Grilled Pizza

One of our favorite things to make on the grill is pizza. We discovered that we could do this last summer and we couldn't wait until the weather was warm enough to break out the grill and work on our pizza recipes! It's really easy to do, though we are still figuring out the perfect dough, whether it's pre-made Boboli, frozen, from a mix, refrigerated or from a local pizzeria.
We use a pizza pan made specifically for a grill. You can put the dough directly on the grill, however, we have not tried this method...prior to getting the pan, we used the pre-made Boboli crusts directly on the grill and it worked out well.

I really don't have a "recipe" for this, but I do like to grill one side of the dough first, then flip it, put the ingredients on the cooked side, then put it back on the grill to cook the bottom and the toppings.

The varieties you can make are endless...have fun experimenting!


The dough we used - this was a frozen ball of dough that I cut in half.



Here are the onions I sauteed with some olive oil and pepper until they are soft.


Here are the rest of our ingredients tonight: Feta cheese, pepperoni, shredded Mozzarella, roasted garlic, green peppers, black olives, slices of fresh Mozzarella and fresh basil.

My finished pizza, pre-grill.

Closeup of the gooey cheese and olive oil bubbling.
My freshly grilled pizza, looks delicious!

Slices of thin, hot and crispy pizza.

Paul's way of making his pizza - he sauteed all the ingredients together, except the cheese, and then spread it on the dough before cooking on the grill...turned out very well...all about experimenting.



Let me know if you have any pizza grilling tips or tricks of your own! Or let me know how your pizza grilling attempts turn out!

Farmers Market Season Begins!

It's once again time to enjoy fresh-from-the-farm goodies at your local Farmers Market. Easy to find and even easier on the wallet, it's one of my favorite things to do on a warm spring or summer weekend morning. We went to the opening day of our local market this past Sunday and though there aren't many in-season fruits and veggies ripe at the moment, it was a lovely way to start a lazy morning. We bought herbs for my attempt at gardening and found the most wonderful smelling huge loaf of fresh baked three cheese bread. I snapped that up immediately! After the market, we decided to go to another local garden center and bought some flowers to brighten the front of our condo.

Yum Yum - Taco Bake

This recipe is courtesy of a fellow Detroit Knottie - Lindsay. She shared this during one of our recipe swap posts and everyone raved about it!! I have made this before and today, I'm making it again...mmmmm mmmmmm. Another great part of this recipe is that you can substitute low fat ingredients and obtain the same great flavor, no one would be the wiser.

Here is the recipe:

TACO BAKE

1 lb. ground round (or ground chicken, turkey or whatever you'd like)
1 package taco seasoning
15 oz. can tomato sauce
8 oz. seashell pasta
8 oz package cream cheese (softened in microwave)
1/2 c. sour cream
8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese - I use a taco blend cheese mix or whatever shredded cheese I have on hand.

Brown ground beef, drain. Add taco seasoning and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, cook pasta according to directions. Drain. Mix softened cream cheese and sour cream in separate bowl.

Spray bottom of 9 x 13 pan with Pam. Put pasta in bottom of pan. Spread cream cheese mixture over pasta. (My trick for evenly disbursing this mixture is to spoon it into a zip lock bag and cut a bottom corner out and "pipe" it around over the noodles) Spoon ground beef mixture over this. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes. Cool about 15 - 20 minutes before serving.

I typically serve this with some "taco" condiments on the side, so my fiancee' and I can customize it how we like...I like mine with a little extra medium taco sauce on top, black olives and extra sour cream. You can use shredded lettuce, onion, jalepenos, or whatever floats your boat!

Oh yeah, and the leftovers are delicious!!! And that's coming from someone who isn't a leftover fan.

Three Cheese Ravioli in Lemon Oil

I make this dish fairly often and it came about by taking bits of other recipes I had read about and throwing them together.

12-16 Large store-bought or fresh three cheese ravioli
1/2 cup good Olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp. of lemon zest
1 large shallot, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste
Parmesean cheese to garnish

1. 30 minutes prior to cooking this dish, pour olive oil in a small bowl and add the lemon zest. Let sit and infuse.

2. Boil water and begin cooking ravioli.

3. Strain zest out of oil and heat in a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cook until shallots and garlic are soft.

4. When ravioli are floating, they are done. Lift out of water with a slotted spoon and add directly into skillet with the lemon oil. Toss in your parsley and gently toss the ravioli in the oil to mix.

5. Plate up (I use shallow bowls) and top with freshly grated Parmesan and enjoy.