The boys take the Mission Super Soft Tortilla challenge!

you may recall my previous post about being the recipient of a big ol' box of Mission Super Soft Tortillas.....this is the second post about the fun things that we did with our tortillas (other than eating them straight out of the packaging).

PIZZA TILLA

PIZZA! was the boys first thought about what to do with the tortillas! I thought it defeated the point of them being so wonderfully soft and pliable to crisp them up like pizza crust.....but hey, the boys were happy, the boys were fed. guess I can't complain!

medium Mission Super Soft Tortilla

pizza sauce

1/2 cup of shredded cheese

your choice of toppings - I chose pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms, and garlic stuffed green olives.

heat a non-stick pan to medium or medium-low (depending on your pan and burners). slide the Pizza Tilla from your plate to the heated pan. using a spatula move the Pizza Tilla every so often until the tortilla is nice and crispy and the cheese has melted. 

D thought he had burned his Pizza Tilla and set out to make a second once. while he did that, R and I ate his first crust. it was a bit overcooked but that little bit of char was tasty! so if yours gets a bit darker than you think you might like, try it anyway!

Hubby came home a bit late and decided to try using the oven and the broiler. It was quicker and he got that same nice char that D got. I wouldn't suggest this method unless you are going to cook them for the kids........or like cleaning your oven! 

S'MORSADILLAS

a dessert the boys can customize and make themselves? yes please! this one could be done with bits and pieces leftover from other noshings.

the boys had open faced S'mores in mind while my mind went more towards the dessert quesadilla. my version did a better job of keeping the good stuff in the tortilla, but their version was prettier! either way, we were all happy with our results.

small Mission Super Soft Tortilla

traditional and non-traditional S'mores toppings: I used mini marshmallows, mini chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and crumbled graham crackers

fold your tortilla in half to give it a little crease (don't worry, it won't crack) and place in a non-stick skillet at medium heat.

add your fillings to one half of the tortilla and fold the other side over.

using a spatula, press down the top of the tortilla as the fillings are melted, turning over occassionally to crisp the tortilla.

I did not get mine as crisp as I think I would have prefered. however, I had 3 people behind me waiting for the skillet!

the boys opted for open face S'morsadillas and hubby started that way but decided to fold it up at the end for his own S'morsaTACO. Look at the great crisp on his tortilla! they both added the graham cracker after all their fillings melted. guess that is a benefit of doing it open faced?

Disclosure: In case you were sidetracked by mentally wondering if you had the makings of S'morsadillas in your cupboard, I received compensation for this blog post in the form of free tortillas.....which is awesome! There is also the possibility of a fun filled trip away from my family in which they will probably survive on........quesadillas and burritos and S'morsadillas made with Mission Super Soft Tortillas!

Mission Super Soft Tortilla's Walking Omelets - aka: breakfast for the family on the GO!

A couple weeks ago I received the email that we all wish we would get......no, I did not win the Liechtenstein lottery (again)......I was being offered some of the new Mission Super Soft Tortillas to try, make a recipe for, blog about, and potentially win a trip to the International Food Blogger Conference in Seattle. Well.....you know me......they had me at "tortilla." Seriously! Those things are a staple in our house. With an active family and growing boys, tortillas are BETTER than sliced bread!

Then the box arrived and I had to fight the boys off! We were given a package of fajita, soft taco, and burrito sized tortillas (aka: small, medium, and large). Being in a crazy house, I wanted to think of something that would appeal to like-minded people who need good food fast and sometimes on the go.

Thus........the Walking Omelet! You might say it is "just a breakfast burrito" but I beg to differ. Those burritos are wrapped in paper (if you buy them in a drive thru) or fall apart and have to be eaten with dirty fingers or utensils (if you make them at home). That wouldn't suit my purposes! I wanted something that the boys could grab as they rushed out the door to school, Scouts, whatever, without me fearing their breakfast was falling out behind them.

Thus..........the Walking Omelet:

bacon strips (newly cooked or leftover from a previous meal)
scrambled eggs (made in bulk with enough for as many Walking Omelets as you plan to make. we generally go with 1 1/2 per person)
shredded cheese
salsa
sliced avocado
sliced black olives
really, anything else you would like to put in an omelet!

(If you are fortunate enough that everyone likes the same omelet ingredients, I would make a big ol' omelet and then put scoops of the completed omelet in the tortilla. That is what I did when it was just me, myself, and I. However, in my family no one agrees on anything so the eggs are made separately and a post cooking omelet is created in the tortilla.)

The tortillas are soft so there is no need to warm them up. Pile your ingredients in, slightly down one side to allow room to fold up your Walking Omelet.....and GO!!! No fear of the tortilla cracking or ripping causing you to lose the most important meal of the day!

Disclosure: In case you forgot after seeing those yummy pictures of my Walking Omelets, I received compensation for this blog post in the form of free tortillas.....which is awesome! There is also the possibility of a fun filled trip away from my family in which they will probably survive on........quesadillas and burritos and Walking Omelets made with Mission Tortillas!

Oh, and btw, I have already been informed by the boys that they have a better idea for using these tortillas......so you might see another post coming real soon with a few more ideas!

I bought glasses online.....

out of the blue one day, I received an email from Firmoo asking me if I wanted a free pair of glasses and in return I would need to write a blog post about the experience! (sweet!) as a person who has had no luck with contacts, I am stuck with glasses. fortunately for me I have an eye insurance company that lets me get a new pair every year........and eyes that are very very slowly changing. I only get the slightest of adjustments to my prescription every visit so I can continue to wear my older glasses! that means more glasses for me!!!

after wondering if it was all some kind of scam I thought "WAHOO! another pair of glasses!" Firmoo sent me a link to the specific sets of glasses they were willing to give me on promo........about 50 or so........but they have thousands of frames on their site. several of the sets had 2 different color options for even more variety. I will be honest........because I won't be otherwise......it was a little odd choosing a frame without trying it on......several times. but I found 2 I really liked, waited a day and went back to look at them again. Firmoo has this cool feature where you can upload a photo of yourself so you can "see" the frames on your face. being webcam challenged, I didn't do this very well and it looked like I was wearing an itty bitty pair of glasses (think Mr. PotatoHead). guide marks for the photo would have been nice.......they might even have had them but I couldn't see them........I had my glasses off! lol! but I decided on these cute blue plaid frames. (you might need to change the color to see the exact ones I picked)

other than my personal ineptness, the ordering process was a piece of cake! I just input my prescription numbers and it was done! well.......almost........I did have to call my eye doctor and get my PD number (pupil distance). I guess they don't automatically give it to you. if they refuse, you can measure it yourself.

I ordered my glasses late on January 21st........a holiday for us US folks. they arrived on January 29th. their arrival answered the biggest question I had: where was this company? why would I ask that? well, because the grammar in their communications with me wasn't the greatest and the way the information on their site was written was a little off......and because I wanted to be able to tell you!

my glasses came from JAMAICA!!! how interesting is that? and aren't they darn cute?!?!? they even match a pair of plaid shorts I bought last summer!

so I guess it comes down to two things:

• would I order glasses this way again?
• would I recommend that you order glasses this way and from Firmoo? 

the answer to the first question is: YES!!! it was SO easy! I shopped, input my prescription information and I was done! AND.....the prices are really excellent! I like having multiple pairs to choose from and this makes it much more affordable! and the boys......well, having a back up pair is never a bad idea with boys, right?!?!?
the answer to the second question is: YES!!! seriously........a week to get a new pair isn't bad. it took that long from the local one hour place thanks to my funky prescription and unless you just sat on your old pair and can't see without them, can't you wait a week?

I was also excited to see that they accept Paypal for payment. why? well, because I don't like giving the internet my credit card number! 

FINALLY..... if you are interested in checking Firmoo out.....and getting the glasses FREE (you pay shipping) GO HERE!!!

disclosure: Firmoo solicited me to write a blog post about their site and service. in exchange they gave me a free pair of prescription glasses. their offer in no way impacted my opinion or what I stated in this blog post......and I may go back and get another set or two so it is a win-win for everyone!

The Year of 24 - Month 1

Scrapbook layouts: 6 (goal of 2)
kept the momentum started with my Christmas vacation going. evens topped and went back to do the journaling on layouts I had completed at crops! now I just need to find the time to put them all away in albums! lol!

Operation Write Home cards: 9 (goal of 2)
in addition, I sent off 50+ cards that I had previously made or received in swaps.
even though my goal is 2/month, I'd really like to ship off another box by the end of March. hoping for 20+ cards to include. the challenges and sketches from OWH are really motivating!

Scrapbook purchasing versus usage:
well, I didn't do so good here. guess when you actually get back into it you realize you need to restock on things......like black cardstock and envelopes.......and 8 1/2 x 11 white cardstock so you don't cut up all your 12 x 12. but I am okay with it (as long as it doesn't continue for too long) because it WAS restocking things I will use and I DID get some quality crafting done.
just to forewarn you, though, February is gonna be bad too. I found a really nice QK sale on eBay and "invested" a little over $100 in dies.

Pounds lost: 4 (goal of 2)
I lost exactly 4 pounds in January. amazing considering all the eating I did.....and missed walks (you will see below). so I lost the 2 cold pounds and the 2 I wanted to lose. this bodes well for the remainder of the year I hope!

Dolly walks: 21 (goal of 24)
I thought I had done a little better than that, but with several birthday dinners, work events, etc, sometimes getting out was a struggle.
this is going to continue to be a challenge as I started training for a half marathon (walking) and it calls for two days of rest each week. Dolly doesn't go for the whole day off thing either so I am just trying to take it easy on those days.
honestly, I don't think I will make it in February either as I will be gone for 3 days on work.....that reduces my days available to 25 right off the bat. but, I am okay with my goal. it helps keep me focused on needing to get out walking!

Blog posts: 6 (goal of 2)
I realized that I should easily meet this goal as I will already have 1 recap post each month!!

Books: 4
according to Goodreads, I read 4 books in January. what it doesn't tell you is that I started 2 others but ran out of time and had to return one and forgot to update the site when I finished another. guess it will count towards February!
I read 2 really good books in January, both more on the serious side: The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling and Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante. I would recommend reading both of them!