Green Egg and…Pizza

Some of the most delicious pizza I’ve had was homemade on Friday night and prepared on the Big Green Egg.  I made a batch of marinara from scratch and we took it to our friend’s place (where the Egg is nestled) and made four different, delicious pizzas.  We used premade, refrigerated dough and layered  on the toppings.  The Egg was a hot 550 degrees and each pizza cooked for about 7-8 minutes.  The first pizza was all cheese (and turned into a calzone — working with dough can be tricky!)  One was a “white” with blackened chicken, mozzerella, red onions, banana peppers and sun-dried tomatoes.  Another had roughly chopped salami, green onions and fontina cheese and the last concoction had a little of everything.  The crust came out thin and crispy with a nice smoky flavor.  I can’t wait for the next pizza party!

White Pizza on the Egg

This Meatloaf would do anything for Love

We enjoyed this comfort food on a cold, rainy night.  Jim claims this was the best meatloaf he’s ever had in his life.  You decide.

The final product: served with roasted veggies and potatoes

Sun-dried Tomato Meatloaf with Mushroom Gravy

• 1 small onion
• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained (save the oil)
• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 egg
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• Handful of button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup beef stock (made with 1 cup water and 1 bullion cube)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• ½ cup of water

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Put water on the stove to boil, add bullion once the water is boiling and take off heat.  Saute the onion, on low heat, in the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes until onions are clear, about 8 minutes. 

In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, tomatoes, sautéed onions, egg, garlic, breadcrumbs and half of the sliced mushrooms (save the other half for the gravy).  Freeform the meat into a loaf in a roasting pan, then pour beef stock into the bottom of the pan.  Cook meatloaf for 1.5 hours, basting regularly.

Once meat is cooked, remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes.  Move meatloaf to a platter and put the roasting pan on the stove over medium, high heat.  Mix two tablespoons of flour with water, then whisk into juices in the roasting pan.  Add mushrooms and stir until the liquid starts to simmer.  Once simmering, add milk and stir until you have a rich gravy for your meatloaf!

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