And what better way to bring the ocean to life than by making these Octopus Pizzas with your kids at home. Not only are they a creative lunch option, but they also come with a lesson. You can talk about the sea: what creatures live in it, and how we can be good care takers while we make them. Now that is what we call eating with purpose!

The best part of these Octopus Pizzas is how easy the tentacles snap off, especially for a toddler. Kids will love ripping each one of them off and nibbling on them individually.  

INGREDIENTS

• 1 store bought pizza dough
• 1/2 c. pizza sauce
• 1 c. mozzarella cheese (for the head)
• sliced black olives (for the tentacles and eyes)
  (may be substituted with green peppers slices, mushroom slices, etc)
• 4 slices pepperoni (for the eyes)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Divide the dough in half. Each half will make 1 octopus.
3. Divide the dough again. Shape half of that dough with your hands into an oval shaped for the octopus head. Using the other half, cut into 8 strips for the tentacles.
4. Place the dough head on one of the baking sheets. Place the tentacle pieces along the bottom half of the head, gently firming the dough down.
5. Bake for 6 minutes.
6. Remove and cover the head and tentacles with pizza sauce.
7. Spread out the cheese evenly on the head and place the sliced olives on the tentacles. Add the pepperoni and olive eyes.
8. Bake another 6 minutes and then broil for 3 minutes or until nice and brown.
9. Repeat for the second octopus.

Source: supersimple

This Cheeseburger Soup is thick, hearty and loaded with ground beef, potatoes, veggies and plenty of cheese! Make it on the stovetop or in the slow cooker.

It is just such an amazing combination, and one that warms you right through when it’s cold outside (though fingers crossed it’s a while before we’re building snowmen!).

But, I’ll be honest — I’m not always the best at planning meals ahead and being prepared and all that.

This comes as a shock even to me, who is an obsessive planner in pretty much every area of life, but just can’t always get my Cheeseburger Soup in the slow cooker in the morning.

For that reason, here we are with a simple stovetop Cheeseburger Soup — a meal that comes together in about 30 minutes, provided you aren’t chopping vegetables with a toddler on your hip.

Enjoy!

How to make Cheeseburger Soup:

1. Brown your ground beef and onions in a large dutch oven or soup pot.
2. Add your spices — adding dried spices to a hot dry pan helps to liven up the flavor after being stored for so long.
3. Add your vegetables and broth, cover and simmer until tender.
4. Add your dairy at the end so it doesn’t curdle — cream and corn starch to make it thick and creamy, and cheese for that awesome cheeseburger flavor.
5. Top it — choose your favorite cheeseburger toppings or add shredded cheese and green onions.

How to make Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup:

You will need to brown your ground beef before adding it to the slow cooker, but then everything except for the dairy and thickeners can technically just be thrown in and cooked until down — I would give it about 8 hours on low.

Ways to lighten up this soup recipe:

• If you need to, you can swap the potatoes for cauliflower
• Substitute regular cheese for low fat cheese
• Add in extra veggies of your choosing
• Use extra lean ground beef or even ground turkey (though there isn’t a big difference in calories between the two)
• Use low fat milk

source: thereciperebel

I’ll bet you never knew there was so much fun in a box of Ritz crackers! These buttery and salty crackers have a divine texture that makes for some of the best little snacks, treats and appetizers.

The easiest 4-ingredient snack, appetizer or lunch for the kids! Easily change them to your tastes. Less than 10 minutes start to finish!

I’m not really a cracker person.

I think maybe it’s because I’m not really a cheese person. Apparently they go really well together.

I like cheese when it’s stirred into something, or melted on top of something, but I don’t like cold cheese. Anyone else with me? I don’t know what it is about cold cheese.

But heck, on a pizza, or lasagna? Load it up. The more the better.