Grilled Pizza

Today I thought I would share my ALL TIME FAVORITE way to make pizza.

It's good. Like, really good.

Also, it's easy.

And with summer upon us, it tastes just right for this season: charred grill flavor on the dough and loaded with fresh veggies from the garden (or store).

This is one of those recipes that once you get the idea of how it's done, you can take it, and adjust it to your family's taste buds and whatever is in your fridge. I like those free-to-be-me and roll-how-I-wanna-roll type of recipes.

Here's how it's done:

1. Heat up a grill pan (Mine is a cast iron Lodge Logic for somewhere around $20-$30 from Target... SO worth it.) over MEDIUM to medium high heat.

2. Prepare ingredients... slice, dice, and shred.  My ingredients for this pizza are in the picture, but this can really be up to your imagination and supplies.

Note: I use refrigerated pizza dough for grilled pizza. If I make homemade oven pizza, I usually go to the trouble of making my own dough too because store bought just doesn't taste quite right. BUT, for this pizza, the grill and your ingredients are going to add so much flavor, making homemade pizza dough just doesn't seem worth the effort.

This pizza is so good... it makes Pillsbury taste good. Yeah.

3. Pull out dough and cut into 4 rectangles. (There's no need to roll out dough will a rolling pin, just a little pulling and re-shaping will do the trick.) Brush on some oil.

4. Spray grill with oil. Place dough oil-side down onto grill. Brush the other side with oil.

5. The pizza is ready to be flipped when the top starts to get bubbly. (I am hoping you can see the little bubbles in the dough...)

6. Throw on your pizza ingredients. (Note: The hardest part of making this pizza is getting all the ingredients on top before it's time to take the pizza off the grill. Do yourself a favor by having all your ingredients next to your grill and easy to grab.)

7. Cover pizza to assist cheese in melting. I own no fancy grill cover; I just use an old pan. (No making fun of my pan! I got it at my bridal shower many, many moons ago. I learned to cook in this guy. Together, we have survived many kitchen mishaps... as I am sure you can see.)

8. Serve and Enjoy!

Can you tell my husband loves this pizza? :)

Some notes and tips:

• This is a great thing to make with your kids. Help your child throw some ingredients on their own pizza, rave about how good their pizza looks, and they will most likely eat it. Give kids ownership in the making of a meal, and they are more likely to overcome their weird ingredient anxiety. (Anyone else experience "Battle: Dinner" with a picky eater???)

• This is great to make with company. Prep all the toppings earlier in the day, store in the fridge until your company arrives and then gather your company in the kitchen to make their own pizza. Good company+glass of vino+interactive meal=Fun times! (Another handy equation to know when entertaining: less work+helping hands=a more-relaxed you and a better time had by all!)

• If you don't have pesto or pizza sauce handy, this seriously tastes AWESOME with just some extra virgin olive oil. I prepare a little dish with olive oil, italian seasonings, cracked pepper and minced garlic and brush on in the place of sauce. 

• Consider making a couple extra chicken breasts the next time you cook chicken. Save the extra chicken for this pizza. If I have ready made chicken, this meal takes less than 15 minutes to make.

•  Imagination Welcome! Steak, Italian sausage, left over meat balls, chicken, ham, peppers, tomatoes, basil, olives, marinated artichoke hearts, spinach, mushrooms, onions carmelized in balsamic vinegar (a wow-factor staple for these pizzas that somehow I managed to forget the last time I made this for dinner)... LOTS of Imagination Welcome!

What would YOU put on top of this pizza? I'd love you hear your favorite ingredient combinations.

Hoping your MONDAY is MADE!

xo
Amanda

P.S. Have you entered the giveaway yet? Handcrafted Journal, 1000 Gifts, and $10 Starbucks card. One week remains. Do enter friends :)

Thankful Thursday #8

Happy Thursday Friends!

If you haven't had a chance, do enter the giveaway. Nothing would make me happier than to give away a homemade journal, the book I keep talking about (not to mention inspired the Thursday posts), and a coffee card to one of you! I seriously appreciate YOU! Your encouragement keeps me going. THANK YOU!

I have been doing a lot of praying and searching, and this blog may be taking a shift soon. I want to be less "me" focused and more "us" focused... like a community of women who want to live full and purposeful lives but struggle sometimes. Because, really, I don't have the answers, and I do struggle, and I need other women alongside me encouraging me that I can do it, and maybe you do too. I am still praying for direction. Consider praying with me? I truly believe God has put words in my heart to write and I believe they are for more than just me. I just feel like I am on a journey of discovering my niche and my voice. I would love to hear your thoughts especially on this community idea if you have got any!


#88 When my sister brings gifts from the dollar store.

#89 Baby Toddles and a cookie for each hand (Yep he's walking!!!)

#90 These words

 #91 Looking up at a branch full of cherries

#92 Hollyhocks... or more like how happy they make my mom.

#93 The way my dad keeps the blueberries on the bush so he can snack while he gardens. I think it's one of the reasons my daughter likes gardening with papa so much.

#94 Strawberry Mustaches

 #95 The way Jed sat and played quietly at my feet during church, reminded me of my brother. Oh and for the back of overalls... they made it easy to grab him when he would try to take off exploring.

I forgot to mention... in case you notice, there is a skip in the numbers from the last post to this post because I am also counting in my JOY! Journal. There will hopefully be a skip in the numbers in each Thankful Thursday post from now on.

Favorite moment from the week: #87 The gift of being able to explain to my 3 year old that we all make mistakes, but when we make mistakes we need to ask for help instead of trying to hide our mistake. Profound and deep concept, and even though it involved some tough-love discipline and a super messy bathroom (like someone should have cued Pycho's theme music bad), being able to explain that hard concept to a listening 3 year old was priceless. One of those "I am a mom and I do important things" moments.

What is one favorite moment from your week?

Wishing you all a wonderful day and a grace FULL heart!
xo
Amanda

...The First Giveaway!

It is time for this blog's first ever giveaway. Yeah-YA!

I am EXCITED!

(by the way the book isn't closed because my small children will not allow a book cover to stay on a book... even library books. Yeah. We are so that family. It's like they came with hardbound-and-covered book radar. They find it and immediately the cover is thrown off. Anyone else have this problem?!)

-Since I love getting handmade gifts, and the mere act of pausing, being grateful and scrawling it all down throughout my day has changed my life, I am giving away a JOY! Journal. (Do read the post that preceeds this one. The journal is important. Not this one, just the act of journaling. I might even inspire you to do it!)
-Since I refer back to it so much, I am giving away a copy of Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts.
-Since perhaps you need an excuse to get out the house, have some extra peace, and some time to really "see" (or maybe even some "friend" time), I am giving away a $10 Starbucks card.

I am excited! EXCITED! I have been wanting to do a giveaway since... well even before the birth of this blog. Giving things away is fun! Maybe it seems silly to give away a book, a journal, and a coffee card... but what if said book has some super encouraging words on life, delves into some deep unanswered questions for God that you may have, and offers some simple tips on how to live that leave you changed in the best way? What if writing your gifts in a journal I made just for you adds to the joy in the process? And coffee? Yeah, I don't think I have to explain that one to you... :)

{If you already have the book, consider still entering so you can give the book away. Like I said, giving things away is fun!}

By the way, Ann Voskamp and Zondervan have NO CLUE who I am. And Starbucks definitely doesn't (well besides my local baristas...). I am just a girl who wants to sow into your life some encouraging words. This may grow the blog (cool!) but even more exciting is act of giving something away.


By the way, I am not necessarily intentionally promoting Starbucks. I picked it simply because it's almost everywhere, and even if it isn't where you live, it is hopefully in a city you visit when you do your "big" shopping. (Side note: If you need an inexpensive way to drink your coffee cold and deliciously this summer... have you checked out The Pioneer Woman's Iced Coffee? I make it more user-friendly here... or more "Amanda" friendly anyways.)


Also by the way, I am not promoting these journals. I have no Etsy shop and no journal making business. I am just gal who likes to writes, who wants to live a full life, and loves to give and receive homemade gifts. However, though  I may not be promoting this particular journal, I am definitely promoting the great gift search. Do start pausing every now and again to see and record the gifts you've been given whether in a camera lens, a journal, or however else you can think of living grace-FULL.

Alright. Now for the Giveaway...

To Enter:

1. Subscribe to the blog (however suits you best: by email, by the RSS feed, or Google Friends Connect... all located at the top right hand corner of this blog)
2. Answer this question in the comments: What is one detail from your day thus far that you are grateful for? (Anything: Snuggle from your baby, sun shining through the window making the carpet warm, the way the stack of dishes reminds you that you are blessed with abundance...)

Additional Entries:

1. Like my page on Facebook. Leave a comment below letting me know your following me on facebook.
2. Tweet or Post on Facebook about the giveaway (with a link to this post included in tweet or post). Leave a comment below letting me know you tweeted or posted. (Each time is worth one entry... up to 3 entries allowed this way)

I will use your email address to contact you if you won (and that's all I will use your email address for!) Do make sure I have it. (Some comments get left by "no reply" users. I can't email you or see your email address. You can change this setting or you can just leave your email address in the comments with spaces and spelled out: [amanda at gmail dot com] for example.)

This is open to friends, family, new blog friends, and people just passing through.

Giveaway will end Sunday, June 17th, 2012, at Midnight. Winner will be announced Monday, June 18, 2012. I will be using random.org to come up with winner.


xo
Amanda

This Giveaway is now CLOSED. 
Thank you to all who participated.

Joy! Journal AND...

There are a thousand ways a mom can feel overwhelmed.

A thousand things to accomplish.

A thousand worries.

A thousand hours of missing sleep over the course of 4 years years of parenting.

There are a thousand things to drag a mom down.

Word.

But there's this crazy hope inside of me, that I could live fully. Here. Now. Amongst diapers, grape juice stains, cheerio bottoms, whiney voices, and temper tantrums. (And later amongst wardrobe battles, rolling eyes, boyfriends, and attitudes). Because I truly believe motherhood is a gift, even when I feel exasperated and so very tired... I know these children are my blessing. I want to live on purpose and not so "half-there" because I'm tired and I can't figure out any other way to be.

I want to fully live.

I want to instill in my children how to fully live too.

I stumbled across the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp a couple months ago when a friend invited me to her church's study. I know I've mentioned the book here at least 20 times, but it's good, and it's changed me. It's a simple idea. It's really just about slowing down a couple times a day and counting the gifts you've been given. It's about finding the joy in the messes and beauty everywhere. It's inspired my Thankful Thursday posts and now a journal I keep super handy in my kitchen.

I count gifts and all the precious and fleeting moments with my children, because they're gifts too. I count the beautiful things I see and record things like my daughter trying to take Jed's "tensaber" (temperature, for those of you who aren't fluent in Addy). Things that perhaps only I will appreciate, but maybe Addy and Jed will one day as well. I try to write down the hard things too, like that the mess of cheerios is really just evidence that I am blessed with active children or how even when I was rushing Jed to the emergency room with a punctured ear drum, God was there and He gave us peace and kind doctors and an unexpected friend's visit who happened to be on her nursing shift.

My children are learning to be thankful. I am even writing love notes to my husband thanking him for all he does.

This simple act is changing my life, my family, and my marriage.

I may sound like a complete thankful fruit loop, but it's worth the risk if it helps change someone else.

Couple of notes if you want to try "Joy Journaling" or "Gift Counting" out for yourself:
1. Make the journal handy... like wherever you most often find yourself in your home. For me, it's the kitchen. And don't just put it anywhere... make it prominent--where you are very likely to see it and be reminded by it.
2. Quick notes, sloppy notes, poetic notes... it doesn't matter. It's the stopping, the seeing, the gratitude... that's what makes the difference. It's not about the list. The list is the tool that helps you live a grateful FULL life.
3. If it helps you to have a guided way to count your gifts: visit Ann Voskamp's blog. Every month she puts up a printable with suggested items to count (They are always towards the bottom of page on her Monday posts). Actually, just check out her blog. It's good.
4. The book is awesome, but I found it to be a little like wading through oatmeal. The poetic language makes it thick. It's packed with revelation. The truths it exposes are weighty. It's a little difficult to get through (at least for me). But it was worth the "wading," definitely worth it, especially when I got to Ch. 8. That was the life-changer for me. So, while I strongly urge you to embark on this joy dare, I think it is a highly recommendable idea to read the book too (and to know if you find it a difficult read, don't beat yourself up. You are not less-spiritual or the only one.) :)

To make the journal:

I made myself a journal out of a good old fashioned composition notebook... wide ruled so it's easier to make fast notes. They are less than a $1.00. I covered it in scrap fabrics, a family picture, scrapbook paper and modge-podged it all on.

To Modge-Podge: paint a thin coat on wherever you are adding something. Paint a thin coat over the top to seal it. Just a note: you will battle wrinkles should you choose thin paper. Choose thicker paper (close to cardstock-quality thickness). Also, use thinner more cotton-like fabrics.

I got myself a letter-holder-type thing to hold my JOY journal in my organization station. I had tried just sticking the journal to the wall, but it fell off. Also, writing on something that is upright makes your pen get air in it... and that makes writing difficult. I still like the journal on the wall though (hence placing it in a letter holder). I see it every time I walk into the kitchen, and it reminds me to stop rushing, stop stressing, and be grateful.

I made a couple more journals just for fun. They are seriously easy... like half-hour-with-some-drying-breaks-in-there easy. This one is bright and cheerful. Addy loves it. I am thinking I may let her use it.

This one below is my favorite. I made it with a ribbon and velcro clasp that I embellished with an easy fabric rose. I love the quote I found amongst my scrap-booking materials. Seemed very appropriate.

"The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life."

Yep.

Since I liked this journal so well and this book has changed my life...

...well...

...you are just going to have to click the link below to see what this conquering housewife has brewing.

{Click here to find out about The CCHW's FIRST-EVER GIVEAWAY!!!! (I'm excited, in case the 4th exclamation point didn't clearly demonstrate this to you.) You will want to see this even if you aren't into reading anything longer than a page or writing in homemade journals. Wha-hoo!} 

Hope your Monday is MADE and your life is FULLY lived, Friends!
xoxo
Amanda

Thankful Thursday #7

This week I have been making good use of the practice of gratitude and it is paying off. I have been taking pictures, AND scribbling down notes in my Joy Journal. Joy and peace have been mine! (And not because everything is all perfect here... this momma had to pull a tick out of her baby girl's head and battle some "slapped cheek" disease). I even tried applying the whole gratitude thing to my marriage. Mike and I have been fighting much more regularly, I think just from him being gone so much. I decided to intentionally thank him for everything on our love notes board (in my organization station), text him and send him voice mails... thank you for taking out the trash, thank you for unloading the dishwasher, thank you for all your hard work, plus a couple "hey baby you're sexy" notes. I feel better just remembering how much he does, and he does better feeling appreciated. Plus, he remembers to tell me how much he appreciates me. This whole gratitude thing really can change a life, a family, and a marriage!


 #57 The smell and sound of valley oak leaves beneath my feet.

#58 The way a thistle can be even more beautiful when it's found amongst dead grass

#60 My sanctuary

#61 Pink Princess Shoes

#62 The girls who are going places

#63 Hay in the background... just something about the sight and smell of hay bails

#64 Balcony seating for 4

#65 The way a momma can love this face just as much as the happy faces. Grace. Love.

#66 Beautiful sights... the curls of brittle browned ivy around the barbed fence.

#67 Her excitement for friends and her first (non-family) birthday party... but still needing to bring Dawson IN the carseat with her.

#68 The company of this boy, bubbles and the morning sun during my prayer time.

#69 Addy wanting to play school. She's the teacher (in only her underwear) theatrically teaching me about bugs, "It's a hooded praying mantis. A poison praying mantis in the whole wide world. It's SO STRONG. And SO BEAUTIFUL!" Raises arm and twirls in dramatic fashion, plastic praying mantis in hand.

#70 The 5 fleeting and precious seconds this adventure-spirited boy offers his mother before he is off and climbing the heights of the chair (and making his mother's heart stop.)

Heart is full of gratitude!
Hope yours is too!
xo
Amanda

Dreams: 5 Things Every Farmer Knows About Farming that Every Dreamer Needs to Know Too

Farming.

The farmer goes out. Tills the soil. Plants the seeds. And waits. He waters. He waits. He watches for pests. He watches for weeds. He gets to drive around on a tractor (the most romanticized part of it all... "She Thinks My Tractors Sexy" anyone?? That song... it makes me smile big). He waits.

The farmer works and does so much to try to bring in a great harvest. But really, the farmer knows that he does his part and the rest is up to God.

I think it's like that with our dreams.

A dream is placed in your heart... maybe it's something you've always wanted to do, maybe it was in your yearbook next to your picture "Amanda, most likely to... be a meteorologist" (True story), maybe you stumbled across it while casually doing something you fully intended to do for just a short time or just for fun, maybe you are stuffed full of a thousand things you feel compelled to do before you leave this planet, or maybe you still haven't had your "A-ha! This is what I was born to do!" moment... whatever it is, I truly and fully believe with ever fiber of my being that you have a purpose. I believe God made you with a wonderful, awesome, needful way that you can impact your world. Maybe it'll touch the lives of thousands, maybe it'll touch the lives of a couple children and one handsome husband, maybe it'll change a city, maybe it will encourage those in your circle. No matter the impact, You were made to dream. AND You were made to be a dream-fulfiller.

Dreaming is all fine and good, but means nothing until you put it into action.

Having a pocket full of seeds is all fine and good, but it will mean nothing until those seeds are put into soil.

And God made the seed for the harvest.

{Do you know what seeds you have to plant? Your talents, your passion, your gifts... the things God places in you that forms into a dream so that you could bring glory to your Maker... these are your seeds.}

Embarking upon a dream is terrifying. You could fail. The fear of failure would like to keep your seeds in your pockets... and God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love, and discipline. 2Timothy 1:7, NASB.

A thousand "what if" scenarios may want to rack your brain, keep you from setting out, make you want to shrink back... but we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. Hebrews 10:39, NASB.
 
Thing is, even a farmer knows, that there ARE a thousand things that could destroy the crop, and failure may happen. A farmer knows he has no say so in the weather, the locusts, the birds, disease... a lot can cause a crop to not produce, but one thing is certain... a field will not yield a harvest unless the seed is put in the ground.

A dream will just be a dream until its put into action.

I compiled a list of some things every farmer knows about farming that every dreamer should know too:

1. Know the season- farmers put seeds into the soil at the right time of year. You may need to know that it's not time yet. The best way to figure out if its time? Fasting and prayer. Farmers know to look for the signs of the season... look for the signs in your own life that it is time.

2. Know you may fail- farmers know that some years yield a lot of fruit and some years do not.  You may do everything right, but it may not work out. That does not mean you should stop.


3. Know that it will be hard work- farmers know that just preparing the soil is a lot of work. And so is the daily upkeep. And so is the harvest. A. Lot. Of. Work. Yeah. So is putting a dream into action. Expect this. Anticipate it. Plan for it. When you are frustrated because it is so hard, remember... it's SUPPOSED TO BE.

4. Know that it will take daily work- Farmers don't plant a field and then sit back and watch it grow. They work hard daily. There are daily problems. Daily chores. Your dream will require your day in and day out stamina.

5. Prepare for the harvest- A farmer may not be able to plan for the exact size of the harvest, but he can't collect the harvest unless he's prepared for it. If you are working towards a dream, would you be ready for it if it came to pass?

I may have just caused you to let out a big huge sigh... work. hard. failure. not time. planning. But here's the beauty of this:

I till. I plant. I water. I tend. But it is God who gives the increase.

I can't predict the weather. I have no say-so in the million "what-ifs."


But at the same time, I just do my part and I get to leave the rest to God. I don't have to strive, grind myself into the dirt trying to make this work. I do my part and let Him decide how much fruit I will bear. And truly, even if you are able to touch the lives of even a couple of people, isn't it worth it?

I bet you are with me in saying, yes it is!

So dream.

Dream big. Work hard. Trust God.

Let Him take your beautiful dream-field and work it into a great... or a small... harvest.

You were made for the harvest.

Alright, now, go, pray, and seek God, and get to fulfulling those dreams!

xo
Amanda

Organization Station

Welcome to Made Monday...

...on Tuesday. Our good old faithful computer bit the dust, so Monday just simply wasn't a possibility.

I am finding it humorous that I am about to reveal my new organization station... late.

So much for organized. Ha! But I find that the best organization system is a flexible one, so there you go.

Here's my flexible Organization Station.

I was at my friend's house for a monthly preschool meet-up. While in her kitchen, I noticed her wall dedicated to the running of her home. She had pictures-frames-turned-dry-erase-boards up for all her shopping lists and meal planning. She had a weekly calendar and a monthly calendar. She used scrapbook materials to create sections for her dry erase boards. I thought it was brilliant. Thank you Christina for your awesomeness!

The kitchen is the heartbeat of our home. So, it makes the most sense to do all of our planning for the home in the kitchen.

I like/need flexibility in my plans. Dry erase boards are perfect for flexibility. But, I need some kind of way to form a system, some kind of constant. That is what makes the scrapbook organizers in the picture frame so brilliant. Organized on the inside, flexible and very erasable on the outside. Works for me!

One board is for planning my week. This includes appointments, to-do's, meetings, and places I would like to go. I made room to write in a chore for each day. I have decided in an effort to organize my life and home, I need to simplify my chores into one chore a day.

In case you are curious here's my chores:
daily: A quick pick up of the the house and do the dishes
weekly: bathroom, floors, vacuum, laundry, windows and mirrors, computer desk (i.e. "the pile" and bills), and then one monthly chore
monthly: dusting, baseboards, kitchen deep clean, organization project

Everyone needs a "Win!" I do anyways. So I decided that if I can manage to put food on the table, do the dishes once, pick up the house for 5 minutes, and do one chore then I have accomplished something great for the day. WIN! Perhaps, it's because I have small mess-makers children, perhaps it's because my husband is rarely home, perhaps it's because I am a writer, perhaps it's just that life happens and it happens all over the place, but this girl is having trouble keeping her head above the crazy amount of cheerios and toys strewn everywhere water. I am hoping this new system of organizing helps this home and the sanity level of all persons living in this home.

The other board is for meal planning and my shopping lists. I don't do well when I plan a meal for each specific day, that's not flexible enough for me. I just need a list of options, so that when I go into the kitchen to start cooking I know what meals I have bought for and can cook whichever meal works best for that evening. My shopping lists are divided into groceries, costco, and walmart (which actually isn't necessarily "walmart," it's just the list of miscellaneous household items that aren't food.)

I had read the seriously life-changing book, One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, and if you have read that book you know why there is a journal on my wall... if you haven't read the book, seriously, read it! The journal is for counting my gifts... and I am hoping Mike will add to it too. I am also thinking it would be a great place to scribble down the cute things my kids say and do... like when I was asked if I wanted hot sauce, and I said "yes," and Addy turns to me and says in her most grown up voice, "Mom, I want the cold sauce, please." You know, the fleeting and precious "cute stuff" that I will forget 15 years from now when she's bringing dates home and I need some ammunition to scare them off with (I kid!). I know that stuff could go in a baby journal, baby book, or scrap book, but it's not handy enough and I forget by the time I got to write in the aforementioned items.

The metallic board is for quotes or scriptures or things I need to remember. It's also for love notes for me and my husband. I really don't see enough of that man and we need another way to communicate some affection.

To do something like this for yourself: 

Week Planner and Meal Planner were made from old 11x14 picture frames. I took out the old pictures and mattes and used that for my guidelines for my scrapbook paper. I painted the frames to match the kitchen (and cover up what was underneath! It was screaming 1993 and not in a good way.)

You will have to come back next week if you want to see how I made the journal. wink wink

The metallic board was purchased at Walmart for $4. I bought the pencil cup there too. Cups with flat sides are ideal so you can easily mount them to the wall. The calendar was from the dollar section at Target.



Here's to a life slightly more organized!

Amanda