Cooking With TechyDad (and NHL and JSL): Pita Pizzas

NHL and JSL love the Disney Channel. One of the "mini-shows" they have on (filling time between regular shows) is "Tasty Time with ZeFronk." In this show, a dachshund (ZeFronk) makes tasty snacks which a cat named Dom always steals. After one episode showing Pita Pizzas, NHL remarked that he wanted to try making this. We made a trip to the grocery store and later that week, we were ready to cook.

First, we gathered our ingredients. Pitas, mushrooms, cheese, sauce and meatless pepperoni. (You can use real pepperoni if you’d like, but it’s not Kosher so we use the soy-based variety.)

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Next, we did what ZeFronk always does before cooking: We washed our hands!

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Now, it was time to cook. I laid four pitas down on two cookie sheets.

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The boys took their positions by the stove, standing to step stools to help them reach. I put some sauce on each of the pitas and the boys used a spoon to spread it out. (There are no action photos of JSL because I was too busy helping him to take photos.)

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Next, NHL spread out some mushrooms. JSL protested at this saying he didn’t want mushrooms so I let him know that we could customize it. He could have no mushrooms, no pepperoni. B and NHL could have mushrooms, no pepperoni. I could have the works.

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With the ‘shrooms in place, we applied the cheese.

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And then the pepperoni.

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Into the oven they went for 8 minutes. (Obviously, this step was done by me.)

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And then we had Pita Pizzas to enjoy! Healthy and tasty too! YUM!

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My Bullied History, Part 2 – Junior High School

When I got into Junior High School, I didn’t have many friends. So I was happy when I befriended RH. He seemed pretty nice at first, but soon he began to do things to torment me. He would sit behind me in class and throw spit balls at me or poke me in the back with the sharp end of his pencil. Eventually, I would confront him and he would say that someone told him I said something about him. I would deny it (as it wasn’t true) and he would be my friend again. This process repeated over and over and, I’m ashamed to say, I didn’t catch on that the “someone told him something” was a complete lie. I was too naive and desparate to have a friend.

One time, RH ignited a rivalry I had had in elementary school. MH lived up the block from me. Calling him a “bad seed” would be an understatement. He ODed on drugs at a young age as did every member of his family. He would push me down at the bus stops and try to beat me up any opportunity he got. I wouldn’t fight back, but would just take it.

One time, he tried beating me up in the halls of our elementary school and I had had enough. I tossed my books down and started to fight him. I don’t remember if I held my own or if we were stopped before we even started. I do know we were eventually stopped. I don’t think he was able to beat me up when I fought back. After this confrontation, if memory serves, he stopped picking on me. Until RH got involved, that is.

RH, MH and I were in gym class together and the sport we were playing was wrestling. Not the WWE-type but the old fashioned Greco-Roman variety. Two people go into a circle. One person goes on all fours. The second person holds his arm from over his back. Then you begin and each person tries to get the other one pinned. Strength is only one factor that contributes towards victory. Stragedy is also a factor.

RH egged MH on and somehow got MH and I in the wrestling circle together. As usual, I played by the rules, but MH didn’t feel like the rules applied to him. He drove me outside of the circle. Normally, at this point, the rules would dictate stopping attacks until the person got back in the ring. Instead, MH launched himself at me, hit me hard and wound up splitting my lip open. Still, for some reason, I was still naive and believed RH when he later told me that MH had told him I had said something negative about him (RH).

Eventually, I did wise up and cut all ties with RH, except for one. I happened to befriend another friend of his, G. My friendship with G lasted through High School, college and still goes on to this day. He’s the guy who’s wedding I attended in 2008. He’ll also wind up being very important in the next story (next week).

Project New Me: Week #19 or The Penultimate Weigh In #newme

Weight: 187 lbs (down 1.5 pounds)

Average Hours of Sleep: 5.4 hours

Total Workout Time: 0

Total Calories Burned: 0

Yesterday’s weigh in brought a pleasent surprise. I was at my goal weight. This was a surprise because my parents were in town for JSL’s party and I had eaten some less-than-perfect-for-me foods while we went out to eat. I don’t think I overdid it, but those foods could have easily packed on an extra pound. Instead, my metabolism seems to be able to withstand a day or so of overeating. (I overdid it at JSL’s party yesterday also and did an unofficial weigh in this morning to find myself at 187.5 pounds.) Of course, eating like that continually will lead to trouble, in the form of packed on pounds, but it is nice to know that my body is at the point where I don’t need to worry about the occassional stray into fattening foods.

Aloha Friday: Happy B-Day JSL & Your Favorite Winnie the Pooh Character

JSL’s third birthday is today. Thanks to our recent Disney World trip, he’s gone Winnie the Pooh crazy. His birthday will have a Winnie the Pooh theme. He likes all of the characters, but I think his favorite is definitely Pooh bear. He even eats hunny… I mean honey and tells me it’s just like Winnie the Pooh eats. Personally, my favorite character is Tigger. He seems constantly full of energy and good spirits. Plus, who wouldn’t want to be bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun?

My Aloha Friday question for this week is: Who is your favorite character from Winnie the Pooh?


Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha Friday by Kailani at An Island Life

Aloha #38

#DisneySMMoms 2010 – Disney Social Media Moms Begins (Day 4, Part 2)

Last week, I ended with our trip to Epcot and leaving Pop Century for DisneySMMoms. After making our way to the Polynesian, we checked in and were told to go to the hospitality area to check in for Disnet Social Media Moms. B went in there while I waited in the hallway with the kids. After awhile, she came out with a ton of swag and we made our way to our room.

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It was quite nice. I’m a fan of Pop Century, but the rooms do tend to run small. (Can’t expect much different from a Value Resort.) The Polynesian’s rooms were huge by comparison. The one criticism I’d have is that all of the buildings looked the same. We had trouble finding our way to our building. At least the Pop Century had different looking buildings.

We marvelled at the room for awhile but had to get ready to go to ESPN Wide World of Sports. We caught up with Christina (CutestKidEver), her husband Tom and son TJ by the bus stop and took the bus with them. This wasn’t your usual Disney bus. The strollers weren’t folded up and carried on board. They were stowed underneath (enough room to stow them unfolded) and we sat an nice, soft seats.

At ESPN Wide World of Sports, we were directed where to go. B and Christina went to the Disney SM Moms area to listen to some presentations while Tom, TJ, NHL, JSL and I went to the "dads and kids" area. They had taken a few of the fields and set up some games to keep the kids busy. They had basketball, football, soccer, volleyball and other sports for the kids to play.

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The kids had a blast running around chasing balls. The only glitch was when I went to kick a soccer ball. The grass was slightly wet and my feet went right out from under me and I landed on my read end/back. Getting up, oddly enough, my first thought was "B’s going to kill me if I got grass stains on these jeans!" My second thought was "Am I injured." Luckily, there were no grass stains or injuries.

Soon, it was getting dark and time for us to head in to eat. We made our way to the dining area, parked the stroller and found the table the girls had saved for us. Going with the sports theme, they had peanuts and Cracker Jacks for us to snack on.

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Alcoholic beverages, too… trying to get the moms drunk?

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The food was mostly meat-based (hamburgers/hot dogs) so there wasn’t much for me, but I made do. Burger bun + cheese meant for cheeseburgers + tomatoes = cheese sandwich. Some fries with cheese sauce & fruit and you’ve got a meal. Later on, they had ice cream including Mickey Bars. YUM!

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Of course, it wouldn’t be Disney if characters didn’t make an appearance. Pluto, Mickey, Minnie and others were on hand. Unfortunately, not all of them stopped by our table. TJ seemed upset about that, but I knew that we would be going with him to Epcot the next day so I told him that I knew where he could go to see Mickey, hoping that would make him feel better. (Nobody should be sad at Disney!)

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It was late so we gathered our things and started out… until I couldn’t find my camera. I ran back to the table and there it was underneath my chair! WHEW! Two lost things recovered in the same day.

With that crisis averted, we left ESPN and headed for the bus back to our hotel. On the way out, though, we were handed some ESPN hats. Very nice touch. Though it was late, NHL and TJ didn’t conk out but enjoyed some time together on the bus ride back.

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Then we went back to our hotel rooms and got some sleep. We all had a big day tomorrow. B at Disney Social Media Moms and me with the kids in the parks!

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