We are finally settled into our new home and we couldn’t be happier! It feels so good to be in our own space again after renting for a year. Now that it’s summertime, we are taking full advantage of the pool, the beach, the boat, and, of course, the grill.

We find ourselves grilling dinner a few times a week. It’s just too easy to fire it up while the kids are in the pool and let them swim until dinner time.

I recently made a grilled summer veggie pizza based on a recipe from the cookbook of one of my favorite bloggers. The Pretty Dish is by Jessica of How Sweet Eats and it’s chock full of drool-worthy recipes and beauty DIYs that are so cool! I’m part of a book club dedicated to the cookbook on Facebook and we are cooking our way through the book.

Back to the pizza! Jessica’s original recipe calls for a homemade dough and roasted kale…on a pizza…holy yum! I flat out forgot kale when I was at the grocery store, but decided sauteed zucchini would make for a perfectly delicious and summery substitute.

The creamy ricotta mixture paired with the bright summer veggies (corn, tomato, and basil, oh my!!) was so delicious! To make this pizza even more summery, we threw it on the grill for a few minutes and it had a perfect charred crust.

I will be making this again for sure! It would be great with a swirl of pesto in the ricotta, as well. I love a veggie pizza, but if you can’t live without meat (ahem, my husband) throw some grilled chicken on!

Grilled Summer Veggie Pizza
(Based on Summer Garden Pizza from The Pretty Dish)

1 large pre-made pizza crust (or homemade if that’s your thing)
2 medium zucchini, washed and sliced into half circles
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
1 tsp. garlic salt
8 oz grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
2 ears fresh corn, cut off the cobb
fresh basil

1. Preheat grill to 450 degrees. Place pizza stone or pan on grill while it preheats (we have one similar to this for the grill).

2. While grill preheats, heat up a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, then zucchini slices. Cook until they begin to soften (you still want a little bite), about 6-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. This can easily be done ahead of time, too.

3. Brush pizza crust with remaining tbsp. of olive oil. In a small bowl, stir the Parmesan and garlic salt into ricotta, then spread mixture over crust and sprinkle on half the mozzarella. Add tomatoes, zucchini, and corn. Add remaining mozzarella.

4. Grill pizza over indirect heat for about 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

5. Allow pizza to cool just a few minutes, then sprinkle with sliced basil, cut, and serve!

I swear we were just watching the ball drop at midnight and now Valentine’s Day is next week! Both of my big kids have class parties next week so I’ve been playing around with festive, yet EASY kid-pleasing treats.

These Valentine candy stuffed brownies couldn’t be easier but are so fun and festive! I used a box of brownie mix, two kinds of Valentine candy, a drizzle of pink chocolate, and voila! A perfectly sweet treat!

I stuffed these with Reese’s hearts and peanut butter M&Ms, but feel free to use whatever you like. We are peanut butter fanatics over here!

Valentine Candy Stuffed Brownie Hearts

1 box brownie mix plus ingredients called for on package (usually eggs, oil, and water)
2 cups chocolate candy, chopped (Reese’s, Snickers, Butterfingers, M&Ms, etc.)
1 package white almond bark such as THIS
Red or pink food coloring

1. Preheat oven according to brownie package directions. Line a 9×13 casserole dish with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
2. Prepare brownie batter as directed. Once batter is ready, stir in two cups of candy. I did a mixture of chopped Reese’s and M&Ms.
3. Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake according to package. I baked mine for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool COMPLETELY.
4. Once brownies have cooled, carefully remove entire pan onto a cutting board. The parchment paper should make it easy to remove all the brownies in one big rectangle.
6. Use a cookie cutter to cut out heart shapes. Eat the scraps or crumble on top of ice cream. And drizzle with melted peanut butter.
7. Melt almond bark according to directions. Once melted, squeeze in food coloring until it’s reached your desired shade of red or pink. Drizzle over brownie hearts. Once the almond bark has solidified, enjoy!