Grilled BBQ Chicken Pizza

It's wayyyy too hot inside to be baking a pizza in the oven.

So... why not use the grill?

I whipped up this BBQ Chicken Pizza - and it was pretty amazzzzing.

Ingredients

1 roll of pizza dough

4-5 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

2 chicken breasts (cooked & diced)

3-4 pieces of bacon (cooked & diced)

1 can of diced artichoke hearts

Chopped green pepper

Chopped red onion

2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce

Salt/pepper

Diced pineapple (optional)

First up...

Season your chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

Place the chicken on the grill - along with the bacon.

You'll want to cook the chicken on each side for 4-5 minutes.

The bacon can cook on each side for 3-4 minutes.

Next...

Roll your pizza dough out onto a greased piece of tin foil.

(You can use olive oil or cooking spray.)

Place the tin foil/pizza dough on the grill.

Make sure the grill is on LOW HEAT.

Leave the hood of the grill UP.

Cook the pizza dough for 3-4 minutes... and then...

... FLIP the dough over!

Add barbecue sauce to the top of the dough...

... along with the cheese and toppings!

I used chicken, bacon, red onion, green peppers and artichoke hearts.

You can also add diced pineapple too... (it is super yummy.)

Finally...

Put the pizza BACK on the grill!

I cooked it on LOW heat for 6-8 minutes.

(Make sure the hood of the grill is UP again.)

I also made sure to ROTATE the pizza every few minutes... that way you don't burn the bottom!

Keep it on the grill until the bottom of the pizza looks like this!

(Golden and crispy.)

Slice it... and serve it up!

How does THAT look?!

My mouth is watering.

Another great idea for using the grill.

Enjoy!

Spicy Chicken Sausage Kabobs & Sweet Corn Salad

The other night, I had about 15 minutes to get dinner ready.

I took one look in the fridge (AND the garden) and discovered I had enough ingredients 

to whip up kabobs and a salad.

BOTH turned out delicious... 

In fact, they are now staples in my "summertime dinner rotation."

SPICY CHICKEN SAUSAGE KABOBS

Ingredients

4 chicken sausages (I used the Johnsonville brand with cheese & chipotle peppers)

1 red bell pepper

1 fresh pineapple

1 large chicken breast  

First...

Dice the sausage, chicken, pepper and pineapple into large chunks.

Then, slide the chunks onto wooden or metal skewers. 

(P.S. If you use WOODEN skewers, make sure they've been soaked in water 

for about 30 minutes before you put ANYTHING on them.  

You don't want the skewers catching on fire!)

Then...

Place the kabobs on the grill.

Cook them on each side for about 3-4 minutes.

They'll come out looking and SMELLING like summertime.

(Anytime you can put PINEAPPLE on the grill, you know it's going to taste amazing.)

SWEET CORN SALAD

Ingredients

For the salad:

2 ears of sweet corn

15-20 cherry tomatoes

15-20 Kalamata olives

2 Tablespoons capers

1 cucumber

Salt

Olive oil

Dried thyme

For the dressing:

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

The juice of 1 lemon (about 3 Tablespoons)

1/2 cup olive oil

2 Tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper

First...

Season the ears of corn with olive oil, salt and dried thyme.

Wrap the ears in tin foil.

Then...

Place the corn on the grill for 10 minutes.

(When they're done, you'll cut the corn off the cob.)

Dice your cucumber, kalamata olives and tomatoes. 

Add two tablespoons of capers.

Time to make the dressing!

First...

Add the red wine vinegar, honey, lemon juice, salt and pepper to a bowl.

Whisk the mixture together while you pour in 1/2 cup of olive oil.

Then, pour your desired amount of dressing on top of the salad.

I usually do HALF the dressing mixture --- and save the rest for another time.

(Leftover dressing can easily be stored in a Tupperware container in the fridge.)

Finally...

TOSS the salad!

There you have it...

Two easy, summer recipes that can easily be made in 20-30 minutes!

Stop and Smell the Lavender

Ever since our family took a trip to Maui in 2010, 

my dad has been obsessed with lavender. 

During our trip, we were looking for something FREE to do...

and a tour guide recommended we check out the Alii Kula Lavender farm in Kula.

(As you can tell from the photos) it's one of the most BEAUTIFUL places. 

The 8.5 acre farm is filled with more than 42 different types of lavender plants and products.

As an added bonus, the entire farm smells AMAZING too!

Anyways...

After taking the trip - my dad was determined to grow lavender in his garden.

This summer...

the plants have REALLY taken off and are blooming beautifully!

Maybe it has something to do with their new neighbors?

My dad got some yellow yarrows on clearance last summer, and decided to plant them near the lavender patch this year.

I think they're so cool.

And...

since both plants are BOOMING in the "blooming department"...

... we've been lucky enough to have LOTS of fresh flowers in the house!

Instead of using a regular (boring) vase, I've been whipping out my favorite decorating accessory:

The Ball jar.

It looks so pretty.

I love the yellows and purples together.

(Plus, they last about 4-5 days inside.)

We are enjoying them while we can.

Before you know it... S-N-O-W will be gracing our doorstep.

I guess that gives us a perfect excuse to go back to Maui :)

Baby Blues

Something pretty spectacular has appeared in my parents' front yard.

My dad was so excited to show me what was nestled inside this itty-bitty tree...

... which is growing next to my dad's ENORMOUS truck. 

Tucked beneath the leaves...

... is a pretty little nest.

Inside... are two, perfectly blue eggs.

(I was able to snap a few pictures while the mama bird was busy gathering food.) 

The eggs remind me of my friend Heather's recent blog post.

I wish her son was here to see them!

It's amazing how simple and beautiful the eggs really are... 

hopefully we'll have two baby Robins soon!

I'll keep you updated!