Pre-Baked Pizza Crust on the BBQ

After trying this homemade frozen pizza crust at home we took it on the road. What a time saver!

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2017/06/homemade-frozen-pizza.html

Made it long instead of round to fit our portable propane grill.  My husband took a piece of corrugated cardboard the size of the pizza and covered it with foil. Wrapped the pizza and foiled cardboard with foil to keep the pizza from getting broken in our cooler. Then I froze it until ready to take it camping.

I had all the toppings cut and shredded in separate ziplock baggies along with a paquet of sauce so after setting up camp it didn't take long to get supper ready.

After the foiled cardboard got our crust to the campsite unbroken it was used as a tray to slide the pizza onto the grill heated at about 425 F. Our little portable grill is not too accurate but around that temp.

My husband closed the BBQ top and baked our pizza for about 8-10 minutes. 

Once the cheese started to melt and the crust had a little char on it he slid the pizza off the grill back onto the little makeshift tray and

voilà...Pizza Night at the campground !!

Roasted Cauliflower and Tomatoes

This sheet pan side dish was easy to make and paired well with chicken, however you could add a can of chickpeas to it for a vegetarian option.

4 cups cauliflower, sliced
1/2 small onion, sliced
1/2 red pepper sliced
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
2 tsps garlic, minced
2 tbsps olive oil
2 tbsps lemon juice
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1/2 tsp salt
basil leaves
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (optional)

Mix garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, chili flakes and salt together.
Pour over the veggies and toss to coat. (Add the chickpeas here if using) You can do this in a bowl, but I like to use a bag.  

Spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 450 F for 25-30 minutes.

Before...

and after

Add some torn basil leaves and serve.

Serves 4 as a side.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

You NEED these muffins in your life !!

5 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
1  1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Cream the butter and cream cheese together in a large mixer bowl. Add sugar, vanilla and eggs. 

Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Add to the batter alternating with the buttermilk in 2 or 3 additions until fully combined.

Mix 2 tsp of flour with the berries and gently fold into the batter. I used some store bought and some wild blueberries from our Algonquin park camping trip, all frozen.

Fill muffin papers 2/3 full. Makes 24 medium or 21 medium and 12 small muffins. The batter seemed pretty thick to me but it must have been because of the cream cheese.

Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes (15-20 minutes for small)

Makes a wonderful muffin that you could pass off as a cupcake! 

Moules et Frites

Or mussels and fries...this recipe should serve 4 but 3 of us polished them off. In fact, I think my daughter probably could have eaten them ALL herself!

4 lbs mussels
4 slices bacon
1/4 - 1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 red pepper, diced
2 tsps garlic, minced
1 cup white wine
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp tomato paste
pinch cayenne
pinch black pepper
parsley and/or basil 

Fries, homemade or frozen

Start by cooking the bacon until crisp, reserve 1 tbsp of bacon fat. Chop or crumble the bacon and set aside.

Rinse the mussels with cold water.

Prepare your fries to be ready to eat in about 10 minutes!

In a large pot cook onion and red pepper in 1 tbsp bacon fat until soft then add the garlic.  Cook 1 minute. Add wine and bay leaf and heat until liquid is reduced by about half. 
Next add the tomato paste, cayenne and black pepper.

Add the live mussels to the pot (my husband does the deed!)

Cover the pot and cook about 5 minutes. The mussels should all open.  Discard any that stay closed.

Serve your mussels sprinkled with bacon, parsley and basil...

alongside the fries. (Yes these were frozen fries)

 Adapted from http://onlyanapron.com/wine-bacon-steamed-mussels/

You might also like:
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2014/07/mussels-with-garlic-butter.html

Apple Rhubarb Bars

Last night it poured rain...like build-an-ark kind of rain so it was a good time to bake! Isn't anytime a good time to bake?

2 cups diced apple (I used Gala apples)
1/2 cup chopped rhubarb
( or any combination to total 2 1/2 cups of fruit)
2 tbsps strawberry jam
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup cold butter

Toss apples, rhubarb, strawberry jam, lemon juice and vanilla together and add 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup flour.  Set aside.

Mix 1  1/2 cups flour, oats, 1/2 cup brown sugar, salt, cinnamon together and cut in the cold butter.

Reserve 1 1/2 cups of crumbs for the top. 

Grease an 8 X 8" baking pan and press the rest of the crumbs into the bottom and bake at 375 F for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and pour in the fruit mixture. Spread evenly.

Reduce heat to 350 F. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top and press gently.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Cook and cut into bars.

Banana Sour Cream Muffins

For some reason all my pictures show this one muffin with the curlicue on top!?!  You'd think that's all I made but this recipe actually makes 18 moist medium muffins

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

Cream the butter, sugars and eggs together.

Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together and add to the wet ingredients. And finally add the banana, sour cream and vanilla.

Bake at 375 F for 20 - 25 minutes for muffins.
Or if you want to make a banana loaf, 350 F for 50 minutes.

Here's a close-up of that curlicue!

Cuban-Style Picadillo

Looking around the other day for something to make with ground beef, I stumbled upon this dish that's easy to prepare and is packed with flavour!

1  1/2 lbs lean ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped red pepper
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 -  1 tsp minced jalapeno
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 bay leaves
1  1/2 tsp ground cumin
Pinch cayenne
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped greens
14 oz diced canned tomatoes
2 tbsps capers
2 tsps caper brine
1 tbsp red wine vinegar

In a large saucepan cook ground beef, onion and red pepper in olive oil until the meat is no longer pink and the veggies have softened. Add garlic, jalapĕno and bay leaves.

Mix the remaining ingredients together and add to the pan.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes.

Serve with rice and salsa.

We used our Spicy Peach Salsa here
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2016/09/spicy-peach-salsa.html

Picadillo adapted from Renees Kitchen Adventures