Merry Christmas!

Love,

The Beals Family

Speedy Grilled Pizza

Last night it was 5 o'clock and I was cursing myself for waiting until the last minute to figure out what to make for dinner. Nothing sounded good and I was about to resign myself to grilled cheese sandwiches when I remembered a recipe in one of my Cooks Country magazines (the secret to my success as a cook) that I had bookmarked to try. I grabbed it and started making it. 1 hour later we had the best pizza I have ever made (and not to toot my own horn, but I have some pretty good recipes for homemade pizza). I doubled the recipe because our family can put down pizza and it was still done an hour later start to finish. The dough only needs 15 minutes to rest so you don't have to worry about it taking all day. Anyway, I had Jeramy take some to my sister because I had a lot left over and she sent me an email this morning saying that the pizza was the best thing she had ever tasted and to please send her the recipe. So, I'm passing it along. Feel free to add whatever toppings sound good to you. I had some left over cooked chicken that I had just tossed in a bit of BBQ sauce and some cooked and chopped kielbasa sausage so I added that to my sister's pizza. Enjoy!

Quick Grilled Pizza

Makes four 9-inch pizzas

*Don’t move the dough during the first minute of grilling or it will tear. Keep the first batch of cooked pizzas warm on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet in a 200-degree oven. If you like pepperoni, arrange 2 ounces pepperoni slices over each pizza after you’ve topped it with sauce.

Sauce:

2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained well

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

Pizza:

1 cup water, heated to 110 degrees

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for brushing dough

1 tablespoon sugar

1 envelope (2 ¼ teaspoons) rapid-rise or instant yeast

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus additional as needed

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt

2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. MAKE SAUCE: Combine tomatoes, basil, oil, garlic, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.
2. PREPARE DOUGH: Whisk water, 1 tablespoon oil, sugar and yeast in large liquid measuring cup. Let sit 5 minutes. Pulse flour, Parmesan, and salt in food processor until combined. With machine running, slowly pour in water mixture and process until dough pulls away from sides and forms shaggy ball, about 1 minute. (If dough seems too sticky, add yup to 2 tablespoons more flour.) Turn dough onto floured work surface and knead 3 or 4 times until cohesive.
3. SHAPE PIZZA: Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and dust with flour. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, press into small circle. Using rolling pin, roll and stretch dough to form 9-inch circle. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and dust dough with flour. Repeat with remaining dough, stacking each round on floured parchment.
4. HEAT GRILL: Meanwhile, heat all burners on high, covered, for 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn other burner(s) to medium low. Scrape and oil cooking grate.
5. GRILL PIZZA: Brush tops of 2 dough rounds lightly with oil. Peel rounds off parchment and place, oiled side down, on cool side of grill. Grill, covered, until undersides are spotty brown and tops are covered with bubbles, poking large bubbles with tongs, 3-5 minutes. Brush each lightly with oil and clip. Top each round with one-quarter sauce and one-quarter mozzarella. Grill, covered, until undersides are spotty brown and cheese is melted, 3-5 minutes. Move pizzas to hot side of grill to crisp, about 1 minute. Repeat with remaining rounds. Serve.

Family Photos

After 10 years, it was finally time to get a good professional photo taken of our family. We used Brinkerhoff Photography and took them at Stonebridge Mansion. He did a good job and for the most part the kids were good. Here are some of the good ones.