We know what you鈥檙e thinking: If popping a frozen pizza in the oven comes out perfect every time, why mess with it? We get that point of view, practical one, but what about on those summer nights when you鈥檙e longing to spend as much time as possible outside? Maybe your kids are playing ball in the backyard, or you鈥檝e got a few friends gathered around on your deck. The last place you want to be is next to a hot oven waiting for the pizza timer to go off.

Those summer evenings basically beg you to fire up the grill and cook al fresco so you can soak up every last ounce of the day. Burgers or hot dogs are an obvious menu choice, but by the seventeenth burger of summer in just as many days, things can get a little stale. So we present to you a novel idea to help you get unstuck from your grilling routine: Home Run Inn pizza on the grill. (Yes, we went there.)

Simply slide the frozen pizza directly onto the grates of a preheated gas grill that鈥檚 set to medium-low heat. Or, for indirect heat to prevent burning on the bottom of the pizza crust, light the outside burners to medium and leave the middle ones off.

After six to 16 minutes of cooking with the grill closed (check out this post for details on exactly how long based on your pizza of choice), turn the 鈥榸a about 90 degrees. Close the grill cover, and continue cooking for another six to 16 minutes (again, consult that post for specific timing instructions).

If you keep your grill in pristine condition and are worried about shreds of cheese falling into the middle, you can use a ceramic pizza stone as a buffer between the grates and the dough. Just make sure you set the stone in the grill during the preheating process so it鈥檚 super hot by the time you slide the pizza onto it.

Use a food thermometer to test the pizza鈥檚 temp to know when it鈥檚 done. Once you see 160 degrees Fahrenheit, you鈥檙e golden. Slide the pizza off the grill using a spatula (or two) and serve it up to your friends, who will now likely be entering you into grilling competitions behind your back.

Full disclosure: Your first run might not be so pretty. Grilling pizza involves a little trial and error since every grill heats up a bit differently. But we promise you it鈥檒l be the tastiest of experiments, and you鈥檒l come to see grill marks on a pizza as a badge of honor.

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Nothing says award season like red carpet fashion watching with friends and casting your own ballot for the winners. Whether you are a music fan or a movie buff, we can all agree that no award watching party is complete without an award-winning lineup of food. Here are some of our picks for our favorite appetizers that are sure to wow your audience.

Pizza Records or Mix Tapes

Turn your favorite pizza into a record. We think this is best done in small bites (so if you have a full size pizza get out a circle shaped cookie cutter). Put a pepperoni in the middle and surround the outside of the pizza circle with black olives. You can also do a mix tape by cutting the pizza into rectangles and putting two black olives for the tape deck part. Don鈥檛 like black olives? Get creative and craft your own greatest hits.

Home Run Inn makes six-inch round pizzas that would be perfect to use as well. Each guest could start with the basic olives and pepperoni (or even a tomato for the larger pie) and add their own toppings. You could even do a contest for best album.

Flavored Popcorns 

Nothing says award shows like a bowl of freshly popped popcorn! Instead of going the butter and salt route, get creative. Make ranch popcorn by mixing melted butter with a packet of ranch seasoning and pour over the popcorn. Make trail mix popcorn by adding in M & Ms, pretzels and peanuts.  Add a little parmesan cheese and truffle salt for some umami. The possibilities are endless.

Themed Pizzas

Have fun with the evening by creating pizzas that work well with the movies or albums that are nominated. Make a 鈥�24K magic鈥� pizza by adding truffles and other decadent ingredients to your pie. Channel your inner Despacito by creating a restaurant inspired 鈥榸a full of your favorite ingredients likeplum tomatoes, spinach, garlic and more.

Although we don鈥檛 know who will get the Oscar nod yet, why not pick your favorite classic Oscar winners to create pizzas after. A dessert pizza for Forrest Gump? A Chicago-style pizza for Chicago? A BBQ chicken pizza for Birdman? Endless possibilities.

Don鈥檛 forget the dessert

No party is complete without something sweet. If you aren鈥檛 a baker, some easy and impressive desserts are just a chocolate dip away! Chocolate-dipped pretzels are the perfect combination of sweet and salty, and after you dip the pretzel rod in chocolate you can add on edible glitter or star sprinkles. Oreo cookies and strawberries are other fun dippers. You can even make the strawberries look like tuxedos.

If you are looking to do something a bit more adventurous, these  would be the perfect addition to any Grammy鈥檚 party!

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But that doesn鈥檛 mean you need to quit pizza altogether (phew!). Just lighten up your pie. Here are six tricks that鈥檒l help you stick to your resolution and get your pizza fix, too.

Go Veg

Sorry, meat lovers. If slimming down is a priority, you鈥檒l have to halt your carnivore tendencies. Focus instead on adding some green to your pizzas. You鈥檝e got two options: Build your own pizza with your favorite veggie toppings, or take the guesswork out of the equation and order one of the meat-free pies we鈥檝e put together for you (like the Strictly Veggie). Vegetable toppings amp up the flavor for a fraction of the calories of meat toppings like pepperoni or sausage.

Rethink your meat

If pizza without meat is unthinkable, do your waistline a solid and switch up the meat you pile on. Instead of dark meat like bacon, sausage, or pepperoni, choose chicken or turkey sausage. Both deliver the meatiness you鈥檙e craving minus the extra calories and saturated fat content.

THINK THIN

Not to throw shade at deep dish, but here鈥檚 the thing: All that extra dough equals more calories. So if cutting calories is on your mind, swap your usual deep-dish order for thin crust. And if you鈥檙e really getting after your resolution, go for ultra thin crust, which has nearly half the calories of our traditional thin crust.

Embrace the cauliflower crust

For an even healthier crust that鈥檒l appease the gluten-free crowd, jump on the cauliflower pizza crust bandwagon. Make one at home (we like ), and dress it up with the toppings of your choice.

pay attention to portion size

: The best diet for you is the one you can stick to in the long run. For many of us, that means eating the foods we love in moderation. Sticking to a couple of slices is easier said than done though, right? Here鈥檚 the fix: Fight the urge to dive straight into the pizza box. Instead, leave it in the kitchen and portion out a couple of slices on your plate. And then take a minute to think about if you really need seconds鈥�

choose some healthy sides

That slice limit will be easier to stick to if you have other options to fill your plate. Add a salad鈥攍ike the Kale or Harvest Salad鈥攐r our vegetable-packed Minestrone Soup to round out your order. Pizza鈥檚 still the star of your plate, but you鈥檒l have other nutritious foods to fill up on first.

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You want pizza for dinner tonight, that much is for sure. But don鈥檛 let the infinite number of topping combinations kill your momentum. We put together an infographic to help you pinpoint exactly what you鈥檙e craving. Run through the below, and just like that, your dinner dilemma will be solved. Bon appetit! 

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There鈥檚 a reason so many people ditch their New Year鈥檚 resolutions before February rolls around. They focus them on taking something away, like eating less junk food or trading in Saturdays on the couch for Saturday morning boot camp classes. That sounds like torture to us. So we鈥檙e taking a different approach to the yearlong goals and loading up on what we love the most. Which is pizza. Care to join us? Here are 11 resolutions to adopt to make 2017 the best鈥攁nd most delicious鈥攅ver.

1. Don鈥檛 deprive yourself. Give the body what it wants.

2. Learn how to appreciate the little things, like spending a minute (OK, 10 seconds) taking in the magic of ooey, gooey cheese on top of your slice before digging into your first bite.

3. Express yourself. Sharing emotions is hard, but this sentiment shows your love in a way any red-blooded human will understand.

4. Find a way to make exercise fun. It鈥檚 about balance, people.

5. Embrace the art of compromise. It鈥檒l come in handy when faced with the age-old problem when your friend is craving pepperoni and you want cheese.

6. Celebrate the little wins in life (like when free pizza shows up in the office).

7. Come up with a signature pizza-euphoria dance. People will find this kind of joy infectious.

8. Consider portion control if you also made it a goal to drop a few pounds in 2017.

9. Don鈥檛 be afraid to ask life鈥檚 big questions.

10. Finally find a job that you鈥檙e passionate about.

11. Eat more pizza. Something tells us this is one resolution you鈥檒l be able to stick to鈥�

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Did you know that pizza is one of the most photographed food on Instagram? We wanted to create that drool-worthy image, so we reached out to our friend and Instagram influencer, Betsy Kennedy, to give us her expert tips. Take it away Betsy!

We all take photos of our food, but doing it well is a skill that takes practice and know-how. Fortunately, taking photos of your food doesn鈥檛 have to be intimating and you don鈥檛 need to spend last week鈥檚 paycheck on photography gear. Nail down these five rules and you鈥檒l be a pro by dinnertime.

1. Find natural light. Lighting can be tricky. Balance the exposure of your photo by shooting outside or near a window. My favorite place to shoot is the deep windowsill in my living room around 6pm. The white paint on the window and walls reflect the light perfectly and the sun is just starting to set so I don鈥檛 end up with an overexposed photo. If your windows are getting too much direct sunlight, try hanging a white sheet over it to add some depth to your shot.

2. Stage your photo. Props like silverware, your girlfriend鈥檚 hand, or the crumbs that just fell on the table can bring a natural charm to your photo. When staging, keep it casual. A perfectly positioned napkin can translate as stuffy. Don鈥檛 panic when a bit of sauce dribbles off the plate. A 鈥渞eal life鈥� scene that isn鈥檛 perfectly perfect creates a natural movement and tells a story.

3. Take photos with your iPhone. Bon App茅tit just shot their latest issue with iPhones; if they can do it, so can you! No need to lug your big ol鈥� fancy camera around all day. The camera on your phone has a bunch of magical settings and edit options, plus it doesn鈥檛 weigh a gazillion pounds. If you鈥檙e planning on posting your pictures on Instagram, take the photos in the square frame setting in your camera. That way, there is no need for extra cropping during the editing process so the photo will look more natural.

4. Spray away! When you鈥檙e taking photos of fresh produce like berries or leafy greens, give them a little spritz of water. Any fine mist spray bottle will do. The added moisture can liven up your shot, bringing dull lifeless-looking produce to life, giving them a vibrant dewiness that says fresh.

5. Keep an eye on the clock. It鈥檚 easy to get lost in that one shot that you鈥檙e trying to capture just right. Remember that some plates are more time-sensitive than others. Ice cream is a ticking time bomb; you鈥檝e got to make moves. If you want to shoot a pepperoni pizza cheese pull, you鈥檝e got to do it while it鈥檚 hot. Other dishes like cookies or salad can wait.

You can follow me on  to stay up to date on my latest adventures!
Thanks Betsy for sharing your photography knowledge with us! Amazing that all it can take is just 5 easy steps to shoot the image that makes all your followers drool. I know we鈥檙e hungry right now鈥re you? Find a pizzeria or frozen pizza near you!
Be sure to follow Home Run Inn on ,  and  for more delicious food photography, news, and specials!

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Valentine鈥檚 Day is coming up! Here are some quick easy recipes to warm even the coldest heart.
Whole Lotta Heart
Ingredients:
–One Home Run Inn Cheese Pizza
-Pepperoni
-Small Heart Shaped Cookie Cutter
Directions:
-Set oven to 450 degrees. Begin by cutting the pepperonis into little hearts using your cookie cutter. Place pepperonis on top of the Home Run Inn cheese pizza. Bake according to instructions till crust is golden brown.

One Pizza your Heart
Ingredients:
-One Home Run Inn Classic Cheese Pizza
-Pepperoni
Directions:
Set oven to 450 degrees. Begin by placing the pepperonis into one heart on top of the Home Run Inn cheese pizza. Bake according to instructions till crust is golden brown.
Share our Heart with your Love
Come pick up one of our heart shaped pizzas today through February 14th for just $12.99! If you鈥檙e dining in, you can also enjoy 1/2 priced bottle of wine* to really round out a romantic evening. Order Online for a quick pick up or get delivery at our Chicago Lakeview location! Use Code: VD16.
Whether you鈥檒l be making your own heart HRI pizza or picking up one from our pizzerias, we hope that you share your love with all your Valentines this year!
Looking to spice up your HRI pizzas? You can find more of our recipes here.
Happy Valentine鈥檚 Day everyone!!
*1/2 Wine Promotion available at all pizzerias except our Melrose Park location.

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Our blog post today is brought to you by our friend Chris, creator of the deliciously creative Instagram account, . She will give advice on how to make your child鈥檚 lunch not only fun to make but fun to eat!

With another school year fast approaching, it鈥檚 time to start thinking about packed lunches again. It鈥檚 easy to fall into a lunch rut with the same five things showing up in your kids鈥� lunchbox over and over. But it doesn鈥檛 have to be that way! Everyone鈥檚 lunch-packing style (and kids) are different, but pizza is a pretty universal favorite.
I live on the west coast, so there aren鈥檛 any Home Run Inn pizza restaurants close to me, but I do buy the frozen pizzas. I like that I recognize every ingredient used in the pizza鈥� and that it鈥檚 delicious! My daughter loves the pepperoni pizza, so that鈥檚 the one we get the most.
My daughter is four and I have been packing her lunches since she started preschool two years ago. This year I started posting her lunches to Instagram and in looking over the last hundred or so lunches, I realized that my philosophy on lunches is pretty simple: provide fruit, veggies, protein, mostly whole grains, dairy and fun! I also like to keep highly processed foods and sugar to a minimum. And since I also work full-time, it has to be something that I can put together quickly.
There are lots of great lunch boxes out there, but our favorite is Planetbox. Just pop open the lid and all your food is right there in front of you separated into compartments. Aside from being very environmentally-friendly, it also helps out the teachers at my daughter鈥檚 school since they don鈥檛 have to go around opening a hundred little packages.
Now, my daughter LOVES pizza. And fortunately, for me, there is no reason why pizza can鈥檛 be part of a nutritionally complete and healthy lunch. Home Run Inn is the only frozen pizza I will pack for her because she loves it and I love that it鈥檚 not highly processed and full of chemicals and food-like products.
So here鈥檚 how I incorporate pizza into a healthy lunch鈥 take full advantage of summer produce, so you will see lots of berries packed for lunch this time of year. Since we are working on acquiring a taste for salad, I tend to pack another form of veggies, just to make sure she鈥檚 getting some sort of veggie. In this case it鈥檚 veggie chips with taro, batata, parsnip, sweet potato, and yuca. These are not homemade, but aside from the veggies, the only other ingredients are sunflower oil and salt.
This lunch provides good variety and includes carbs for energy, fat to help absorb all those nutrients from the fruits and veggies, and protein to help keep her satiated through the day. It鈥檚 colorful, has tons of variety, and includes yummy pizza! I always pack lunches in the evening and in the morning, I put the cold lunchbox into an insulated carrying case where it stays cool for a couple of hours. By lunch time, the pizza has just come to room temperature- just how she likes it!
For more lunch ideas, you can find me on Instagram () where I have over a hundred unique lunches posted. Happy lunch packing.

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Looking for simple ways to make sure your Super Bowl party is a hit? Keep reading鈥�
Make Home Run Inn pizza the appetizer your guests won鈥檛 stop talking about.
1) Go back to our tavern roots, and cut them in squares and serve 鈥榚m up! Back in 1947 we used to serve our pizza squares as bite size appetizers to keep guest drinking. Soon after that patrons starting coming back for the pizza instead of the beer. Have your guests coming back for more, with our squares!
2) If you prefer sticks to squares, then trying cutting up your pizza into thin sticks. You can provide some dipping sauces such as hot sauce, ranch or parmesan spread for guest to enjoy. (Photo courtesy of聽)
Make Home Run Inn the Hail Mary!
3) Using our 6 inch pizzas, create a pizza bar! Guest can customize their pizza with a variety of topping choices, such as bacon bits, spinach, onion, sausage, whatever your little pizza loving heart desires. Microwave the pizzas to make cooking as quick as a flash!
4) Create a Football Pizza Masterpiece with the recipe below.
Ingredients:
-12 inch Ultra Thin or Classic Cheese 老司机app
-1 to 2 cups of spinach wilted in olive oil
-Mini pepperonis to make football and goal
-Mozzarella cheese sticks
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake pizza as directed. While pizza is baking, saut茅 spinach in a pan with olive oil until wilted. On the cooked pizza, place the spinach as to form the 鈥済rass鈥� then place the pepperonis to form the football and goal post. Add the mozzarella cheese to create the laces of the football. Can place bake in oven for 3 minutes to lightly melt the cheese.
And your masterpiece is complete!
Let us do all the work!
5) Home Run Inn catering can do all the work to ensure a stress free zone in your kitchen February 1^st! Check out our Catering Menu
Either way, with Home Run Inn at your Super Bowl party you just can鈥檛 lose!
What are some of your Big Game traditions? Share them with us below.

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