Bagel Pizzas

Is summer going by crazy fast for anyone else? My hubby has summers off (he's a school psychologist), so we've been really busy almost every second. He goes back to work at the end of next week (BOO!), so things will start to settle down a bit after that. Come August, I'll have 2 of my 3 kids in school, so I'll have much more time for this little blog of mine!

So anyway, the other night we were late getting home from the pool and were starving. I had some bagels and pepperoni about ready to go bad and needed to use them up. Thus, this idea popped into my head. My kids scoffed at me ("Bagel pizzas? Are you sure, Mom?") at first, but then I reminded them that we always see those pre-made frozen ones at the store. They still were skeptical because we've never purchased the ones at the store before, but everyone loved these.

You could totally make them ahead of time and keep them in the freezer for quick meals. I plan on doing that and then popping them in the fridge to defrost to send with my kids to school that week. Pizza is so versatile (you can eat it hot or cold), so I think it'll be perfect for their lunches to change things up a bit.

Lastly, this is a perfect meal to let your kids prepare! My kids were fighting over who got to spread the sauce, and they loved spreading on the cheese and pepperoni. :)

Ingredients:
plain bagels
pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce
shredded mozzarella
pizza toppings

Break bagels in half, and lay them out on a foil-lined baking sheet. Top with a few spoonfuls of sauce, then cheese, then toppings. Sprinkle a little extra cheese on top before baking.

Bake at 375* for about 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and pepperoni starts to get crispy around the edges.

I served ours with some fresh, sliced cantaloupe and a salad. It was a really yummy summer supper!

What meals do you throw together in a pinch?

Turkey, Bacon, and Avocado Wraps

This is just to give you some inspiration and isn't a recipe. I often will see things on a website and think, "Duh! Why didn't I think of that?!" or "Oh, yeah! I love that meal!" My family gets really sick of sandwiches, so this is my way of tricking my kids. It always seems like it's more fun wrapped up in a tortilla as opposed to being in between 2 slices of bread.

I'm sure you are well aware of the pure bliss that comes from the combination of turkey, bacon, and avocado. Plus, you get to eat bacon, and that's never a bad thing. Everyone needs more excuses to eat bacon. ;-)

The ingredients list is just what I had on hand the day I made these. There are tons of ways to improvise. I was in a hurry on this day and just threw these together in a flash, so they don't contain anything that required a lot of chopping/rinsing/dishes.

Ingredients:
turkey breast (I just used thick sliced lunch meat)
cream cheese, softened
1 avocado, sliced
lettuce (I used romaine)
bacon (less mess by cooking it in the oven!)
1 tomato, sliced
flour tortillas

Spread the cream cheese onto each tortilla, then top with remaining ingredients. Roll up, and cut in half on an angle. I secured mine with toothpicks so they'd stay rolled up.

Cream Cheese Tuna Spread

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My mom recently moved, and she got rid of a lot of things to prepare for that. She gave me several of her cookbooks, one of which is called California's Lite 'n Easy Recipes. That is where I got this recipe from. It's in the appetizers section, but I doubled the recipe so we could eat it as a light lunch. My kids loved it. It would also be a great thing to serve at a party.

The only things I did differently from the recipe was I added finely diced red bell pepper and used green onion instead. You could add in any combination of veggies, sweet relish, parsley, etc. And if you really want it to be low-fat, use fat-free cream cheese.

Ingredients:
1 can water-packed tuna, drained
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine tuna and cream cheese, stirring until thoroughly mixed. Then add in the other ingredients. Chill for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Serve with crackers, in pita bread, in crescent rolls, etc.

Do you like tuna? When you buy canned tuna, do you prefer it packed in oil or water?