lightly spread Olive Oil on the edges of the crust (helps prevent burning).

Place in the oven (remember the stone is hot, so be careful), and bake about 20-25 minutes, or until the crust has turned golden brown and the cheese is all melted.

Remove and slice as desired. Enjoy!!!