[Foodie Friday] BBQ Sauce... 2 ways!

Friday, July 31, 2015



You guys... I've finally perfected it! The Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza... on the grill and I HAVE to share the recipe! Ok, ok, I know what you're thinking, "you? grill?" No. Of course not. I have to give credit where credit is due. SETH perfected the pizza on the grill!

Sorry, I realize the way this recipe is written is not very "print friendly" but it is seriously so easy that you don't even need to print it! Just read it over once, and you're good to go!

What You'll Need :

- Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Crust
- Your favorite BBQ Sauce (we used Kraft Sweet Honey)
- Mozzarella cheese
- Chicken
- Onions
- Pineapple
- Cilantro


How to Make It :

First, you're going to make the chicken for the toppings.

Dice about a half an onion. Get your pan hot, add the onion, and cook the onion until it is nice and soft.

Cut up the breasts/thighs into small pieces. Add the chicken into the onions and cook the chicken. Add a little salt, pepper, garlic (we used granulated), and BBQ sauce to taste.

Let the chicken cool down while you work on the crust.

Preheat BBQ by turning all the burners on low. 
(We have a 4 burner BBQ and we used all 4 burners)

Get out a flat baking sheet. 

Cover it with parchment paper.
(It can be done without parchment paper by just spraying the cookie sheet with cooking spray (Pam) but it is SIGNIFICANTLY easier with)

Spray the parchment paper heavily with cooking spray.


Take your pizza crust and open it.

Unroll the pizza crust and place it on the parchment paper on the baking sheet.

Spray the top of the pizza heavily with cooking spray.

Take your pizza out to the grill but before you place the pizza crust on the grill, spray the grill with cooking spray. (This is not necessarily required, it is more Seth's choice, but he highly recommends it)

Flip the pizza on to the grill "naked" side down (the side facing up when you are walking and carrying the pizza crust on the tray) and peel back the parchment paper.

Watch the crust carefully and flip it when the bottom side starts to get a little golden brown (maybe 3-4 minutes -- it happens really quickly so don't leave them unattended. However, every grill is different depending on how hot the grill is and where your hot spots are so make sure you watch it.)



Leave the pizza crust on the grill for maybe 1-2 more minutes depending on the thickness of the crust just to get a slight brown on the other side.

Take the crust off the grill, leave the grill on, and bring the crust inside.

Now, it's time for toppings.

First, the BBQ sauce. There's not really an exact amount, just enough, to your liking, to cover the whole crust.




Then, add the cheese. Again, no real exact measurement, just enough to coat the pizza, a lot or a little, depending on your personal preference for cheesiness.


Add the chicken mixture to the top. Spread out evenly.



Add some diced pineapple and some cilantro.



Now you're ready to put the pizza back on the grill to melt the cheese and merry all the flavors together.

Normally we just slide the pizza off the baking sheet back on to the grill but for whatever reason, the pizza was heavier than normal, and wouldn't slide off easily, so Seth just put the whole baking sheet on the grill. It worked just fine. (At this point you already have your "grill flavor" and you're really just melting the toppings and using the grill as an oven.)



(We were also making a pepperoni pizza for Mason -- it's literally the same steps but just pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni.)



Once the cheese looks melted enough, you're done!

Take the pizza off the grill, come inside, cut it up, and ENJOY!





And just in case BBQ chicken pizza isn't your thing... my friend Aubrey has an amazingly delicious recipe on her blog today for slow cooker pulled pork sandwiches! Head on over and check it out... I know I am! I'm a sucker for all things BBQ, pulled pork, AND slow cooker!


Happy Friday and Happy Eating!


[Summer Reading Challenge] Link Up #3

Thursday, July 30, 2015

As I've mentioned before, when StephanieCourtney, and I announced our summer reading challenge, I was really excited to start reading more with Mason. We've checked in for the first time to share our first three summer reading books and a second time to share three more, and now I'm back again today sharing what else we've been reading. This time we incorporated Mason's birthday in with the fun and we added a few extra books to the mix!



(source) LMNO Peas
(alphabet)

I've seen people commenting about this book for a while now and was excited when I found it at the library and thought it would be the perfect book for the "alphabet theme". It ended up being just as cute as I thought it would be and I love how they incorporate all the different jobs the peas have into the letters of the alphabet.

In order to incorporate the alphabet into play, Mason's new alphabet puzzle came in handy!


PS something extra fun... when I was looking for the image for this book, I actually discovered that LMNO Peas is actually just one in a series! I'm definitely going to have to check out the others at the library now -- Little Green Peas: A Big Book of Colors and 1-2-3 Peas!


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(colors)

I'm sure I've already sang this book's praises on the blog before, but we seriously love this book so it was the natural choice for the "color theme". And if you already have this book and love it as much as we do, there's also a sequel coming out super soon (August 18th!) -- The Day the Crayons Came Home -- I have it saved in my Amazon cart right now!

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(A Book You Read as a Child)

I loved this book as a child and was so happy when I found out that they had a board book version of it! I'm pretty sure I actually bought this book when I still worked at Barnes and Noble and way before Mason was even a thought in Seth and my mind, just because I loved it so much. And as a fun little bonus for Mason, we read the book and then had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner :)

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In addition to our three books from our reading list, we also added three more to help celebrate Mason's birthday....






And, as it turns out, if you give a Mason a pancake (or seven), he is pretty happy :)


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Now, tell us! What books are you reading this summer with your children? What books do I need to add to our summer list? Link up with us below!

PS remember you need to have participated in the challenge as well as linked up at least once to be eligible for the giveaway on August 20th, the final check in!

[A Year of Dates] July.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to our July date from the minute that I bought the tickets. As soon as I heard on the radio that Kenny Chesney was coming to the Rose Bowl, I KNEW we had to go. BUT, problem is, I was pretty sure the tickets were going to be insanely expensive. But I wanted to try anyway. So when I heard a special code on the radio to text to a number to receive early access to the ticket sales, I knew I had to try because I knew the cheaper tickets would sell out quickly. So I texted away. I received the code and was told what day and time the pre-sale started. And I set my alarm. (No joke.) I hopped on the internet at precisely 10am on the December morning and I was able to snag $25 tickets to the Kenny Chesney concert! WOOHOO! I knew they would be ridiculously far away from the stage, but I didn't care, because they were affordable and I knew I could hear the music anywhere and that there would be big TV screens. And I was right.

Nanny came over bright and early Saturday morning around 11am and Mason was so excited to see her. She barely stepped one foot in the door and Mason wanted to take her outside so they headed off to Chick Fil-A to grab some lunch and then come back. They arrived back around noon and then Seth and I were off to LA to grab some lunch and then head over to the Rose Bowl for the concert. One selfie later and we were off!


It took us a little longer than expected to get to LA due to an accident on the freeway right by our house so it was lucky we left early. We stopped for lunch and found out that there was a bus that would take us to the Rose Bowl for just $5 per person (which we jumped at because parking at the Rose Bowl was supposed to be $40!!!! Highway robbery). A short 10 minute ride and we were there!

I immediately started to feel old as all these teenagers and young twenty-somethings were walking around wearing barely anything and downing beers like it was their job. Me, I was more interested in grabbing a water (since it was hotter than heck in the sun), walking around, and then sitting in the shade and putting on sunscreen (#old).

They had red "solo cup trash cans" set up like beer pong, which I actually thought was pretty creative and cool.



After a little while of hanging out, we made our way inside and found our seats. THANKFULLY they were somewhat in the shade because it was SO HOT in the sun. I thought I was going to melt. Our seats were actually two rows from the top but we decided to sit at the top because it was more shaded and thankfully nobody ever came and we got to stay there.




Clearly we don't get out much. Another couple selfies and then the concert started. Cole Swindell and Brantley Gilbert opened...


...and then Jason Aldean came out to play for about an hour or so. I wasn't too sure about him at first but I didn't realize I knew and liked so many of his songs and actually ended up really enjoying his performance.





And then it was time for Kenny. Who was AMAZING, of course.


He even came in riding on a swing. See him there at the end of the arrow?




We ended up leaving a little early because I wasn't feeling well. I think it might have been a combination of the people smoking whatever they were smoking next to us and the food I ate at lunch, but even though we had to leave early, I really enjoyed our date and the concert.

BUT, I think I might have come to the realization that we might be too old for concerts. Of course there were older people there who were enjoying themselves, but the whole group of teenagers/early twenty year olds who were next to us kind of ruined it for us. They were drinking, drinking, drinking the whole time. And I swear they looked like they were only 17 or 18 and not even old enough to drink. Then they started smoking and blowing it right over at us. Then one of the girls started crying because her boyfriend was doing this that or the other thing. And then the super drunk guy of the group fell down the bleachers. All in all, not my cup of tea anymore. And I know how old I sound, but still. I just wanted to enjoy myself, listen to music, and have a nice night. Kind of the like the people right in front of us who I could (eavesdrop) and see that the guy was texting his mom (who I assumed was watching his kid and I was right) and the wife was showing him a video that the mother-in-law had sent of their son watching Mickey Mouse. Yep, those are my kind of people!

But, though there were definitely some downs, I'm definitely glad we went and had a great date night with Seth!

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You can find our June date here
You can find our May date here
You can find our April date here
You can find our March date here
You can find our February date here
You can find our January date here
Introduction to "A Year of Dates" here


DESIGNED BY ECLAIR DESIGNS