This morning, a little after 4 a.m., my eyes fluttered open because I heard a noise.
Actually, this is the third time this week that a late night noise has pulled me from my already sporadic slumber. The first two times were weird; once I woke up in a panic and scrambled off the bed around 1 a.m. because I felt certain something was creeping around, and it wasn’t Chad. Chad could sleep through a hurricane, so my scream-and-scramble-for-the-door move didn’t phase him much. He just swung his feet over the edge of the bed towards the floor and sat there rubbing his eyes in the dark, most likely thinking that I’m completely crazy. Then I made him try to sleep all night with the light on.
About the time we both dozed off, maybe around 3 in the morning, the TV in the living room started blasting white noise out of nowhere.
I promise I am not making this up.
Several mornings this week when I have gone into the kitchen to put the coffee on and start breakfast, my oldest son, Andrew, has been perched on the couch with a blanket quietly watching re-runs of The Office. As soon as I flip the light switch and start to wonder why the TV is on, his head pops up from behind the cushions like as if it’s the middle of the day. “Hi Mommy!”
“Why are you up?,” is all I can muster in my pre-coffee before dawn coma.
“Bad dreams… couldn’t sleep. Can we have pancakes?”
Geez.
So back to this morning at 4 a.m. A noise woke me up and when I sat up in bed to identify the source, I realized it was the TV. Not scary white noise TV like earlier this week, but little boys parked on the floor watching cartoons TV. And sure enough, upon opening my bedroom door and padding through the house, I found two little boys in a mess of pillows and blankets sprawled across the floor watching cartoons at 4:15 in the morning.
And they had yet to fall asleep.
I crashed the middle-of-the-night cartoon party and shooed my boys off to bed, managing to catch a teensy bit more sleep before my morning routine started calling. The only good that came of the whole mess was that they both slept until after noon. When I pressed the issue over cereal and milk at 2 p.m., expecting to hear tales of crazy nightmares or scary bumps in the night, they told me that they were simply staying up to see if they could do it.
Remember when you were a little kid and you just stayed up all night for no reason other than to see if you could? Completely the opposite of now, when I’m thrilled to pieces if I hit the sheets by 11 p.m. Or better yet, 10.
I can’t wait to see what kind of interruptions this night will bring…
Typically I can offer you some clever liaison between what’s going on in my life and the recipe I’ve decided to share, but sleep-deprived as I am this week, It’s just not happening. I made this southwest inspired pizza shortly before we went on vacation. Chad talked about it for a week, so I’m guessing he liked it alright.
I used a whole wheat crust, but a jalapeno cheese crust would have been even better. In place of sauce I made a paste with some leftover black beans, a heap of seasoning, and a bit of chicken broth. I sprinkled corn, bell peppers, red onions, and tomatoes over the black bean sauce. Added a little shredded chicken and a heap of shredded cheddar jack cheese.
And then happily smothered each slice with guacamole and sour cream.
Here’s to hoping for a night without any paranormal activity.
- 1 can of black beans (or approximately 2 cups cooked), drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water
- dough for 1 pizza
- ½ cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
- ½ cup green bell pepper. diced
- ½ cup red onion, diced
- 1 cup fresh tomatoes, diced
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar jack cheese
- ½ cup shredded chicken
- sour cream and guacamole to garnish
- To make the black bean sauce, add the black beans, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to a food processor or blender. Pulse a few times and a thick paste will begin to form. Add in the broth or water a tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
- Spread the black bean sauce across the pizza dough. Sprinkle the bell peppers, red onions, corn, and tomatoes over the black bean sauce. Cover with cheese and chicken and bake according to the directions for your pizza crust.
- Garnish each slice with guacamole and sour cream.
Wow that’s almost creepy I am imagining poltergeist when you said white noise
Good thing it was only your adorable kids!
As for this pizza, I can see why C talked about it so much – it looks fantastic
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Poltergeist… my thoughts exactly. I’ve also probably freaked myself out with the Paranormal Activity movies one too many times.
Hello! I am really enjoying your blog! I nominated you for the Liebster blog award. You can find out more about it on my blog.
Hi! Thanks so much!
Oh, this is such a fun idea for dinner! And its funny…I’m experiencing some night wake-ups, too. Hate that!
Thanks! It was a great way to use up leftover black beans. I have a habit of making waaaaay too many. I think I actually got 5 solid hours of sleep last night. Yeah me!!
4:15! That’s when Kiefer and I get up. Well…that’s when Kiefer gets up. I wake up briefly and then get up at 5:30.
The pizza looks yummy!
I’m an early riser; totally a morning person, but I don’t HAVE to be awake that early anymore, and since I never seem to get to bed before midnight 4:15 is no fun. For years I had to be up and out the door by 4:30 to open a breakfast cafe I ran with a friend and then I ran a little store that i opened at 6 am sharp 6 days a week, so I am no stranger to the 4 am wake up call. But never before did I wake up to a cartoon party… never a dull moment.
This looks quite delicious!!! Those silly boys…
Pizza looks soooo yummy! I laughed when reading your post. I have had many of those early mornings, although not so much lately (apparently puberty takes care of getting up early). I think they really treasure their time “alone” in the house though–so funny!
I’m so confused at kids who wake up at the crack of down…like ours. I heard that they sleep til all hours of the afternoon. When does that happen?
Love the pizza. Looks delicious my friend.
I hope you are having a great weekend so far!
I don’t know when that happens… I’ll let you know if it ever does. My kids are oddly fascinated with getting up super early. During the school year Evan leaves me little notes on the coffee pot or my bedroom door that say, “Wake me up early!” It’s like they’re afraid they’ll miss something. Hope you’re finding a little time to relax this weekend!
Middle of the night wake-athons. Yep i remember those and being a total pill the next day.
It’s a blast, right? It always hits me after lunch… like 2 pm I am in desperate need of a nap. But I’m a terrible napper; I always wake up like Oscar the Grouch.
Um I’m totally spooked lol I completely believe in the afterlife and I definitely believe in ghosts…sounds like you may have some visitors in your home haha That or your kids are doing it lol I still get freaked out by the movie Paranormal Activity so I would NOT recommend trying to ‘catch the ghost’ lol Burn some sage in your home and don’t think about it haha Meanwhile your pizza looks yummy!! I love everything with shredded chicken it’s my favorite!!! How do you make your shredded chicken???
For the record, the Paranormal Activity movies completely freak me out. We aren’t trying to “catch” any ghosties, ohhhh no no. I’ve been trying to keep the creepy activity on the down low so my boys don’t get totally spooked; school starts back in a couple weeks! They gotta go to bed lol. Usually if I need to shred chicken “16
… “16 is the work of a very teensy kitty that just jumped on my keyboard and posted that response before I was done typing.
So ANYWAY usually if I need to shred chicken I just put a boneless skinless chicken breast in a saucepan, add water until it’s just covered, and then boil until it’s cooked through. Remove from the water, let it cool, and it will shred very easily. We eat chicken ALOT, so I usually have a little left over for quick meals like this one, but I always have boneless skinless breasts in the freezer. This is one of my favorite pizzas EVER. And if you go easy on the cheese and use a low fat variety it’s completely healthy and full of vegetables!
lol I love teensy kitties!!! Take a picture!!! I’m a cat girl, I really love gray cats, they’re so cute!!! Anyhow I hope your ghosts ghoul away muahahahahha (see what I did there? haha) That’s how I do my chicken, just wanted to see if I was doing it right lol I’m the same way I keep a lot of chicken in my freezer..I need to learn how to cook haha
OMG TV blasting white noise that is scary. I am thinking of The Ring. On the other hand, the pizza looks great! I love the addition of the black bean paste…must’ve given it a wonderful texture! And C can sleep through a hurricane? Really?
Yes, really! We have had some terrifying storms this summer and if I didn’t violently shake him awake because I’m scared he would sleep through the whole thing. If a tornado carried us to Oz, Chad would be none the wiser till munchkins made the morning coffee. Love this pizza – the black beans make it really earthy. The TV white noise completely freaked me out. I didn’t think of The Ring. Honestly if there were a tape in the VCR I might have felt better about it… at least it would be an explanation!!
Sounds like you’re having SO much fun, not getting enough sleep…..seriously, hope it’s gotten better and that the kids are not having any more contests! The pizza…..well, all I can say is I’m licking the pictures of the pizza right now…I think I can taste it!!
It’s a little better. It will be best when they get back into the school routine and go to bed at 9! We loved this pizza… soooo easy. make you some!
LOL!! Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
Pingback: Day 226–Starting Week 33–Budget and Menu « yearofhealthierliving
Just made this for dinner w/our homemade whole wheat crust. YUM!!!! Raves all around!!! Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you liked it! I actually added it to my menu for the week again because I was kinda craving it. Mmmmmmm.
Pingback: Five Fast Weeknight Meals | Sugar Dish Me
Will be making this soon! Looks awesome!
Terry recently posted…Menu Plan 022513
Thanks, Terry! It’s one of my favorites, for sure!!
Made this over the weekend – soo good!
Terry recently posted…Black Bean and Chicken Pizza
I’m so glad, Terry! Thanks for letting me know!!! It is seriously one of my favorite things when the recipes I post get put to good use.
Pingback: Grilled BBQ Chicken Pizza | Sugar Dish MeSugar Dish Me