Ever-Changing Reflection

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding... It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility.
~ Kahlil Gibran

Monday, June 21, 2010

Let the experimentation begin!

Jed found a pizza stone and giant pizza spatula set at Target, and we brought it home so we could stop ordering Domino's (yuck!). Friday night, we experimented with homemade pizza for the first time.

I decided on BBQ chicken pizza, and after reading the instructions for the pizza stone, I got to work. I used Pillsbury pizza dough for the first time, which required baking in the oven for five minutes before adding the toppings. I stretched the dough out on the stone and baked it, then I spread BBQ sauce on it.
Next I added bacon bits, grilled chicken tenderloin and mozzarella cheese. I carried the stone out to the grill, and we grilled the pizza until the cheese was bubbling and the crust was golden brown.
Yummmmm! It was so good! And I was really surprised how easy it was too. Next time, I might try making the dough myself. Jed thought it was so good that we might turn Fridays this summer into grilled pizza nights!

This was just the kick off to our "first" summer weekend (a.k.a. the first weekend we actually got to do summer things). After dinner, we went to see Iron Man 2, which I thought was a little slow and not nearly as good as the first movie. Once the movie was over, we headed down the street to catch the last hour of my BFF's husband's band.

Saturday morning, I got up to complete week one of Couch to 5K. Yes, I jumped on that bandwagon, and I'm loving it so far! I thought it would be a lot harder to motivate myself, but when I feel tired, I remind myself that it's only 20 minutes, and they fly by! I feel awesome once I'm done.

The rest of Saturday was spent in Nashua, NH, for my cousin's daughter's high school graduation party. Basically, I sat outside and ate BBQ food all day. It actually felt like summer! That was also my time with my dad for Father's Day.

Sunday, we went to Jed's uncle's for a Father's Day BBQ; his uncle makes the BEST beer can chicken -- he grills a whole chicken with a beer can in it! Even though we got two passing thunder showers, we managed to eat outside, then ducked in the garage while it rained, then hit the pool in between before heading back to the garage. We played with their two adorable dogs: a one-year-old Weimaraner and a 10-week-old Bull Mastiff (she was ADORABLE!).

Yesterday was blissful; their property is just so peaceful. They have the cutest house, a garage with an apartment above, a cabana by the pool, a workshop where Jed's aunt makes her own stained glass and a shed. The entire thing is landscaped beautifully with both a vegetable garden behind the house and a flower garden next to the house complete with archway and a stone fireplace. I told Jed that if we lived there, I would never have to go on vacation! I felt so relaxed just being there for a few hours.

Keep your fingers crossed for good things for me this week; I'm waiting on some big news. How was your weekend? Make sure you have a great week!

Oh yes, and HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER! YEEHAW!

7 comments:

Katie said...

Yay for summer indeed! Here's to hoping your news is GREAT - and best wishes on the couch to 5K, I did that a few years ago and it was fantastic. I should really take it back up soon, winter always sticks it to me with the KC weather. Running and ice don't really mix ;-)

Shannon said...

We got a pizza stone as a shower gift and made our own pizza a week ago, I think it's fun and taste really good. Yours looks great.

JennyMac said...

That looks fantastic Jen. And summer is here in full throttle. Humidity? 100%. Temp outside? 96. Where are the refreshing beverages!

Nicole Marie said...

do you bake the pizza on the stone or put it on a regular pan? i saw one and almost bought it but i didnt know what to do with it haha

Nicole @ WhenDidIBecomeMyMom.com said...

That pizza sounds so delicious! And I'm pretty sure I could make that (for a change).

Thanks for your kind words on my post today.

Classic Passion said...

Looks fantastic !!!! Such a beautiful
day.

bananas. said...

YUM! your pizza looks scrumptious. take away the BBQ sauce and i will nom nom nom it all up.