Half a Million Page Views . . . and a Giveaway

First I wanted to say with my new job and my Parents-in-Law in town for Easter weekend, my blog reading and commenting has come to a screeching halt.  😦   I hope that you are all having a great week and I hope to catch up with you guys soon!

Breakfast was quick and easy – a Jimmy Dean’s Turkey Breakfast Bowl:

One of the attorneys and I went over to check out the new gym.  We were going to drive when someone said we could just walk there.  So we knew which direction we were going in and just headed south.  Only problem is that behind our office complex there is a neighborhood with the hugest houses.  We were walking on this burm of landscaped trees, until we came to a pond, and then had to walk through a partially wooded area – it was so funny!

We get there and meet with a lady for the tour.  I asked about a corporate discount, and she said that in order for our firm to get the discount – you would need 10 memberships.  That’s just not gonna happen.  It’s really nice, has a pool and a fancy locker room.  The price is too steep for me – $62.50 a month just for me.  While I can justify using my FoodBuzz money to pay for it, I just can’t wrap my brain around spending more money on a gym, when I can just get my ass out of bed and work out at the gym near my house.

But I did score a free week pass for next week! 😀  I’ll need to find a walking buddy.

So without my WW gals to cook for, I’ve kinda lost my lunch mojo – I just brought leftover chili mac from the night before – boring but delicious!  Lunch is 10 Points.

Before I left for work yesterday morning, I made a batch of my no rise pizza dough and just left it on the counter all day.   I’ve had a jones for calzones lately.  I looked at a bunch of recipes, and one said to liberally sprinkle corn meal on your pizza peel – heat your oven to 425 for 30 minutes with a baking stone – then just shake the calzones off the board onto the hot baking stone.

I assembled all the pizzas on my pizza peel – and I don’t know if the sauce started to absorb into the dough, or my dough was rolled too thin – let’s just say I had a hard time getting them onto the baking stone – and it was making me mad – I always want everything to go perfect – but I knew the flavor would be there even if they didn’t look pretty. 😀

My calzone – 1/4 of no rise pizza dough, 1 ounce cooked Italian sausage, 1 slice of cooked bacon crumbled, baby spinach, green pepper and 1.5 ounces of fresh mozzarella = 12 PointsPlus.

My calzone filled before heading to the oven – these only need to bake 15 minutes.  I did do an egg wash on top (1 egg mixed with 2 tablespoons water).

My dough was so thin, it kinda broke apart on me – although all the flavor was there even if it looks like ass! 😀

After dinner Hannah and started to clean.  Our house is never really dirty or messy, but with my Parents-in-Law in town, we just wanted to vacuum, dust, etc.  But Hannah and I both have the domino effect when cleaning.  Once you clean the front of the oven and the dishwasher, you realize that the baseboards need to be wiped down.  Then when you 409 the kitchen counters, you realize “when is the last time I cleaned out the toaster oven?”  About an hour and a half later, our house is squeaky clean. 😀   I can tell you my Type A daughter is happy the kitchen counters are so clutter free.

So My Bizzy Kitchen has reached another milestone  . . . half a million page views!  I am always humbled when people stop by and take time out of their day to read about my life and maybe get a new recipe to try.  The food blog community is so awesome and I thank you for your comments, emails and friendship. 😀

So what does a cookbook whore give away to celebrate this milestone?  Um, some cookbooks!

First up:  Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day – “100 New Recipes featuring whole grains, fruits, vegetables and gluten-free ingredients.”

Next up:  Eating Well’s Diet Cookbook.  I like this one because not only are the recipes simple, but there is nutritional stats for each recipe.

And finally – Best of the Best – the best recipes from the 25 best cookbooks of the year:

All you have to do to win is leave a comment telling me what your favorite cookbook is.  You get a second entry if you tweet about the giveaway, just leave a second comment letting me know you did.  Good luck and I’ll pick a winner on Monday, the day after Easter.

Have a great Thursday!