BACK TO SCHOOL - Beverley's Skillet Pizza and Diversification

Hey everybody, it's me Beverley and I would like to welcome you back to another addition of DIGestingINvesting.

With 'back to school' just a week away I felt it timely to divulge one of my favourite 'quick meals' for all of you parents out there. It won't be long before we're scrambling to create those quick after school/work meals that our kids will enjoy and are healthy... before we dive back into the homework routine. aghhhhhh!

Before we get into my feature recipe I would like to touch on the 'back to school' issue and talk a little about 'diversification'. I have suggested to Jeff that we should really focus on the basics in some of these blogs and that is what we're going to do today. It's time to go 'back to school'.

Remember when you were young and you were advised, "don't put all of your eggs in one basket"? Did you ever wonder what the heck was meant by that? In short, this tidbit of advice refered to (in financial terms) 'diversification', and this suggests that we don't put all of our money in one bank, don't put it all in guaranteed investment certificates (GICs), bonds, stocks, real estate, gold coins and so on. But rather we hold varying degrees of all of these assets and investments. Diversifying our assets ensures that we don't have all of our eggs in one basket.

Websters Dictionary defines di-ver-si-fy like this;

1/to give variety to: vary: to diversify a meal

2/to distribute investments among different companies or securities to limit losses in the event of a fall in a particular market or industry.

Coincidentally, we often diversify our meals without even realizing it. Have you ever sat down and just had roast beef for Sunday dinner? Or did you have a variety of vegetables, pickles, bread, salad, yorkshire pudding, to complement the meal? By having a variety of food on your plate you ensure that you have all of the necessary protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins in your diet. This same principal applies to investing. By having a variety of asset classes spread over different industries, countries and currencies, you maintain a balance of investments that hopefully don't over-expose you to any one asset, industry, country or currency.

My recipe today provides a balance of nutrients to provide enough energy for optimal growth and development, which especially important for our kids.

Beverley's Skillet Pizza
Ingredients:

2 tbsps olive oil

5-6 thinly sliced medium (unpeeled) potatoes (mix it up with sweet potatoes?)

1 onion - sliced or diced

3 eggs - beaten

1 cup of cheese - grated

1 sliced tomato (optional)

Meat topping - I use pepperoni, sometimes cooked chicken, sliced ham ... whatever the kids prefer, or whatever you have in the fridge.

1 tbsp of oregano (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Take out a 10" frying pan..make sure that it is deep enough to hold the potatoes and other ingredients.

Coat the bottom of the pan with the olive oil. Heat on Medium

Put the first layer of thinly sliced potatoes in the bottom of the pan, then put on a few onions... continue layering the potatoes and onions. You should end up with three layers.

Put a lid on the pan to let the steam cook the potatoes and the onions for a bit (8-10 mins)

When the potatoes are soft ... add the tomatoes if you're using them, then add the meat in a pin wheel shape.

Pour the beaten eggs over the top of the potatoes and onions, replace the lid for a couple of minutes.

Now add that grated cheese. Put the lid back on and let the cheese melt... and you're done.

Ensure you have a nice spinach salad, or a great superfood like broccoli to complement (diversify) this meal. A great hit with the kids and because the recipe is flexible you can change the meat, add tomotoes or tomato sauce, change the cheese, add more eggs etc ... and it only takes about 15-20 minutes to make... which frees up more time for doing that homework.

So there you have it. A simple definition of 'diversification' along with a quick and easy recipe that everyone will enjoy. By the way, Jeff is posting this absolutely fabulous dessert along with a great goulash recipe in his next post, that you won't want to miss.

Thanks for stopping by and remember, if you like what you see here in this blog tell a friend. If not, be sure to tell us.

Bye for now,

Beverley