Grilled Pepperoni and Red Onion Pizza

Due to an unavoidable encounter between an oral surgeon and her wisdom teeth, the Menu Mama will be out for a few days.  Not to worry though!  I (The Menu Papa?) will be posting recipes for the next few days.  To preface our first recipe many of you may have noticed that my contributions thus far to the blog have been in either A) coming up with some kind of funky pizza or B) cooking something on the grill.  Today we will combine two of my culinary passions: pizza and grilling.  Excited yet?  Here's what we're going for today:

Grilled Pepperoni and Red Onion Pizza

Serves 4

1 lb pizza dough

1 C Mozzarella cheese

1 C Cheddar cheese

3 T Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

4 oz Pepperoni

1/2 C Pizza sauce (We use Hunt's Basil, Garlic and Oregano tomato sauce)

1/4 Red Onion, sliced into rings then cut in half

Before you start cooking preheat your grill to high.  (Charcoal would taste better but makes it much harder to control the temps.)  Next, roll out some foil onto a cooking sheet.  Spray the foil down with non-stick cooking spray and roll your pizza dough out.  Allow the dough to warm up to room temperature.  (We want all of our ingredients to be as warm as possible so they cook quickly on the grill).

While the dough warms up grate about a cup of mozzarella, a cup of cheddar and a few tablespoons of Parmesan.  Mix together in a bowl and set aside.

 








Slice the onion and arrange your pepperoni on a plate.  Microwave for 30 seconds.  This will help it crisp up on the grill.












 


Take every thing out to the grill and arrange so it's convenient.  Part of pulling this pizza off is getting the toppings on, and the whole shebang back onto the grill as quickly as possible.


  





 
Once everything is arranged and ready, reduce the grill heat to medium low and slide the foil with the dough onto the grill.  Close the lid and let cook 3 - 5 minutes, turning if your grill (like mine) has hot spots to prevent any burnt areas.
 

While the dough is cooking spray down the baking sheet with cooking spray.  Once the dough is done use a spatula (or two) to flip the dough, cooked side up onto the baking sheet.













 


Close the grill and spread the tomato sauce, followed by the onions onto the cooked side of the dough.

Add cheese and pepperoni.  I like to put down a nice layer of cheese, then the pepperoni and sprinkle a little cheese on top of it all.







 



Gently slide the pizza back onto the grill.  It's not going to want to move once it's down so make sure that you get in the right spot the first time.  Otherwise things may get ugly! 

Close the grill and let cook another 3 - 5 minutes.  Keep an eye on those hot spots!  If you are concerned about the pizza burning on the bottom you can pull it off after 3 minutes and finish in a 425 degree oven for 5 minutes.

Once the pizza is done cut into slices and serve hot.

Glazed Pork Chops

Have I converted you to the diversity and deliciousness that is the bone-in pork chop yet? If not, then click here to view all of my pork chop recipes. They can be prepared many different ways and are cheap! My tip for getting the best deal on bone-in pork chops (and pretty much any meat): buy the large packages when they are on-sale. Around here we can get the big packages (about 8-10 pork chops) for as low as a dollar per pound. That doesn't mean you need to be eating pork for a week straight. Freeze each chop in individual plastic bags and just pull them out of the freezer to thaw in the fridge a day or two before you want use them.

 

This is one of my favorite ways to prepare pork chops, it is so flavorful and easy! Serve it with butter rolls or your favorite potato dish. This recipe is slightly adapted from one on the Taste of Home website.

printable recipe

Glazed Pork Chops

1/3 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup apricot or peach preserves
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp prepared mustard
1/4 tsp ground cloves
bone-in pork chops, 1 per person, double the first five ingredients if you are preparing more than 6 pork chops
salt and pepper

Measure out the first five ingredients into a medium sized bowl.

Stir until well blended.

Place the pork chops on a plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Grill over medium heat for 6-8 minutes per side or until a meat thermometer reads 160F, basting frequently with sauce mixture.

Remove pork chops from heat and serve.

Grilled Pork Chops with Shallot Butter

This is a delightful take on bone-in pork chops from myrecipes.com. I loved the blending of the herbs and the fact that, other than a little butter, this recipe was quite healthy!

You can use fresh herbs if you have them, but I just used the dry herbs I had on hand and it turned out great.

printable recipes

Grilled Pork Chops with Shallot Butter

serves 4

4 bone-in pork chops

salt and pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp chives

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp rosemary

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp butter, softened

1 1/4 tsp minced shallots

1/8 tsp grated lemon rind

Turn on grill to medium-high heat. Sprinkle both sides of pork with salt and pepper.

Combine oil, chives, thyme, rosemary, and garlic, stirring well.

Rub oil mixture evenly over both sides of pork.

Place pork on grill rack; grill 6-7 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of pork registers 155F. Remove pork from grill; let stand 5 minutes.

Combine butter, shallots, and lemon rind, stirring well.

Spread about 1 tsp butter mixture over each pork chop; let the pork stand an additional 5 minutes.

Fiesta Lime Chicken

This is one of my family's favorite recipes for marinated and grilled chicken. This is adapted from a Barefoot Contessa recipe from the food network website.

Fiesta Lime Chicken

printable recipe

1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (5 to 6 limes)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon minced fresh jalapeno pepper (1 pepper seeded)
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (3 cloves)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 whole (6 split) boneless chicken breasts, skin on

Combine the lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken breasts. Refrigerate for at least several hours.

Heat a grill and brush the rack with oil to prevent the chicken from sticking. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, sprinkle well with salt and pepper, and grill them skin-side down for about 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove from the grill to a plate. Cover tightly and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot.