Busy, Busy

I've felt a lot busier now. One reason is because I'm babysitting for a friend from church, Kirstin, two afternoons a week. She has an adorable 7 month old little girl named Grace. I'm also leading a playgroup on Wednesdays because the playgroup I was in got too large. If anyone is interested in joining, just let me know. We meet in each other's homes from 10am-Noon each week. Add all that to my normal things like grocery shopping, visiting friends, bringing meals to new moms, etc. and I'm feeling very busy. It's a lot of fun though!

In my spare time I'm cooking a lot of new recipes and working on Everett's scrapbook. I tried a new recipe tonight and Allen gave it a "Top 10" rating, which doesn't happen very often. It's from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook (75th anniversary edition), which I got for Christmas last year. It's a wonderful cookbook!!

Tostada Pizza
Start to finish: 40 minutes
Oven: 400º
Makes: 6 servings

1 pound lean ground beef
1 4-ounce can diced green chile peppers, drained
½ of a 1½-ounce envelope (about 2 tablespoons) taco seasoning mix
1 teaspoon chili powder
tablespoono0n cornmeal (I just used flour)
1 10-0unce package refridgerated pizza dough
1 15-ounce can pinto beans with jalapeño peppers, rinsed and drained (I couldn't find pinto beans with jalapeño peppers, so I bought plain pinto beans and jalapeño peppers separately, but I think next time I'll just use refried beans instead)
1 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces) (I used four cheese Mexican cheese and some cheddar)
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
½ cup thinly sliced green onions (4)
Bottled taco sauce (optional) (I topped it with sour cream)

1. In a large skillet cook meat until brown. Drain off fat. Stir in ¾ cup water, chile peppers, taco seasoning mix, and chili powder. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered 15 to 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is gone.
2. Meanwhile, grease a baking sheet and sprinkle with the cornmeal. Pat pizza dough into a 12x8-inch rectangle on the baking sheet. Bake in a 400° oven for 5 minutes.
3. In a bowl mash beans with a fork; spread over partially baked dough to within ½ inch of edges. Spoon meat mixture over beans. Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes more or until crust is just golden. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 1 to 2 minutes more or until cheese melts. Top with lettuce, tomato, and onions. If desired, top with taco sauce.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

I have a headache now from trying to type on our old and slow laptop and using all those alt keys. Allen's trying to work on our pc right now (he's got the whole thing torn apart). Our office looks like a tornado went through it with the bathroom torn apart and the computer torn apart. He had gum surgery on Friday and hasn't been able to work on much lately. Hopefully we'll get things together soon.

One question to ponder why do cheeses like Monterey Jack get capitalized and others don't? I could just Google that, but I'm tired. I just heard an "Alleluia" from Al, so I guess the pc is coming together at least.