memorial day 2021

love, laurie

snapshots of life lately, according to my iphone pictures

. . . and ryan's iphone too.

a few photos of . . . leko sitting on the kitchen sink to watch birdies out the window at the bird feeder, enjoying a sampler platter during a lunch date at a local mediterranean restaurant, the world's largest knex ferris wheel on display at the mall downtown, finding a tire on a 1954 tractor that was almost as tall as me at a local township carnival, 19 pounds of zucchini from the farmers market, summer veggie grilling, leko "helping" ryan with some paperwork on the kitchen table, and flowers that ryan bought me for our front yard.

follow along with us on instagram

love, laurie

summer grilling

we absolutely love grilling, especially in the summer months.  ryan's the "grill master" in our house, and he really does have grilling down to a science.  we love to grill everything, including veggies, seafood, pizza, and even dessert.  there's just something so right about smelling dinner cooking on the grill on a warm summer evening after a long day at work and then sitting on the back porch eating dinner while enjoying the nice weather.  here's to a long summer with lots of grilling!

love, laurie

grilled foil packet dinners (fish and vegetables)

we were absolutely thrilled to be able to grill for the first time this season on sunday.  to kick off the grilling season, we grilled foil packets for dinner.  foil dinner packets are quick, easy, and delicious.  they are also so versatile because you can put just about anything you want in them, and you can customize them to each member of your family.

we love fish, but it can be a bit tricky to grill.  often, fish is so thin and delicate that it burns quickly on the grill.  it also tends to stick to the grill grates and makes a mess to clean up.  plus, who wants their entire grill smelling like fish?  not us.  the solution?  grill your fish in a foil packet!  if you are looking for a quick and easy dinner with hardly any clean up involved, look no further.

we grabbed two large pieces of aluminum foil and filled them with a pile of veggies.  we used vegetables that we had on hand: carrots, celery, onion, and spinach.  we seasoned the veggies (we love this seasoning) and then put a piece of fish on top of the veggies (i had tilapia and ryan had haddock).  i seasoned my fish with some ground pepper and dried parsley, while ryan sprinkled some old bay on top of his.  the trick to keeping everything moist is putting one ice cube in each foil packet.  the ice cube melts on the grill and helps to steam everything in the packet.  as everything in the packet cooks on the grill, the flavors all come together and make a wonderful tasting meal!

grilled foil packet dinners
prep time: 5 minutes
grilling time: 20-25 minutes
yields: 2 servings

ingredients:
4 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 teaspoon salted butter
1 cup fresh baby spinach
2 fish fillets
2 ice cubes
salt and pepper to taste
seasoning to taste

directions:
preheat your grill (approximately 450 to 500 degrees F).  spread out two large pieces of aluminum foil.  evenly divide the diced carrots, celery, and onion between the two pieces of foil.  place 1/2 teaspoon of butter on top of each vegetable pile.  season the vegetables to taste.  place 1/2 cup of spinach on top of each vegetable pile.  place the fish on top of the spinach.  season the fish to taste.  place one ice cube in each foil packet (in the bottom near the vegetables).  tightly fold up the foil packet, keeping the folded seam facing up.  place the foil packets on the grill.  cover and grill for 20-25 minutes, until the fish is cooked throughout.  unfold the foil packets and serve warm right out of the packets.

love, laurie

gourmet grilled pizza

for us, weeknight dinners often need to be quick and easy.  we threw together this grilled pizza for dinner a few days ago after work.  it came together in no time and it was so delicious.  what an amazing combination of flavors!

this pizza is easy enough to throw together for a quick weeknight dinner, but it is impressive enough to serve at a dinner party too.  it's like gourmet pizza.

we actually made this two days in a row.  the first day, we used half of the pizza dough to make one large pizza.  (i'm slightly ashamed to say that we ate the whole thing in one sitting . . . just the two of us.  it was that good.)  the second day, we tried to be more sensible and used the remaining half of the dough to make four small personal-size pizzas which lasted us two days.  will power, people.

we rolled our whole wheat pizza dough super thin for a nice thin and crispy crust.

grilling the pizza dough gives it such a wonderful flavor.  don't even remotely worry if your pizza ends up to be a shape other than round.  it is nearly impossible to make a perfectly round pizza on the grill.  i've tried.  sure, i know they make pizza pans for the grill, but i like to put my pizza dough right on the grill grates.  those grill marks across the pizza crust are just too good to pass up.

we didn't really measure the ingredients, we just kind of eyeballed it.  you can adjust the measurements to your liking.

we topped our pizza with caramelized onions, and sauteed baby bella mushrooms and garlic.  the gruyere cheese was a nice twist instead of traditional pizza cheese.  the fresh spinach and arugula with balsamic on top really is what sent this pizza over the top.

(we used our favorite balsamic vinegar which is the dark chocolate balsamic from the filling station in chelsea market in nyc.)

if you are skeptical about putting a salad on top of your pizza, don't be!  it's unbelievable!

ps: looking for other grilled pizza ideas?  try our grilled bbq chicken pizza.

grilled whole wheat pizza with caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and garlic, and gruyere cheese, topped with fresh spinach, arugula, and balsamic vinegar
prep time: 10 minutes
cooking time: 15-20 minutes
yields: 2 large pizzas

ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. whole wheat pizza dough
2 tablespoons salted butter (divided)
1 large onion, sliced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 cups gruyere cheese, finely shredded
2 oz. fresh baby spinach
2 oz. fresh arugula
4-5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

directions:
in a pan over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter.  add the sliced onions and saute until translucent.  add the brown sugar and allow the onions to caramelize.  remove from the heat and set aside.  in a separate pan over medium-low heat, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.  add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute.  then, add the sliced mushrooms.  saute until cooked throughout.  remove from the heat and set aside.

on a floured surface, roll the pizza dough into a circle with a rolling pin.  place the pizza dough on a preheated grill and cook for 3-4 minutes over low heat.  flip the pizza dough over, and top with caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and garlic, and shredded gruyere cheese.  allow the pizza to cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the cheese has melted.  be sure to watch the pizza closely so that it does not burn.  in a large bowl, drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the fresh baby spinach and arugula.  toss to evenly coat.  once the pizza has finished grilling, put the balsamic covered spinach and arugula on top of the finished pizza.  serve immediately.

enjoy!

love, laurie

grilled bbq chicken pizza

it's no secret that we love pizza at our house, but in the summer we never feel like standing in front of a hot oven.  so, grilling pizza is a great alternative to baking pizza.  it's super easy to grill pizza, and of course the topping options are endless.

we topped our pizza with bbq sauce, grilled bbq chicken, turkey bacon, onions, red peppers, green peppers, cheddar cheese, and mozzarella cheese.  the pizza was absolutely delicious, and it was the perfect dinner for a summer evening!

grilled bbq chicken pizza
prep time: 10-15 minutes
grilling time: 15-20 minutes
yields: 1 12-inch pizza (6-8 servings)

ingredients:
pizza dough (our go to pizza dough recipe can be found here)
3-4 chicken tenders, grilled and diced
4-5 pieces of cooked turkey bacon, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
5-6 tablespoons bbq sauce
olive oil (for the grill grates)

directions:
preheat the grill to a medium heat.  on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a 12-inch circle.  lightly brush the grill grates with olive oil.  place the pizza dough on the grill grates, and cover the grill lid.  allow the pizza dough to grill for 4-5 minutes, or until the bottom has grill marks.  flip the pizza dough over.  spread the bbq sauce on the pizza, and top with chicken, bacon, onion, pepper, and cheese.  cover the grill lid and allow the pizza dough to grill for 10-12 minutes.  once the cheese is melted, remove the pizza from the grill, and allow the pizza to sit for 3-5 minutes before cutting.  

enjoy!

love, laurie

the grill master

dear husband, you sure do know how to rock veggies on the grill.  i am so glad i married a man who can cook . . . and bake, and clean, and catch bugs, and fix things.  your mama sure did raise you right!

love, laurie