I had pizza guys!
The real deal, too. Grains and all!
I’d been craving it for so long, it wasn’t even funny. I was almost having dreams about it! It was THAT bad… I just HAD to have some. Well, I finally did, and it turned into such a great party too!
Remember how I used to have pizza nights before, with my mom and daughter, and sometimes son and girlfriend? Well, we had one of those last week and we had a major blast! Especially since it all got decided at the very last minute.
I love improvised parties like that!
My daughter was already coming over and my mom called… I started telling her how I missed our little “girls dinners” and asked when she would next be able to join us… then I MIGHT have mentioned that I was planning on making pizza that night and that it would be fun if she could make it…
That’s all it took.
A mere few hours later, she was at my house, and so was my daughter.
As luck would have it, my son wasn’t working that night, and his girlfriend was also able to join us.
The events that ensued, as you will soon discover, included an orgy of picture taking, cooking all sorts of things on the barbecue, as well as, of course, EATING all of that gorgeous food!!!
The girls were brave and decided to make their pizza on the BBQ.
They MAY have had a little bit of a hard time and I MAY have laughed a little bit my head off…
Even Shamba the Ridgeback was keeping an eye on the operations to make sure everything was running smoothly. Of course, he was also hoping for some tasty morsel to find its way to the ground…
Hey, this might look easy like that, but apparently, shoving a piece of pizza dough on a hot grill is no easy task!
Gauging the temperature of said grill also proved to be a bit of a challenge, and the girls’ pizza crusts may or may not have ended up somewhat charred on the outside and raw on the interior.
Hey, isn’t that what they call Pittsburgh Style? 
My son didn’t care for pizza (hey, the dough has got grains in it. As in WHOLE grains, can you imagine?) so he went and bought himself some meat.
Some MAN meat!
Hey, that’s the way real men do it, isn’t it? Ask any man what goes on a grill? - Why MEAT, of course! – is the answer you will most probably get…
Awwww, to be young and in love again… what I wouldn’t give.
What a cute couple, are they not?
Oh, need I mention I had a little bit of fun with the pictures. Hope you won’t mind the funky colors and all…
Tasha just LOVES broccoli. Whenever she’s making pizza, you can be certain that there WILL be some broccoli on it. Sometimes, she gets carried away and steams a little too much… like the entire head!??!?!?
Not surprising that there would be SOME leftover!
Here’s my son and daughter in law again. Ah, so precious…
Felix had taken the time to pick some lovely daisies for her… as well as for his mom!
Now how’s that for sweetness?
My beautiful, ever smiling mom! She’s the best and I love her dearly. I truly cherish every occasion that we get to spend time together!
I was so happy that she could make it and join us that night!
Thanks for coming mom, it wouldn’t have been the same without you there!
Even Shamba got to have his picture taken. I think he really wanted some food! Problem is, he knows too well how to get it… Seriously, could you resist THAT look?
Hey, care to know what his ultimate favorite is?
Baby cut carrots!!!
That’s my boy!
My beautiful daughter again….
And crazy son… (hey, I mean that in a good way, of course!)
And adorable son’s girlfriend with the pretty flower in her hair.
Simply gorgeous!
Right! I almost forgot! There was food too! Pizza, to be precise. I chose to do mine in the oven, because the barbecue was a tad overcrowded, and I think I made a wise decision. I wouldn’t have wanted to show you a “Pittsburgh Style” Chicken Arugula and Parmesan Pizza.
However, it was way too hot that night to fire up the oven, and I think that my guests weren’t too impressed with my decision for a while, when we all STILL had beads of sweat coming down our faces well over a half hour AFTER I’d shut down the oven…
But hey, no sacrifice is too great when it comes to enjoying such a scrumptious pizza. Especially when you have been craving it for SO long!
Of course, we eventually got to sit down and sweat… hum, I mean, eat.
Shall I show you what was on my plate once again?
Trust me, this pizza truly hit the spot and totally satisfied my insane craving.
Now I’m good for another while… until the craving hits again!
INGREDIENTS
- ¼ Whole wheat pizza crust recipe
- 3-4 tbsp Sun Dried Tomatoes, Arugula and Walnut Pesto
- 6-8 small oyster mushrooms
- 50g leftover cooked chiken breast meat
- 100g low fat mozzarella cheese, grated
- 20g walnuts, coarsely chopped
- handful fresh arugula leaves
- 2-3 radicchio leaves, shredded
- 25g parmesan cheese shavings
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 500F.
- Roll dough into 10-12 inch disc and lay on a baking sheet.
- Spread pesto all over the crust and top with mozzarella cheese, cooked chicken, oyster mushrooms and walnuts.
- Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and starts to colour on the edge.
- As soon as pizza comes out of the oven, sprinkle arugula leaves, shredded radicchio and parmesan shavings.
- Enjoy!
Wow great pizza party and great looking veggie pizzas. I do to love broccoli so I think there is nothing wrong with too much of it either
I have actually never made pizza in a grill although I know I should try some day I am just afraid I will burnt it bad!!
I think I’ll have to work on grilling pizza myself! One thing I can tell you is don’t have the flame too high… or you’ll end up with Pittsburgh Style pizza. Might work well on beef, but not so much on pizza crust!
I think around 350 degrees would be the way to go… I still have one crust in the freezer, I think I’ll throw it on the grill when I next crave pizza! Hopefully, I won’t ruin it…
Beautiful pictures, looks like a wonderful time! ;-/)
Glorious time, indeed! Family time is so precious to me… can never get too much of that! Glad you like the pics!
So lovely: the party, the pizza, the photos! Very nice to meet your family
Enjoy the rest of the long weekend!
Awwww, thanks Elana! It’s always such a pleasure for me to share pictures of my family… wish I could do it more often! Real happy to hear you are enjoying them! And I sure will enjoy the rest of my time off! Long week-ends are the best!
Aww, so nice to see pictures of your family! You all look like a fun family. I can’t believe you have grown (or almost grown) children. And your dog and backyard look nice too!
And um, if I were 10 – 15 years younger I’d have a major crush on your son. And realizing that I’m that much older than a high schooler is incredibly depressing. I don’t feel so old.
The pizza looks good too! And your proper grill! Oh Sonia. I have to make it to Quebec so we can grill stuff.
LOL, you are so funny, Erin! But he’s no high schooler, you know… my kids are indeed grown! They are both adults now and soon to fly off the nest! Oh, how I dread the day. My daughter is already not living with me at the moment…
And PA-LEAH-ZE… YOU? OLD? Come on! Now you are making ME feel old.
Definitely, you HAVE to come visit and we need to put that “proper” grill to good use. We can grill ALL SORTS of stuff… not only pork. Well, in fact, we will be grilling no pork at all! I don’t do, pork
Oh, I see. For some reason I thought they were both around 15. I have no idea why I thought that but when I saw the pictures, I thought, “Oooh, they’re very mature looking for their age.” Hehe. I bet you’ll get used to not having your kids around really quickly. Or maybe my parents were the only parents who were actually happy when I left!
YEAH! NO pork! Boo pork! Chicken, beef and pizza! Lots of it. It’ll be great.
Don’t forget fruits and veggies!
For some reason I just got a major craving for grilled veggies, goat cheese and honey! I think I might indulge this week-end. Think I could turn this into a pizza?
Oh, and I will miss my kids SOOOOO much when they are gone. They better visit their old mom often, AND take her to concerts and stuff!
It will definitely take me a WHILE to get used to not having them around.
Great pictures of the family. I felt like I was almost there. Pizza is the perfect way to go with that dinner.
Can one EVER go wrong with pizza? I mean, the possibilities are endless. Pretty much like music!
Glad you felt like you were right there with us Tender. That’s precisely the feel that I wanted this post to have. Would I be pushing the envelope if I added that your comment feels like music to my ear?
Thanks for dropping by, Tender. Always a pleasure!
Happy Canada Day, Sonia!
It looks like you are having a wonderful celebration… perhaps all weekend? We are celebrating quietly here in our little house in Calgary – everyone else headed to the cottage at the lake (my poor hubby is on call all weekend – I guess someone’s gotta do it- so we are enjoying our time at home). Must try that pizza tomorrow Mmmmmm…
Awwww, such a shame to be missing out on a week-end at the cottage! Especially when the weather is so nice! I don’t know about Calgary, but it’s been absolutely glorious here for the past week or so! Hope you and your hubby had a great Canada Day still! And make sure to let me know how you liked the pizza if you end up having it!
Pizza lovely – the sharing of a few hours of family time very special: thank you so much
!!
So glad you enjoyed, Eha!
Thank YOU!
Your pizza always looks incredible! No wonder it’s an event that everyone wants to be there for. I wish I could come over for pizza night
So fun seeing all your pictures!
Aww, thank you so very much Heidi, what a super nice thing to say! I’d love to have you over for pizza. In fact, I’d love to be able to have this super big back yard party with loads of healthy food and invite you all over. What a blast it would be!
And I’d have to take MILLIONS of pictures!!! 