I love meals that are fast, elegant enough to entertain with, and will free up needed pantry space. This dish fit the bill when I overbought on pesto for my son’s birthday. I kept thinking that the pesto would be fantastic mixed in a sauce. When I happened upon some chicken and cheese stuffed ravioli while perusing the wholesale club, I knew I would be able to whip something amazing up.

The flecks of green and foreign stuffing in the pasta would have been a turn off for many kids, but after a good five minutes of coaxing, the forks plunged into the dishes and quiet smacking was all that was heard the rest of the dinner hour…

Well, that and the request for more “honey” for bread by the sweet voices gathered around the dinner table. Yes, my children believe olive oil is a common commodity, much like other children request ketchup for dipping. Oh, if I only had such a gourmet palate when I was a child, I know I would be destined to create great things in the kitchen. Let’s hope these extravagant luxuries can be endured on a teeny grocery budget.

Ravioli With Pesto Cream Sauce

1 pound fresh or frozen ravioli
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk (we used skim milk)
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper
1 1/2 cups grated Romano cheese
1 cup prepared pesto

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook as directed and drain. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and butter, and saute until garlic is soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Dissolve flour in milk, then stir in. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add cheese, and stir until melted. Stir in pesto. Dish ravioli on plates and then drizzle the pesto cream sauce over it. Garnish with a little fresh basil or chopped parsley.

PS- Be sure to serve with oodles of bread with “honey” for dipping for those gourmet palates!

I think the best part about the summer season is all of the outdoor eating and grilling. I can admit, we are still getting the hang of grilling and learning about all of the fun things we can eat out on our grill. I am determined to try new marinades, sides, and even grilling some pizza this year. We have a full summer of learning ahead of us!

One thing that has been helping me get the hang of grilling is a remote digital thermometer to monitor the meat temperature. We were taking our food off too soon or too late and this gadget helps us get the perfect steak or piece of chicken every single time.

My girlfriend was the one who shared this gadget with me and I found a very inexpensive one at Walmart over in the grilling supplies that was about $16. I can’t seem to locate what I bought, but this Taylor Weekend Warrior Digital Thermometer ($15.98) is the same price and does the same exact thing. Mine was a no-name brand that has worked just as good as the fancy models and has saved us from nuking our meat in the microwave after grilling. If you are looking for a handy gadget for Father’s Day, this is a thoughtful gift to give with an oven mitt or a book of new barbeque recipes.

We tried a new marinade recipe that is so delicious and offers a great deal of flavor to our chicken. I throw this marinade together and then let the chicken marinate all day in the refrigerator. This makes the most juicy and tender chicken. Serve with some yummy lemon rice and my roasted green beans for the perfect summer dinner.

Zesty Chicken Marinade

(Marinade for 12 pieces of chicken, halve this recipe for four to six pieces)

1 cup oil
1/2 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons Miracle Whip or Miracle Whip light
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon salt (to taste)
1 tablespoon pepper
2 tablespoons thyme
1 tablespoon garlic salt

Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Use to marinate chicken pieces at least 30 minutes and then to baste the meat as it cooks in the oven or over hot coals.

Do you have a favorite grilling recipe to share? Please share here!

This is where you remind me to take pictures of the food before I let my family dig in. Pizza is always a hit in our house and it is hard to hold off the family for blog photos, particularly for our Friday family nights.

While I love my Pizza Hut Pizza Dough recipe, I have been relying on my other pizza dough recipe these past few weeks because of the simplicity of this dough and how easily it rolls out and comes together. This is a fantastic recipe that I have adapted for my bread machine and it makes one delicious pizza. The recipe offers instructions for making the dough in a food processor (recommended by Bittman), by hand, or with a stand mixer. At the bottom, I offer how I am able to adapt this for the bread machine. Basically, you can make it with something or nothing at all, which is why this recipe is an all-around winner in my book!

Basic Pizza Dough (courtesy of “How to Cook Everything,” by Mark Bittman)

1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea slat, plus extra for sprinkling
1 to 1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

Combine the yeast, flour, and 2 teaspoons salt in the container of a food processor. Turn the machine on and add 1 cup water and the 2 tablespoons of oil through the feed tube. Process for 30 seconds, adding more water, a little at a time, until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch. If it is dry, add another tablespoon or two of water and process for another 10 seconds. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand a few seconds to form a smooth, round dough ball. Grease a bowl with the remaining olive oil, and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let it rise in a warm draft-free area until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours. You can cu this rising time short if you are in a hurry or you can let the dough rise more slowly in the refrigerator for six to eight hours.

To make this dough by hand: Combine half the flour with the salt and yeast and stir to blend. Add 1 cup water and the 2 tablespoons olive oil; stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add remaining flour a bit at a time; when the mixture becomes too stiff to stir with a spoon, begin kneading, adding as little flour as possible- just enough to keep the dough from being a sticky mess. Knead until smooth but still quite moist, about ten minutes. Proceed as above.

To make this dough with a standing mixer: The machine must be fairly powerful or it will stall. Combine half the flour with the salt, yeast, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 1 cup water; blend with the machines paddle. With the machine on slow speed, add flour a little at a time until the mix has become a sticky ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl (switch to the dough hook if necessary). Knead for a minute by hand, adding as little flour as possible, then proceed as above.

To make this dough with the bread machine: Add ingredients as follows- warm water, olive oil, flour, salt, and then add yeast at the top. Turn machine on and select the dough setting. When the machine beeps, you can roll out the dough onto your pizza stone/pan.

Amy’s Friday Night Pizza Routine

1 ball of pizza dough
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup 5 or 4 cheese blend
Toppings of your choice
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. While the oven is preheating, cook the crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt in a pot over low heat for fifteen minutes. Bake the crust only for eight to ten minutes. Pull the crust out and then top with the crushed tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, 5-cheese blend, and toppings of your choice. Put pizza back in and cook for ten to twelve minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is nicely browned. To earn the coolest mom in the world award, be sure to serve this with some homemade slushies for a special treat.

Related Links:

Notebook Experiments: Will We Like Wheat Pizza Crust?

Freezer Worthy Pizza Sauce

Getting to Know the Bread Machine