Has it really been this long...

I can't believe it has been this long since my last post. Life has been a little busy lately.  Nothing too exciting has happened.  Hubby and I decided that it was time I went back to work to help us out with our finances. So I've been working around 20hours a week.  I know that might not seem like a lot to some but when I'm used to staying home all the time it's hard. Plus then I have to try and keep up with the house and of course spend as much time as I can with my hubby and girls.  There have been a few weeks that hubby and I don't have a day off together and we see each other in passing.  I'm sure how long I'll be picking up hours but it is nice especially coming into the holidays.

So on top of me working I'm still trying to stay on top of my workouts and eating clean. The clean eating is easier to do now that I make weekly meal plans.  Each week I sit down and look through the ads, my pantry and fridge to see what meals we'll have that week.  I plan out breakfast, lunch and dinner. It makes it so easy when we come home and all I have to do is get dinner ready without thinking about it.  I try to utilize our crock pot as much as possible on the days I work.  Like last week I cooked a whole chicken on my day off had hubby scrape the meat off and put it away.  Then the next day I made chicken stock in the crock pot while I was at work.  So once I got home that night I was able to make homemade chicken noodle soup.  The girls inhaled it too.

When it comes to working out I try to get up before the girls wake up to get my workouts in. I've started doing Insanity again and should be done right before Thanksgiving.  My motivation to get out of bed so early is not having to do it after they go to bed. By the end of the day all I want to do is sit and relax or some days go straight to bed.  

It's crazy to think that next week is Halloween and Thanksgiving is quickly approaching. I hope I can enjoy the next couple of months and not blink them away.  

What are your kids going to be for Halloween?  Emma has decided she's going to be a princess, no surprise there. 

Whole-Wheat Pizza Pockets: Toddle Along Tuesday

I CAN'T take full credit for this recipe. It's one of our favorites from 100 Days of Clean Eating. This is the direct link to her recipe or you can scroll down and see it here too, I've added some of my changes to it too.  It's so good that I make extra and freeze them so we can have them for lunch. I enjoy making my own pizza crust and have been for over a year. So I use a different recipe than what is listed. I can post that recipe in another post if everyone is interested. This is a super easy make and again delicious!

Top Right to Bottom Left:
1: Cheese mixture 
2: Veggie mixture
3: Crusts portioned out with sauce
4: Crust, Sauce, Cheeses
5: Crust, Sauce, Cheeses, Veggies
6: Folded and Sealed Pocket
7: Ready to bake
8: Ready to eat cut in half with the melted cheese coming out.


Dough Ingredients 
1 cup water
2 teaspoons dry active yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups whole-wheat flour
 (I like to add different seasonings to my crust like garlic and Italian seasonings)

Filling Ingredients
1 ¼ cups ricotta cheese
1 ¼ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
Salt and pepper, to taste
Other fillings as desired:chopped mushrooms, green or red bell peppers, pesto, squash, zucchini, onions, garlic, any cooked meat.  Basically if you like it on your pizza include it in your stuffed pizza. 

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a glass measuring cup heat 1-cup water until warm. Drop in 2 teaspoons yeast and let rest for a minute. After the yeast foams up a bit add the salt and olive oil to the water mixture and gently stir if necessary.

In a food processor or mixer with a dough blade/hook add 3 cups flour. Pour in the water mixture and process until a dough ball forms. Coat a large bowl with olive oil, add the pizza dough ball, and cover with plastic wrap while you prepare the other fillings.

In another bowl mix together the ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan.

Chop and/or cook other desired fillings while dough rises on the counter (20 – 30 minutes).

Alternatively you can make the dough earlier in the day and let it rise in the fridge or if you are short on time it will still work if you don’t let it rise at all! Divide dough into 6 equal sized pieces. Shape each one into a ball and then flatten it out with a rolling pin. Don’t roll it too thin (see picture for recommended size).

Spread a spoonful of pizza sauce in the center of the dough. Add two heaping spoonfuls of the cheese mixture and one spoonful of filling (or 3 spoonfuls of cheese mixture if no other filling is desired).
Seal edges of the dough together as best you can with your fingers (see photo for two examples) and flip it over so seam side is down on a greased baking sheet. Make a couple of holes with a fork in the top (to prevent the cheese from leaking out the bottoms/sides) and top with raw sesame seeds if desired.

Bake in the oven for 12 – 15 minutes and once done let cool for a few minutes. Serve with warm pizza sauce for dipping and enjoy!
Yield: 4 – 5 servings