Guest Post!!!

I am so excited for our first guest post on this blog! Amber is a stay at home mom with 2 boys. Her husband is self-employed, which has a lot of perks, but it also creates some budgeting challenges. She does her best and thrives on the simple things in life. She has always loved to cook and she absolutely loves food - She loves creating new recipes, trying new ingredients, and sampling food from around the world. What an ideal guest recipe poster on this deals blog!

There is usually a story behind every recipe I create and this one is no different. I grew up in San Diego and one of the best places there to eat is Pat & Oscars. Everything on their menu is delicious! One of my parent’s favorites is the San Diego Pizza. I had it for the first time just a couple weeks ago and loved it. But, like most food at restaurants it is really easy to re-create yourself. I rarely enjoy eating at restaurants anymore because I know that I can make food just as good, at home, for a quarter of the price. For this reason, we rarely eat out as a family. I love to make restaurant meals at home – I know exactly what’s going into it, I can tweak it exactly to my taste and we save a lot of money. I also try not to use the oven during the summer (keeps the house cooler – saves on utilities), so I made this pizza on the grill. But, if you don’t have a grill, or don’t feel that ambitious, by all means, make this in the oven – it will still be tasty. If you have never grilled a pizza before, it can be a little daunting, but I encourage you to try it. It won’t turn out perfect – you can tell by my picture that mine’s a little misshapen and a couple of edges are over done (I kinda like the rustic look so I don’t mind). But, the crust gets nicely crisp and it has a smoky flavor (and it’s pretty darn impressive – you could entertain with this one). So, enough blabbering, here’s my version of the San Diego Pizza:

Grilled San Diego Pizza

Ingredients:

1 refrigerated pizza crust (or you could make yours from scratch)

1 cup marinara sauce

8oz shredded mozzarella cheese

4oz crumbled feta cheese

1 ripe avocado

¼ small red onion, thinly sliced

1 Tbs dried basil

1 tsp garlic powder

¼ cup cornmeal

Directions:
Pre-heat grill on the lowest setting (or, if you are baking it, pre-heat the oven according to the pizza dough package directions.) Spread cornmeal onto the pizza peal – this will prevent it from sticking. If you don’t have a peal, you can use a baking sheet that doesn’t have any edges. Open the pizza dough and spread onto peal (or pan). Sprinkle the dough with garlic powder.

Once the dough is on the grill, it will cook quickly so you need to have all of the other ingredients ready to go. Open the jar of marinara sauce and get a spoon to spread it onto the dough. Open the feta cheese. Slice the red onion. Cut open the avocado, remove the pit and slice the avocado in the skin. Have a spoon ready to scoop it out. Once everything is assembled, go to the grill.

Slide the dough onto the grill. Close the lid and allow it to cook for about 2 minutes. Once it is starting to brown on the bottom, slide the peal (or the pan) under the dough. Flip the dough back onto the grill, with the other side down, and the browned side up. Turn off the grill (there will be enough residual heat to finish the pizza). Spread the sauce onto the dough. Sprinkle on the dried basil. Sprinkle on the mozzarella and feta cheese. Add the red onion. Scoop out the avocado slices and place them on the pizza. Work as quickly as you can so that there is plenty of heat left to finish the cooking (enlist a kiddo or hubby to help). Close the lid to the grill and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes – until the cheese is melted and the dough is crispy.

Slide the peal (or the pan) under the pizza. Slice into 8 slices and enjoy!

Serves 4

Now, how much did this all cost me?

Pizza dough – I used Pillsbury, $1.25 at Walmart (I didn’t have a coupon?! – why, I have no idea!)

Marinara Sauce – I used Bertolli, on sale at Smith’s for $1.67, used $1.00 coupon, total - $.67 for whole jar, used 1/3 – total $.22

Mozzarella cheese - $2.09 at Target, used $1.00 coupon plus $1/2 Target coupon – total $.59

Feta Cheese – I used Athenos Sun Dried Tomato and Basil Feta, $1.68 at Walmart, used $1.00 coupon – total $.68

Avocado - $.50 at Walmart

Red Onion - $.20 / lb at Walmart – approximate total - $.05

Basil, Garlic Powder, Cornmeal – these are pantry item that I’ve had for a while and don’t know the exact cost, but I’m approximating $1.00 which is probably high

Grand total - $4.29 for 4 servings, $1.07 / serving!

At Pat & Oscars, they charge $15.49 for this! That’s a lot of savings! Pair this with some seasonal fruits and veggies (like artichoke and strawberries) and you have a complete meal for a lot less than you’d spend at a restaurant.

If you want more yummy recipes like this, visit her blog at foodforfrugalfoodies for more recipes that she has created using ingredients that she got at a killer price. Odds are, they’re ingredients that you’ve got in your stockpile too. And we all like new recipe ideas, right? Bon Appetite!

Email me at adealstealingmom@gmail.com if you have an awesome deal recipe, a great money saving idea or an amazing shopping trip you would love to share with all the readers at a steal of a deal.