Grilled Pizza Night - Make Your Own

This has become one of our favorite meals...super easy too! I have to admit that I don't always measure ingredients, so I am doing my best to put in the measurements. (This recipe feeds 2 people)

1 Wheat Pizza Dough (I buy mine fresh at the grocery store)
1 small can of tomato sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
dash of red pepper flakes
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Toppings:
Whatever you want!
I diced up 1/2 of a green pepper, 1/2 of a red onion, 1/2 a head of broccoli, 2 cloves of garlic - added a couple Tablespoons of oil to my cast iron skillet...added the pepper, onion, garlic and a dash of salt and pepper and threw it on the grill. After it was cooked for a few - I added in the broccoli and cooked on medium low until everything was cooked through.

Pizza Dough:
Take two heavy plates and a small amount of vegetable oil - enough to coat the plate. Split your dough into half, and work the dough onto the plate - spread out in a circle. Stack the plates on top of each other...add another plate to the top - and put your cast iron skillet on top to flatten out the dough.

Sauce - Combine ingredients. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes or more. Taste for desired seasoning!

After the veggies are cooked, take your dough from the plates and use your hands to spread it out into a nice round pizza dough. Make sure your grill grates are oiled...and add them to the grill. Cook on low for about 5 minutes or until the dough on the bottom is sturdy enough to hold toppings.

Take the pizzas off the grill - add sauce, cheese (whatever kinds you want) and toppings! We had sharp white cheddar, six blend italian, and parmesan cheese...plus our veggies and pepperoni. You can add grilled chicken, fresh tomatoes, basil, mozzarella...whatever you want! Set it up as a little buffet and let the whole family enjoy!

Easy Haddock

1 Pound of Fresh Haddock - cleaned and skinned

1 bell pepper, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

3 strips of bacon, diced

3 white mushrooms, sliced

1 T. of Butter, divided in half

Glug of White Wine (I used pinot grigio...and a glug means a pour around the pan)

I love my cast iron pans...so you will see that I use them for everything! If you don't have them...use whatever you've got! 

Clean the fish, pat it dry and season it lightly with salt & pepper. Set aside.

Cook the bacon in your pan for about 5 minutes, add in the bell pepper and shallot. Saute for 5 minutes, and add in 1/2 of the Tablespoon of butter and garlic. Simmer on low while cooking the fish.

Melt 1/2 of the Tablespoon of butter in your pan in the oven at 350 degrees. Place fish on the pan and cook in the oven - depends on how big your pieces of fish are, but should take about 8 - 10 minutes total. Fish should be white and flaky.

While fish is cooking, add in the "glug of white wine" and the mushrooms, simmer on low until your fish is done. 

Serve the fish over top of your pepper saute with a squeeze of fresh lemon. 

Lots to Add! 

A group of us hosted a friend's engagement shower last weekend and had lots of great food! The groom has a Gluten Allergy, so we wanted to make sure there was plenty for him to eat.

On the menu was cornbread (GF and regular), Cucumber and Tomato Salad, Pulled Chicken BBQ, Chopped Pork Barbecue, Macaroni & Cheese Balls, and Fruit Skewers. For dessert, we had Almond Cake Berry Cobblers, and GF Brownie Sundaes.

Sooo...recipes for the Chicken and the Macaroni & Cheese Balls:

Pulled BBQ Chicken - Get out your CrockPot!

6 Chicken Breasts, cleaned and trimmed

1 bottle of your favorite BBQ Sauce (I used half of each - Jack Daniels Hickory Smoked and Original #7, both are GF)

Half a Bottle of Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing (GF)

1 Small Yellow Onion Diced

2 T. Worcestershire Sauce

3 T. Brown Sugar
3 Garlic Cloves, minced

Salt & Pepper (start with about a tsp of salt and half tsp of pepper)

For later:

1/2 cup of chicken broth with 3 T. Cornstarch whisked in.

Add chicken and ingredients through salt & pepper into a crockpot. Cooked on medium high for about 5 hours. Stir occasionally. Chicken will be falling apart...take out onto a cutting board and using a knife and fork, pull the chicken apart. In the crockpot, wisk in broth and cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce. Taste for seasoning - add more S&P if needed. Add back in the chicken and simmer for at least 30 more minutes (longer to get the flavor into the chicken).

Serve with buns or cornbread and your favorite sides!

Fried Macaroni & Cheese Balls

Makes about 52 balls

1 box of Elbow Macaroni - cooked according to directions

1 16 oz block of sharp cheddar Grated

1 8 oz block of pepperjack 8 oz Grated
1 8 oz block of monterey jack, or your favorite cheese Grated

(do not use the shredded cheese in a bag...it typically has powdered cellulose added and changes the consistency)

2 cups of warmed 1% milk (or whatever you have on hand)

2 T. Flour

2 T. butter

Salt & Pepper - add in 1 tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper

3 Eggs, Beaten

3 T. Milk

3 cups of Bread Crumbs (I used a mix of Kroger brand Garlic & Italian flavored)

Vegetable Oil for Frying - 1 container 48 oz.

Grate the cheese in your food processor or by hand. Warm the milk in the microwave - 3 minutes. Melt the butter in a pan, and whisk in the flour. Stir consistently until the butter and flour are a nice golden color and mixed thoroughly. Add in the milk slowly, about a 1/2 cup at a time. The mixture should continue to thicken as you do this. Temperature should be set at a medium low. Turn heat down to low or simmer and add in the cheese until all is melted, and add salt & pepper. Taste the cheese mixture and add more seasoning according to your tastes. Add the macaroni into the cheese mixture and pour onto a cookie sheet. Refrigerate the cookie sheet for 2 hours. Pull the sheet out and roll into balls. Place them on parchment paper and on whatever will fit into your freezer! (I stuck mine into ziploc bags). Freeze overnight

24 hours later, whisk 3 eggs and 3 T. of milk into a large bowl, and the 3 cups of breadcrumbs in a separate large container. Dip the balls into the egg wash and then into the breadcrumbs. Put them back in your ziploc bags - and refreeze - at least 2 hours, but overnight or for a couple of nights preferably. 

In a deep fryer, heat oil until it's 350 degrees. Add in the balls, and heat until golden brown. Place on paper towels to drain some of the oil. Serve immediately, or refrigerate and reheat in the oven (at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes).