Pizza Night!

Chandler piling on the sausage. He ate sausage, pepperoni, and olives on his pizza!


Cameren, still trying to get used to Aunt Robyn's camera constantly in his face.

My nephews have been staying with us off and on this summer. Chandler is 11, and Cameren is 10. The boys are amazing to have around. They play with the little boys during the day, help Ashley with her chores, and then watch HOURS of Gilmore Girls at night with Ashley. Poor guys...

Friday night we had PIZZA! My all time favorite. At our house, we grill our pizza. Since none of us eat the same kind of pizza, the whole made from scratch plan is handy. This is how our evening went...

1. Make the pizza dough.

My dough recipe came from allrecipes.com. It is called Pizza Dough III. It is a really good dough that does well on the barbeque. In addition to the basic ingredients, I add 1/2 cup bread flour, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tsp thyme, and 2 tsp italian seasoning. (Just a tip: bread dough has more gluten in it therefore it is better for the barbeque. It seems to stick together better.)

Can you see the spices in the dough? Yummy!

I divide my dough into quarters or whatever works. This way everyone gets their own pizza.

2. Assemble the toppings.

None of us eat the same kind of pizza. We all like different toppings so this gets a little crazy. If you are barbequeing your pizzas, make sure you have all of your toppings ready before you put your dough on the grill.

From the top and clockwise: Feta cheese, pesto sauce, pineapple, pepperoni, sausage, marinara/pizza sauce, black olives, mozzarella cheese, kalamata olives and artichoke hearts chopped and mixed.

3. Place dough directly on grill, and shut the lid.

Allow your dough to cook. You don't want to burn the bottom side, but cook it until the top is no longer doughy. I usually get ours lightly brown on the bottom.

See the bubbles forming? You want to take a knife and pop them. You can tell that the crusts on the sides are cooking nicely. They are about ready to take off the grill to "decorate".

4. Assemble the pizza.

On a plate, put the cooked side of the pizza up. You will assemble your pizza then stick it back in the barbeque.Tyler had to have the "perfect crust." He chose this one! You can see that the crust is lightly browned.

Oh dear. This is one of those days that the twins don't have clothes on. Trust me when I say that it DOES NOT happen often. I truly dislike looking at kids in diapers. They should at least have shorts on. Sorry.

Tyler is scoping out the toppings. He said he didn't like olives but he likes the raviolis. He calls pepperoni ravioli. Took me a few minutes to figure that one out!Ashley "saucing up" her pizza crust.

5. Heat it up!

Almost done...once your pizza is assembled, put it back on the grill. You will want to close the lid again. You are going to cook it until the cheese is melted. I use a pesto sauce on my pizza so I like my crust a little crispy. I usually leave mine on a little longer.

There is not a single pizza on this grill that is the same. Cameren was pepperoni and sausage only; Chandler is pepperoni, sausage, and black olive; Ashley was pineapple; Tim was pepperoni, black olive, and my kalamata olive/artichoke heart combo; Tyler was simply cheese, pepperoni, and more cheese; and the twins...just cheese. Mine isn't there yet...I use pesto sauce, mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, little sausage, and lots of kalamata olives/artichoke hearts combo. Mmmmm.....

6. Cut and Eat!

Enjoy your favorite hand tossed, barbeque cooked, homemade pizza!

Chandler folded his like a pizza taco.