Grilled Pizza!!!

Summer and grilled pizzas go hand in hand with my family. My husband and I work as a team to make them and the result, is the best pizza I've had since my trip to Italy 6 years ago. You can get fancy and make your own dough, but we just head to our favorite pizza place in town and buy a dough ball from them. It only costs us $3 for a 2lb dough ball which makes two medium grilled pizzas for us and is plenty for all the kids and us.

1. First thing I do is get all of the toppings together. I use: sliced roma tomatoes, chopped fresh basil, fresh mozzerella sliced thin, pepperoni, and shredded italian cheese blend. I like the natural version by kraft.

2. Then I make my quick pizza sauce. Just take 1 can of muir glen organic diced tomatoes with garlic and basil and put it in the blender. I pulse it to a nice sauce consistency. Then I put it in a small sauce pan and simmer adding some dried oregano and some salt and pepper.

3. Next I shape the dough. I cut the dough ball in half and flour my hands and start stretching! I am even starting to get the pizza toss down. Don't worry about the shape being perfect though, grilled pizzas do not have to be shaped perfect, thats what makes them look homemade and gives them great crunchy texture.

4. Then it's on to the team work with my hubby. He sets the grills on low, and brushes one side of the dough with olive oil. He then puts the oiled side down on the grill grate. Then he brushes the top with olive oil as well.. Once the bottom of the dough has cooked enough, he flips the dough over, at this point we get to work and put on the toppings. Then he shuts the grill cover just for a minute to cook the toppings, then slide off the grill onto a pizza peel or a flat cookie sheet, cut and enjoy!!!

YUM!

P.S. The leftovers are amazing just reheat in your oven.

Pork Chops w/ Apples, baked Sweet Potatoes, and lemon scented brocoli

Last night was one of my family's favorite dinners. It works just as well if you substitute chicken breasts for the pork loin chops.

Pork Loin Chops w/ Apples

4 Thick cut Pork Loin Chops
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 ts. Cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Progresso It. Bread Crumbs
4 apples
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tb butter
1/8 cup apple juice

Pre-heat oven to 350. In a shallow dish mix the olive oil, 1 tsp cinnamon, and the salt and pepper. Dredge the chops in the oil mixture and then dip in the bread crumbs. Place the chops on a pan that has been lightly sprayed w/ pam. Bake for 45 minutes flipping once during cooking.

Meanwhile slice up the apple into wedges put in a saute pan over med low heat with the butter 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp of sugar, 1/2 tb of butter, and the 1/8 cup of apple juice, and cook until tender.

Serve the chops with the apples on top of them.

Bake sweet potatoes in the oven with the chops just scrub them clean and put them in the oven at the same time as the chops. They will be baked to perfection. I serve them with a small dish of cinnamon sugar which my kids love.

Lemon Scented Brocoli
Take two crowns of Brocoli and chop them into florets. Put them in a pan with 1/8" of water and cover. Simmer until tender and squeeze 1/4 of a lemon over it before serving.

Enjoy!

Panini night!

Tonight I pulled out the panini grill to use up the last of the bread left over from my dinner party this past saturday. Panini's are a great way to use day old bread, or in my case 3 day old bread. I made grilled veggie paninis and they turned out great. Just warm up your panini grill and slice some veggies lengthwise in strips. I used zuchini, summer squash, and red peppers. I brushed the panini grill with a little olive olive and put the veggies right in with a little salt and pepper on each side of them. After they had some nice grill marks on them and were fork tender I took them off of the grill. Next I sliced up the bread and spread each side of the bread with part-skin ricotta cheese and sprinkled on some parmesean a small amount of sea salt, and some pepper. Then I layered the veggies on one side with a few leaves of fresh basil and put the tops on and put them right into the panini grill. Keep them in the grill til brown and crispy and enjoy. I served these with some tomato soup on the side. (my husband, daughter, and I had them this way, my younger sons had the soup and just turkey and cheese in their sandwhiches) It was tasty and satisfying and I officially used all of my left overs!! Hooray!

Happy Wednesday all!

Burger night

Had to do a quick dinner tonight. My son was trying out for a play at his school. Unfortunately my little guy wasn't chosen. So having hamburgers cheered him up (his fave). In pursuit of using up all my left overs I made potato patties (or pancakes whatever your family calls them) with left over mashed potatoes that I had in the fridge. You just mix the left over mashed taters with one egg, some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and some bread crumbs (all I ever use is the progresso italian ones) then I put them in a skillet that was warmed up with a small drizzel of EVOO and cook until crispy on the one side and flip them. My younger ones aren't crazy about them but my husband and I love them. I've got to get to the grocery store or else tonights dinner might have to be cereal and canned peaches. LOL! I let you know what I put together after hitting the store.

Learning to love leftovers.

There was so much food left over from the party on Sat. That last night was leftover night. The carbonara warmed up great. I just put it on low heat in the skillet and added a little bit of milk to it to add some moisture back in. Yum! Total guilty pleasure. Though I love cooking and trying new recipes I am trying to stick to my new years resolution to use all the food I buy. (which means embracing left overs, my grandpa would be so proud) It can be a challenge sometimes, but it saves a ton.

Will get a little more creative later this week I promise. My son is trying out for a play tonight, cross your fingers that he makes it. He is so nervous! Too cute. Might have to be a hamburger night tonight won't be out of the audition til late.

B-Day dinner for my Mother-In Law

Last Night I threw a dinner party for my Mother in-law. It turned out all in all pretty good. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and my mother in law seemed genuinely touched. Here is what I made:

Appetizers:

Prosciutto wrapped asparagus: I take cleaned and trimmed asparagus and wrap them with thin strips of prosciutto. Then I spray them with a little olive oil spray and put them in the oven at 400 for about ten minutes til slightly tender but not mushy. The prosciutto forms around the asparugus, and my guests raved

Italian sushi: My daughter and I sort of winged this one together and it turned out yummy! We took a slice of smoked deli turkey and we spread a thin layer of cream cheese on it, then spread a small amount of prepared pesto followed by a small stick of cucumber, and a roasted red pepper strip. I rolled it up, refridgerated to firm it up, then sliced it into four pieces per roll and put them on tooth picks.

Bake Brie Puffs: Another big hit of the night. Thaw one sheet of puff pastry dough. Cut into small circles (I used a small juice glass to cut the rounds), then put a small cube of brie in the middle of the pastry and wrap the dough around it. Put this into a mini muffin pan that was sprayed with pam. Bake for about ten minutes or until golden.

1st course Twice baked Lobster tails with mixed greens. I had prepped the tails early in the day by steaming them, then taking the meat out of the tails and cutting the meat into bite size pieces and putting it back into the shells. Then just before serving I dotted the meat with butter, sprinkled on lemon juice and salt and pepper and a light amount of Italian bread crumbs. Then I put the tails in the oven for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Served them on a plate with some mixed greens that I had tossed with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Main Course: Tortellini Carbonara. This is super easy and always a hit. I made a double batch, start with a half stick of butter melt it down over med. heat, then add to it 4 cloves of garlic chopped, let those flavors mingle in the sizzling butter for a while and then add the heavy cream along with 1/4 cup parmesean and romano cheese. (you can add more to taste), a little salt and pepper and let the sauce warm on the stove. Cook the tortellini and then toss it with the sauce some chopped proscuitto (or sometimes I use pancetta or bacon) along with some cooked peas. Serve immediately.

Dessert: My daughter and I made the napoleons pictured. Go to the puff pastry site to get the recipe. The only twist we added was that we made a double batch and used two boxes of the pudding mix one box we used was vanilla and one was white chocolate which created an amazing flavor. I would highly reccomend it. The desserts were impressive but really easy to pull off.

I have a feeling that tonight the menu will be left overs, but I'll keep you updated either way.

Happy Sunday everyone!!

Felt like Asian Take out

I felt like Asian takeout but am trying to cut back on costs just like everyone else. So I got these egg rolls and pad thai dinner mix for our supper tonight. Totally satisfied my craving and it was really tasty! The egg rolls you just pop in the oven, and the pad thai you add chicken, egg, and bean sprouts. My kids were in heaven and my hubby liked it too. Totally affordable alternative if you have the same craving. I got the egg rolls for $2 a box, the pad thai mix was only $2 (I had a coupon), and I only used one boneless skinless chicken breast to make the pad thai. My daughter is with her Mom tonight so if she was here I would have made two boxes of the pad thai dinner and used another chicken breast. But still way below our usual $45 order at the local chines restaurant.

Tomorrow I am making a birthday dinner for my Mother in Law will share with you what I make. Check out my centerpiece I was pretty proud. Used my vanity mirror, candlesticks, roses, and three cognac glasses.