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Inverted Pizza
This is a fun variation on pizza that even my pickiest eaters gobble up. If you are looking for something a little different to serve for dinner that only uses basic ingredients and can be made at the last minute (or made ahead of time and frozen) – you must try upside down pizza!
Guest post from Brigette Shevy
Your family will love this Upside Down Pizza Casserole
The first time I ever made this recipe was with my great-grandma. Every Saturday, for many years, Crystal and I would spend several hours at our great-grandparent’s house. After the cleaning was finished, I loved helping my Grandmother in the kitchen. Even well into her 80’s and 90’s, she loved trying new recipes!
This was one we tried together – and I liked it so much that I copied it out and brought it home with me. It quickly became a staple in our family’s recipe box!
What is Upside Down Pizza?
Upside-Down Pizza is an easy, kid-friendly, all-in-one dish with the sauce and meat on the bottom and the “crust” on the top (hence “upside down” pizza!)
Add a bag of frozen veggies, and dinner is ready!
Ingredients For Inverted Pizza
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 can or jar (15 ½ oz.) pizza sauce (or 2 cups homemade sauce)
- ½ tsp. garlic salt
- ¼ tsp. oregano
- 8 oz. grated Mozzarella cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp. oil
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Upside Down Pan Pizza Variations
I rarely follow the recipe exactly as I love mixing it up with different pizza toppings and spices… so feel free to improvise!
Add in whatever pizza-like toppings and ingredients you have in the house (or whatever your family loves)
(Note: If you end up adding a bunch of salty toppings such as olives or pepperoni, you will probably need to add less salt than the recipe calls for.)
How to Make Pizza Upside Down
1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Brown ground beef and onion. Drain off fat.
3. Mix in pizza sauce, garlic salt, and oregano.
4. Pour into a greased 9×13-inch pan and sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, oil, and flour.
6. Pour over meat mixture and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
7. Bake 30-40 minutes (You can turn on the broiler for the last minute or two if you want a browner, crispier top).
Storing Inverted Pizza
Any leftovers can be portioned out for lunches and refrigerated in food storage containers for up to a week (or frozen for longer).
Recipe
Pizza Upside Down Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 16 oz pasta sauce (or 2 cups of homemade sauce)
- ½ tsp. garlic salt
- ¼ tsp. oregano
- 8 oz. Mozzarella cheese grated
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp. oil
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- Brown ground beef and onion. Drain off fat.
- Mix in pizza sauce, garlic salt, and oregano.
- Pour into a greased 9×13-inch pan and sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese.
- In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, oil, and flour.
- Pour over meat mixture and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
- Bake 30-40 minutes (You can turn on the broiler for the last minute or two if you want a browner, crispier top).
Nutrition
Serving: 1piece | Calories: 304kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 681mg | Potassium: 359mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 478IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 230mg | Iron: 2mg
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Brigette is a full-time wife and mother who is blessed with three amazing bundles of energy and another on the way. She enjoys music, experimenting in the kitchen, homeschooling her children, finding great deals, long-distance running, and anything chocolate.
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Shared Jan 24, 2014
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How to Combat a Ridiculous Work Schedule and Stop Feeling So Overwhelmed
How to Combat a Ridiculous Work Schedule and Stop Feeling So Overwhelmed
I was honored to be interviewed by my friend, Laura Vanderkam, for a piece on FastCompany.com on How to Combat a Ridiculous Work Schedule and Stop Feeling So Overwhelmed. Here’s a snippet:
When Crystal Paine launched MoneySavingMom.com in 2007, she thought it would be a small offshoot of the blog she had been keeping. Then the economy crashed, and millions of people wanted to know how she fed her family for $35 a week. She soon found herself running a company that was growing so fast her hosting service went down every afternoon. She couldn’t stay on top of advertising queries. “I pulled all nighters,” she says. “Your body forgets how to relax and sleep.”
At first, she thought she could soldier through–things would be better after the next big project–but “that’s never how it is with a startup,” she says. “It took me months to realize it’s never going to get better. I needed to step back and make better choices if I wanted this thing to run for the long haul.”
She wrote about her journey back to sanity in a new book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode. While the book is primarily aimed at the moms of young kids who comprise the majority of her 1.5 million monthly readers, Paine’s advice is also relevant to entrepreneurs working crazy hours at all kinds of startups. Here are her tips for clawing out from total chaos.
Read the full article.
Q&A: How do you set goals if your spouse isn’t a goal-setter?
How would you go about setting family goals if your spouse is not a big goal-setter? It’s not at all that he’s lazy or doesn’t care about improvement or seeing our family grow, he’s just not a planner by nature and doesn’t enjoy the process where you think through last year and think about the coming year. -an anonymous reader
What a great question — and I think it’s one that many people wonder about. Here are some thoughts I have:
1. Don’t Nag
If you want to ruin your relationship, start trying to nag and drag your spouse along with your latest and greatest ideas. It’s a recipe for disaster — and discord.
2. Don’t Compare
It’s so easy to see other marriages and wish ours could be like theirs. Or to hear someone else talk about how great their spouse is and to wish our spouse would be more like that.
But here’s the deal: no marriage is even remotely perfect. All marriages have struggles. All spouses have flaws. Spend your time looking for things to be thankful for about your marriage instead of wasting time wishing your spouse would change.
3. Do Communicate
I encourage you to sit down with your spouse and share your heart. Gently communicate your desires to be a little more intentional as a family.
However, when you sit down to discuss this, it’s vitally important that you come with an open mind. Don’t have everything all mapped out and badger your spouse into signing off on your plan.
Listen to your spouse’s thoughts and concerns. If your spouse sees that you genuinely want their input, they are going to be much more apt to considering joining you in the journey. But they will likely resist from the get-go if you don’t seem to care about their desires and or have any willingness to hear them.
4. Do Focus on YOU
Communicate your desires, but leave your expectations for your spouse at the door. It’s wonderful to be working toward things together as a couple, but if your spouse just isn’t interested in goal-setting right now, you can still set goals that don’t require the involvement or participation of your spouse. (For instance, if you look at my 12 Goals for 2014, you’ll see that most all of them don’t require any participation from anyone but me.)
You are the only person you can change in a relationship. So invest your efforts in improving YOU instead of spending time frustrated that your spouse isn’t changing.
Related Post: What Do You Do If You’re a Spender Who Is Married To a Saver?
What advice and suggestions do the rest of you have for this reader?
Shared Jan 23, 2014
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Gretchen’s CVS Shopping Trip: Spent $1.21 for $37 worth of products!
Gretchen’s CVS Shopping Trip: Spent $1.21 for $37 worth of products!
CVS Shopping Trip
2 Irish Spring Body Wash – $3 each
Used 2 $1/1 coupon from the 1/19 SmartSource insert4 Speed Stick Deodorant – $1.99 each
Used 2 Buy One Get One Free coupon from the 1/19 SmartSource insert1 Cover Girl Lip Gloss – Marked down to $0.69 (This is normally $6.99!)
Used $1/1 mailer coupon1 Hershey’s Nuggets – $2.22
Used $10 ECBs from previous shopping trip (adjusted down to $9.89)
Total before coupons and ECBs: $37.43
Total (tax only): $1.21, Received $6 ECBs for buying $12 in Irish Spring Body Wash and Speed Stick Deodorant
Q&A: How do you wake up excited about each day?
In chapter 10 of your book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, you write that you “get up everyday excited about what lies before you. Eager to meet the day and the challenges. Anxious to make a little more traction each day toward bigger goals for the future.”
This really hits me. This is what I strive for everyday and struggle with. I have the strong desire, but some mornings, I really have a hard time making it happen.
I was wondering if you had any tips to help with that? I have found that when I wake up in the morning I can usually tell if it’s going to be a not-so-good day. I feel it and when I try to work around that it seems like I’m just making things worse.
I really have an extremely hard time with my desire and intentions on having a good and productive day and it turning into a stressful dash in the evening to try and make it a reality. I’m doing better with not putting added pressure on myself during the day but the evenings are still bad. -Nisa
Great question, Nisa! Here are some ideas and suggestions I had based upon what I’ve found helpful myself:
1. Set Yourself Up for Success the Night Before
A successful morning begins the night before. Get started on your bedtime routine early: take time to tidy up the house, lay out your clothes for the next day, write out a short list of projects to accomplish in the morning, set up the coffee pot, and go to bed early.
Taking time the night before to prepare for the next day will not only make your morning go much more smoothly, but it will also give you a boost when you wake up. There’s something about waking up with a simple plan in place and things in order that jumpstarts your day in a good way.
For more ideas, be sure to check out my post on 11 Things You Can Do Tonight To Set You Up For Success Tomorrow.
2. Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Sleep
Not too long ago, I read Sleep: It Does A Family Good and was reminded of how important good’s night rest is. So make sure that you’re not sacrificing your health for the sake of getting up early!
If you’re feeling tired in the middle of the afternoon, you’re probably not getting enough sleep at night. The book recommends going to bed 15 minutes earlier until you find your sleep ideal (i.e. the number of hours of sleep that your body functions best on).
By the way, remember that not everyone is at their highest productivity in the early morning. Some people are more disciplined and efficient at night. If that’s when you function best and that’s what works best for your family, go with that.
3. Have a Reason for Getting Up
I read this comment the other day from Lou Holtz: “If you’re bored with life, if you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things, you don’t have enough goals.”
Goals have given me purpose and passion for life. I have many short-term and long-term goals I’m working toward that I’m stoked about, so each day I wake up knowing it’s an opportunity to inch a little closer to those goals.
If you don’t have anything you’re aiming for, you’re probably not going to have much motivation. Why? Because you’re basically just wandering around without any real destination in mind. Or, you’re just trying to survive and make it to the weekend.
Consider where you hope to be in six months or a year from now? Do you want to be more fit, advance in your career, become a stay-at-home mom, write a book, pay off your credit card, develop friendships, learn a new language? Whatever it is that comes to mind, write it down.
Then, once you have a list of ideas, pick out the top 1-3 ideas that you would consider the greatest priorities to you. Make sure to choose ideas that are at least fairly realistic and very specific. Wishy-washy, pie-in-the-sky, or vague goals aren’t really goals at all; they are more ideas or dreams.
Take those 1-3 goals and break them down into bite-sized pieces: monthly, weekly, and then daily goals to help you work toward where you hope to be in six months or a year from now. Commit to spending 15-30 minutes every morning working on one of the goals.
4. Jump Outside Your Comfort Zone
Does jumping out of the safe zone scare you? Well, then take a tiny baby step. And then another tiny baby step. Whatever you do, though, don’t stay put.
One thing that helps me is to ask myself, “What’s the worst thing that can happen?” In most cases, there are pretty much only two “worst case scenarios” when trying something new: a) You try something and fail at it — which isn’t bad at all, as I already hopefully convinced you of just a minute ago. b) You try something and decide you don’t like it. In that case, there are a billion other possibilities of things you can try next.
I loved this quote from Michael Hyatt that I heard on his Platform University video:
“The most interesting things in life happen just outside your comfort zone.”
I’ve found this to be true in my own life. There are so many amazing experiences and relationships I would have missed out on if I had stayed in the safe zone.
Sure, it’s scary, but if you’re willing to take the risk, I’m guessing you’ll end up finding it really rewarding. Plus, I’ve discovered that when you start pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, your comfort zone moves. Things that were once completely daunting to you can become exhilarating and invigorating.
And no matter what happens when you get outside of your comfort zone, I promise it will be more inspiring than staying stuck in a rut.
Also: Read my post on 10 Things to Do When You Wake Up Feeling Like a Grouch.
What advice do the rest of you have for Nisa?
Want some practical help with setting up your day for success? Be sure to grab a copy of my brand-new online course, Make Over Your Mornings.
This 14-day online course includes videos, a workbook, and step-by-step projects and is designed to help you revolutionize your productivity, streamline your routines, invest your time in things that truly matter, and find more joy and peace in the process.
If you’ve ever wished that you could figure out how to get more done, have more organization in your life, and find time to spend on things you love, the Make Over Your Mornings Course is for you. Find out more about it here.
Shared Jan 22, 2014
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Gretchen’s Target Shopping Trip: $2.81 for $17.75 worth of products
Gretchen’s Target Shopping Trip: $2.81 for $17.75 worth of products
Target Shopping Trip
1 Colgate Toothbush – $0.94, used $1/1 Target Mobile coupon – Free after coupon 4 L’Oreal Shampoo/Conditioner – $3.99 each, used 4 $1/1 Target printable AND 2 $5/2 printable – $0.49 each after coupons Total before coupons: $17.75 Total with tax ($0.85) after coupons: $2.81
Shared Jan 22, 2014
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Last Night’s Conference Call Replay (and our family’s BIG news!)
Last Night’s Conference Call Replay (and our family’s BIG news!)
Thank you so much to so many of you who joined us for last night’s Say Goodbye to Survival Mode Conference Call! It was a great call — and your questions were fantastic!
If you missed it, I’ve got great news: we recorded it and are making the replay available below.
Some of the Topics We Covered:
- How to recognize the warning signs of burn-out and what to do about them
- How to look at failure as your friend and embrace it for growth and change.
- How to stop living in the “Comparison Trap” and find more joy.
- How to create space for margin and breathing room in the midst of a busy schedule.
- How to develop authentic friendships with other women.
- How to deal with and overcome mommy guilt.
In addition, remember that BIG news for our family that I alluded to in a recent post? Well, I spilled the beans on the call last night.
It’s a decision we’ve been mulling over for quite some time and are grateful that both Jesse and I came to a place of very clear direction and peace about it together in November. We’re sad to leave our friends and family in Kansas (sniff!), but we’re very excited to embark on this brand-new adventure come April.
Listen to a replay of the Say Goodbye to Survival Mode Conference Call. Click the play button below.
[audio:http://cdn1.moneysavingmom.com/wp-content/uploads/av/cpjan21telereplay.mp3]
If you’d prefer to download the file instead, click here. (You’ll need to right-click and choose “Save File As…”) [ 48.9MB MP3 download]
If you haven’t grabbed your copy of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode yet, be sure to do so here. I’ve been so blessed to read all the testimonies and reviews from those of you who have already gotten your copy! You all are the BEST and are such a source of encouragement to me!
Submit Your Questions Today About Balancing a Budget
One of my passions is helping you be intentional about your finances. I want to encourage you to set big goals and break them down into bite-sized pieces and then work toward those goals and experience the joy and fulfillment that comes from reaching the finish line after a lot of effort.
I also want to inspire you to think long-term when it comes to your finances. Where do you hope to be in six months from now? A year from now? Five years from now? And I don’t just want to challenge you to think about these things; it’s my hope that the practical money-saving advice you find on my blog will give you tools to act on your goals, hopes, and dreams.
It’s January and many of you are focused on finding ways to reduce your budget — or to learn how to create and stick with a budget. I’m excited to have teamed up with Cricket Wireless as one of their experts in their 2014 Ask the Cricket Experts series.
Submit Your Budgeting Questions!
Do you need help getting started on your budget? Maybe you need advice on how to make better choices and stick with them. Through midnight tonight, I’m opening up the floor for you to ask any question you’d like on budgeting.
You can submit your questions on the Cricket Facebook page, or you can ask them on Twitter using the hashtag #CricketTips now through midnight on Wednesday, January 22, 2014. Cricket will share the answers to the most popular fan questions on the Half is More hub on Friday, January 24, 2014.
This post was underwritten by Cricket Wireless. Read my disclosure policy here.
Change must come from within…
OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!
Click here to download!
4 Ways to Cultivate Margin & Breathing Room in Your Life
I’m over on Incourage today sharing about 4 Ways to Cultivate Margin & Breathing Room in Your Life:
Picture a book that had no margins — the words completely filling each and every page of the entire book. Would that book be an easy read? No, it would feel chaotic and busy, probably even overwhelming.
So it is with our lives. If we don’t allow white space to breathe and refresh, but instead pack every moment of every day full to the brim with to-do’s and projects, our lives will feel chaotic, disorderly, and exhausting.
If you have a full schedule, you probably won’t naturally find much margin or breathing room in your life. Instead, you have to be intentional about cultivating it. Here are some ideas…
Read the full post.
Shared Jan 22, 2014
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Marriage, a Best Stuff List, & Being Intentional With Your Bank Account
Marriage, a Best Stuff List, & Being Intentional With Your Bank Account
I’m honored that Dot Complicated is featuring an interview with me on their site today. Here’s a snippet:
1. We live in a world where we’re addicted to being busy. How was your own busy life affecting your marriage with your husband? What made you turn things around?
Six years into our marriage, I found myself the mother of three young children while also juggling the responsibilities of a very demanding online business. Being a very Type A kind of person, I didn’t want to admit my limitations. So I kept piling on new to-do’s and saying yes to new commitments.
Over time, this led to exhaustion, burnout, and the breakdown of my health. But I pushed ahead, thinking if I’d just get a little more organized or sleep a little less, I’d find a way to balance everything. However, it just wasn’t working: not only were my kids suffering and my health suffering, but my marriage was, too. I was always rushing through my days trying to get through my overwhelming to-do list. And I was constantly too busy to take time to invest in my marriage.
Read the full interview.
Shared Jan 21, 2014
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24-Hour Giveaway: Enter to win a $1000 Amazon gift card (one winner)
24-Hour Giveaway: Enter to win a $1000 Amazon gift card (one winner)
photo emailed in by reader, Suemee
Thank you for joining me in all the excitement of my Book Release Day! If you missed out on any of the special offers and the washer/dryer giveaway, be sure to click on the links below for more information:
- Buy My Book In-Store and I’ll Buy You Coffee
- Buy a Copy of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, Get a Free DaySpring Flip Calendar
- Enter to win a Whirlpool Cabrio Washer & Dryer
Enter to Win $1000 Amazon Gift Card
To celebrate the release of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, I’m giving away one BIG Amazon gift card every evening for the next four days. To enter to win, just enter your name and email address below.
One winner will be chosen and posted tomorrow evening. And be sure to grab your copy of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, if you haven’t already!
This giveaway is now closed and the winner is Mindi (ladybirdsegg@)
Shared Jan 21, 2014
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Don’t forget! Enter to win a Whirlpool Cabrio Washer & Dryer Set!
Don’t forget! Enter to win a Whirlpool Cabrio Washer & Dryer Set!
Don’t forget to head over here to enter to win a Whirlpool Cabrio Washer & Dryer Set!
I can’t WAIT to see who wins!
4 Things to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed With Life
I’m sharing over at my friend Sarah Mae’s blog today about 4 Things to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed With Life. Here’s a snippet:
It was 2009. My third baby had just been born. I was beginning “official” homeschooling with my five-year-old, my two-year-old was potty-training, my husband’s law firm was still getting off the ground, I was battling postpartum depression, and my blog had mushroomed into something far beyond what I’d envisioned requiring hours of effort each week to run.
Everything felt out of whack. I was overworked, overwhelmed, and exhausted — and I wasn’t doing a good job of being a wife, mom, homeschooler, homemaker, or a blogger. In addition, my health was suffering a great deal from the strain and fatigue of trying to juggle it all.
I knew something had to give… but what? I kept telling myself that if I just got more organized, pushed harder, and slept less I’d be able to find a way to do it all.
However, a better schedule, more productivity, or shorter nights wasn’t the magical fix. In fact, it was the exact opposite: I desperately needed to do less, have more margin in my schedule, and get more sleep at night.