Pizza on the GRILL

Quick & easy recipe to use tomatoes & basil from your garden. Also, great that it can be made quickly & all outside on the GRILL!

Chicken Pesto Pizza
1 chicken breast, cooked & chopped (I grill mine)
1 pizza crust (Ex: Pilsbury refrigerated, Boboli, or homemade)

1- 1 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 1/2 c. fresh basil
1/4 c. nuts, toasted (Ex: walnuts, pecans, pine nuts)
1/4- 1/3 c. olive oil, divided
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Roma tomatoes

-Add basil, nuts, olive oil, garlic & salt to a food processor a pulse until finely chopped.
-Brush 1 tbsp olive oil on bottom of crust. Then place crust on Pampered Chef's BBQ pizza pan. 

-Sprinkle a small amount of the cheese on the crust. 

-Add the Pesto & chicken to a bowl & toss until chicken is coated. Add to the pizza crust

-Top w tomatoes & remaining cheese
-Grill on low-medium heat about 10 minutes or until cheese is melty! Be sure to check the bottom of the crust to make sure it isn't scorching.
-Garnish w additional fresh basil.

Oriental Chicken Salad

This delicious salad was last night's dinner! Here is the recipe that I'm certain you'll want to cook on a Hot summer night::: {originally from my mother-in-law w/ a few changes!}

Oriental Chicken Salad- Makes 2 dinner portions
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sesame seeds
S&P
1 large head of romaine lettuce, chopped
2 stalks green onion, chopped
1/2 c. silvered almonds
1/2 c, chow mein noodles
1/4 c. oil
3 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp poppy seeds

-In a small bowl whisk: soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, ginger & S&P. Grill chicken breast for about 10 minutes. Just before it is finished brush with soy sauce mixture.
-In a large bowl add: lettuce, green onion & almonds
-In a separate, small bowl whisk: oil, vinegar, sugar & poppy seeds. {Ken & I don't use much dressing. If you know that you do you'll defiantly need to increase measurements!}
-Assemble salad & top w chow mein noodles

Salmon cakes Win!

Salmon cakes: Makes 4 cakes
1 egg
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 c. sour cream
2 springs of green onion, chopped
zest from 1 lemon
3/4 c. bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. bacon crumbles (2 slices, cooked)
10 oz. of Salmon (I like the pouches)
1 Tbsp. parsley
1 tsp. Old bay seasoning
Salt & pepper

-Start your grill to medium heat.
-In a medium bowl whisk the egg, mustard and sour cream.
-Add green onion, zest, bread crumbs and bacon. Mix until incorporated.
-Gently stir in the salmon and seasonings.
-Form into 4 cakes by pressing and patting w/ your hands.
-Place cakes on a generously greased piece of foil.
-Grill for about 3-5 minutes on each side.
{This week it was cold and rainy so I made them inside on my panini press! Worked great!}
-Serve w/ cocktail or tarter sauce. I made a lemon/caper yogurt sauce and served w/ rice pilaf!

1 cake is 3 WW points!

Grilled Ginger, Mustard Chicken Wins!

Last week ginger/mustard chicken won the recipe poll! I'm just now getting to upload this recipe because we were out of town from Thursday-Tuesday! There is not a recipe poll this coming week because I am doing a "Help me Name this Blog" poll instead. Be sure to check out This post for a chance to win a $10 target gift card!



MaeMae decided she just wanted the corn!


Warning: This is not for the faint of mustard lovers :)
Grilled Ginger Mustard Chicken  (Makes 2 servings)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
2 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1/4 tsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. honey +more for drizzling
Dash of: black pepper and cayenne

-In a small bowl mix: mustards, EVOO, herbs and 1 tsp. honey.
-Grill chicken about 8 minutes total, flipping once. Depending on thickness of breast. Brush with mustard mixture the last 4 minutes.
-When cooked through, pull off of the grill and drizzle with honey.

Nutritional Info: 1 chicken breast is 3 WW pts (All the other ingredients are 0 pts except honey. However 1 tsp for 2 servings was to too small to calulate)

Grilled fruit w Yogurt dip Wins this week!

This is the perfect summer dessert....Hmmm well maybe not better than ICE CREAM ;) But this definitely satisfies my sweet tooth!

Makes 2 servings
2 ripe peaches, cut in half and pit removed but leave the skin ON {I've used pineapple, mangoes, and plums}
1 c. vanilla or strawberry yogurt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. coconut
honey
Raspberries

1. Grill peaches on top rack over medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Remove from grill & let sit at room temperature.


Grilling the fruit breaks down the natural sugars and it bcomes very sweet. These sat for awhile and when I returned to them there was a yummy natural syrup in the bottom of the bowl! MMMM

 2. Meanwhile, Mix yogurt, vanilla, and coconut.
3. Place peaches in a small bowl and drizzle w desired amount of honey. Spoon on yogurt dip and top w raspberries.

Homemade Veggie Burgers WIN!

I love love love veggie burgers and since marrying me, Ken does too :) These would be great for "Meatless Mondy", which has recently become all the rave! (We eat meatless meals several nights a week though and have for years) These burgers take a little bit of prep work. But after making them a few times the steps get easier and faster. I grilled them this time but they also work great on a panini press!

1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 medium carrots, peeled
4 stalks green onions, diced
1 c. chopped mushrooms
1 egg, slightly whisked
1/4 c.bread crumbs
1/4 c. barley, cooked according to pkge directions
1 tsp. EVOO
S & P to taste
1 tsp. Parsley
1/8 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
1 clove garlic, smashed
4 hamburger buns, toasted
Optional: "Burger Toppings" I used Provolone cheese, lettuce and mustard. Ken topped his w the buffalo chicken dip I served as a side. Haha, so I guess his WASN'T a veggie burger :)
1. In a small skillet over medium heat, sweat the mushrooms. About 7 minutes. Be sure to let cool slightly bc they hot mushrooms could cook the egg. Ewwww
2. Mash black beans. I used my Pampered Chef chopper. They need to be a thick paste like consistency.
3. Shave carrots on a cheese grater, Pampered Chef micro plane or food processor! (Already shaved carrots would be a good idea- But I like fresh large carrots)
4. Cook barley according to package directions. And let cool slightly
5. Once mushrooms and barley are slightly cool -combine all the ingredients (except buns and toppings ;) ) in a medium bowl. Mix until everything is incorparated.
6. Split into 4 sections and then press those into burgers.
7. Place burgers on a generously oiled piece of foil.
8. Grill on medium-low heat, flipping once. Total cook time about 10 minutes. (Mine created a nice brown crust and so when I  flipped them I put them directly on grill and threw the foil away. They didn't stick- but I know Ken has had trouble w them sticking in the past-Just a warning)
9. Spray buns w cooking spray and put on grill for about 3 minutes.
10. Top burgers w cheese, let melt and then place on buns!
11. Top w YOUR favorite toppings and enjoy!

Fish Tacos win this week!



Fish Taco w grilled pineapple and yogurt dip

 To feed 2 people/ 4 Tacos:

Fish:
1 Mahi Mahi fillet (Any firm fish will work great like Ahi or Cod)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. cilantro
dash of S & P
~Thaw fish completely! Pat dry w paper towel.
~Crack egg into a shallow bowl and lightly beat.
~In a separate shallow bowl add remaining ingredients. Stir to combine.
~Dredge fish in egg, coating completely. Next dredge in bread crumb mixture.
~Place in foil "boat" w 1 tsp. olive oil
~Grill for aprox. 8 minutes. Depending on type of fish. It should flake easily w a fork. Remove from heat and break into chunks.

Before grilling in foil "boats"

Slaw:
1 c. broccoli slaw
1 stalk green onion, chopped
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. lime juice
1/4 c. sour cream
1 mango, peeled and chopped
1 tsp. cilantro
Dash of S & P
~Place broccoli slaw, green onion and olive oil in a foil "boat". Grill for aprox. 5 minutes.
~Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
~Add remaining ingredients

Additional Ingredients:
4 corn tortillas
1 avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced
Cheese, any kind
~Warm tortillas in microwave, about 30 seconds.
~Fill tortillas w fish and slaw. Top w avocado and cheese. Enjoy!




Close up of taco

Nutritional Info: 1 Taco= 6 WW PointsPlus