It's What's For Dinner!

These last days of summer are all about cooking on the grill. Yes....it's really hot to stand outside around a grill, and I am DEFINITELY a cold climate gal, but....there's just something about these days. Knowing that winter is just around the corner....knowing there will be fewer and fewer days of standing around the grill makes me want to be out there every evening. Lately, our favorite dinner on the grill...indeed has become a weekly Fri. night ritual, is pizza on the grill. My homemade pizza has always been a hit in our house, so I didn't really want to mess up a good thing, but I had to give it a try....and boy, am I glad I did! Now it's our FAVORITE by far! So fresh and DEEEELISH!! I found the recipe with great pictures here. The first time I tried it, it was a hit, so it's really easy. Here are a few  pictures of my humble results:)
                                                                       

First, make your normal pizza dough.....I'll post my favorite at the end. Roll out into smaller size pizzas. (Easier to work with). Spray the pizza dough(s) with olive oil spray the gently transfer right onto a hot grill. Cook on the first side just long enough to "set" the dough. You're not trying to fully cook the dough at this time, but you will see that it sets where you can see grill marks on the "done" side and you can handle it much easier. Then flip it once and let it set on the other side. Maybe 2-5 minutes per side.

     Next, bring in the crusts and top with your favorite toppings. Here's where's it's fun. You can really get creative. Our favorite was the spinach and tomato, but I haven't made one we didn't like yet:)                                              

   The kids like ham and cheese. I usually start w/ about 1/4 cup olive oil with 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic. Spread that over the pizza then add toppings. I have made them with the tomato based sauce and that's yummy too, but we like the change and lightness of the white pizzas best. Serena  at The Farm Chicks  has lots of great ideas and examples for toppings.                                                                  

   After topping, take the pizzas back to the grill just for long enough to heat the toppings and melt the cheese. Girls, trust me...this is YUMMY!!!!!
Here's my simple recipe for pizza dough. It's Serena's recipe that she got from Better Homes and Garden, but I replaced the AP flour with my fresh ground whole wheat flour. The results were fabulous!

Pizza Dough

2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour (I used fresh ground whole wheat flour)

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup warm water (not hot)

2 tablespoons olive oil

In a large mixer bowl combine 1 1/4 cups of the flour, the yeast, and salt.  Stir in warm water and oil. Beat at low speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat 3 minutes at high speed. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can mix in with a spoon. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. (6 to 8 minutes total).

Cover dough and let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough into as many pizzas as you'd like to make and roll out on a floured surface. (I recommend starting out with small pizzas while you get the hang of cooking them on the grill).

Here's to hoping you all have a gorgeous afternoon and a lovely evening!!!
Blessings sweet friends~~Shine                                                                                  

Deep

Sometimes a small thing can provoke a very profound thought.

On an impromptu hike, this single flower was just that for me. In the middle of the oppressive heat & drought, here this beautiful flower found a way. Have a lovely evening~~~Shine

Oh Happy Day! ! !

A VERY happy day indeed. Guess who's back????? I'll give you a hint. She's super sharp....stylish and ever so precise.

 Oh how I have missed my dear friend. If you remember, I tragically, but accidentally dropped my sweetie. Trust me, it hurt me far more than it did her:) I couldn't bear to look at her for a while, but I when I finally found the intestinal fortitude to do so, I found out she was going to cost me a pretty penny for her recovery treatment.

Somewhere in the neighborhood of $200.00, plus shipping. Ouchie. I had a hard time swallowing that, as much as I loved the dear girl.....what to do? I was almost ready to send her out the door when dear hubby said..."let me take care of her". I was in such a bad frame of mind, I just relinquished my beloved. She was gone for what seemed like an eternity. Yesterday however, sweet hubby said...."Shine, I have a surprise"....then he held out my baby all fully recovered!!!!! Here's the funny part. She never left the house. When I dropped the dear girl, she landed right on her face. Actually, the rim of her face. When I tried to turn her on, her lens couldn't move or focus, the rim was bent. Hubby carefully removed her delicate rim and low and behold she came alive!! She could not go around without a proper rim though! Sooooo.....hubby ever so smoothly bent her rim back into place and popped it back on. He is SO clever, that man of mine.

So here she is, in all her glory. Hallelujah!!! I am a happy girl:))))))) Blessings to you all sweet friends....Have a lovely evening~~~~Shine

Fairies

Sometimes, I want to be a child again. To be able to take time to dream and play fantasy~~sigh. I'm lucky because while I may not be a child myself, I do have a young daughter and together, we do get to play just a little:)

 We found the SWEETEST of herb farms recently and came away stock full of ideas and inspiration.

 All of these pictures were taken at Erin's Meadow Herb Farm . What a treat!
 First, I had to go with two of my oldest and dearest friends. We had to "test" the grounds:) Got to pick up a couple of herbs and gather some nifty ideas.

 We also got to go to the nearby sleepy little city of Clinton, TN. Here we were able to stroll through lots of antique and gift shops, and have lunch at an awesome little cafe on the main drag.

 At the herb farm , they have lots of fairy items available for purchase to start your own "Fairy Garden".

 The idea of starting a Fairy Garden is to attract fairies to your yard. Fairies are well know to bring good luck you know:)

 I was immediately in love, and I knew Anna would be too.

 Sooooo....two days after my initial visit with my buddies...

I decided I needed to go back and take Anna. She (by the way) was DYING to go after hearing all about it.
Keep in mind, this herb farm is more than 50 miles from my house, and I don't do 50 mile trips often. I knew this would be another trip worth taking. As anticipated. Anna was in love.
We purchased a couple of things to get us started and within 2 days time, we had a good start on our own fairy garden.

 We started by choosing our spot, then it just "came together". We cleared the ground, then we added our arbor with the gate for the fairies to enter. After that, we just collected items from the house that had been discarded in drawers or neglected. Fish tank pebbles, broken potshards, tiny pots and pebbles.

 Anything with a bling or shimmer to it was fair game.

I was able to dig up some moss that was growing downstairs and it was like laying down a puzzle! Little pieces came together like a smooth carpet. A soft surface for the fairies to walk on. It has, in a few short days, become a ritual for us to wake up and go to the garden early, before the heat sets in. We'll continue to add things every day. Such a fun treat for the two of us to share together AND, for me to be able to act "just a little" like a child again:)