31 Weeks

Normally, this blog is all about the Tot. But today, I made something really tasty in my kitchen, and I thought I'd share. After all, it's a mommy-blog, right? Mommies cook.... sometimes.

White Trash Pizzas (updated version)

When I was in college, I was super-poor and only made just enough money each week to buy $30 worth of groceries for two weeks. So I improvised. Of course, there were the staples like Ramen and grilled cheese sandwiches, but every once in a while I'd crave pizza (like any other normal, red-blooded American college student). Even though there was a pizza shop below my apartment, (and a brewery across the street - it was heaven, believe me) sometimes all my money went for beer instead of food and... well... here we are. White Trash Pizzas. The cheap version is to make toast, spread some marinara sauce on, a few slices of cheese (preferably mozzarella, but these were hard times, folks), and a few seasonings. Voila! Pizza.

Here's a version involving a few more (but still cheap) ingredients.

5 pack of plain or egg bagels (or French bread, English muffins, etc.)
2 cups of marinara or pizza sauce
15 Roma tomatoes, sliced length wise
30 slices of mozzarella cheese (or one 8 oz bar)
1 small can of sliced mushrooms
5 slices of turkey bacon, cut into 4 pieces
2 Tbsp of butter
Garlic
Rosemary
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Separate and lightly toast 5 bagels, or 10 bagel halves.

Place butter in a small microwaveable dish and sprinkle in garlic and rosemary. Microwave on high for 1 minute, or until thoroughly melted. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the cut side of bagels with mixture.

Place on medium size cookie sheet prepped with cooking spray.

Microwave bacon on a plate covered in 4 sheets of paper towels (two under bacon, two above) for 2-3 minutes until done but not crispy. Once cooked, cut or rip into four sections.

Using a spoon, spread sauce onto each bagel half. Lay 3 pieces of cheese onto each mini pizza. Top with 3 Roma tomato halves, and two small sections of bacon.

Sprinkle garlic, rosemary, and Parmesan cheese as desired. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is thoroughly melted and slightly golden.


There ya go mommies! "But Mama Spud," you may say, "You're an idiot. I've been making bagel pizzas forever."

Well.... too bad. It's delicious. Try the tomatoes and bacon. Try the seasonings. Don't buy the pre-packaged Bagel Bites with the scarily-symmetrical pepperoni. Mine are made with love. :-P
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Also, I took Tater Tot to the chiropractor again today. We're going next Monday again too. They're so very sweet and easy to get along with. It really irritates me when doctors offices get so demanding about payment. They want you to come to the office every week or so, and some expect payment as soon as you walk through the door. The office we are going to is very relaxed about it. They understand that they are asking you to visit a lot and they don't want you to suffer just because you can't afford it. I probably could have afforded it today, but I wanted to make sure all of my bills went through first, just in case.

Or if the house blows up tomorrow. You know, just in case.

Meanwhile, in baby land:

*She sits up for 4-5 minutes on her own.
*She crawls/creeps from my bathroom, through my bedroom, across the hall, into the kitchen, through the butler's pantry, around the dining room, and into the hallway again.
*She plays with Tupperware while I clean up the kitchen.
*She eats Banana Puffs (Wal-Mart version is cheaper - sorry Gerber, even though you give me coupons)
*She pretends to eat a puff and even says, "Yummy yum," but then sticks it to the front of her shirt.
*Chicken and Broccoli is not her fave. Nor mine.
*Apple Yo Baby yogurt IS a fave, though. It tastes like apple pie and heaven. I know. Trust me.
*She says "Hi" to Dr. Chiro, but doesn't like to be oppressed and be forced to lay on her back.