Friday Night Pizza

Lately I've heard of several families who have pizza every Friday night, and I always think, every Friday? Don't they get tired of it? Well, I'm not on a strict pizza schedule yet, but my husband asked me to make more of the kids' favorite meals so we've definitely had it more often than usual. Check out how I cut the pizza in a rectangular cookie sheet so they look like slices from a round pizza. Which of course makes a difference for kids.

Tonight we had to be somewhere at 6:30, so I made pizza in order to have a portable meal. With baby carrots and steamed broccoli it was much healthier than the other option--fast food. I use some whole wheat in the crust (I've experimented with more and it just makes the crust too heavy and the flavor not bad, but not like pizza.), and we steer clear of greasy toppings. I love piling on the veggies, but if I do that I'm the only one eating it. (I still do sometimes.) I just use canned pizza sauce (and freeze in a ziploc bag what I don't use) so it is a pretty simple meal, as long as I start early enough for the dough to rise.

1/2 T. yeast

1 1/4 c. warm water

1/2 t. salt

1 c. whole wheat flour

2 c. flour

Let the yeast dissolve in the warm (not hot) water. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead them for a few minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and oil the outside with olive oil. Cover and let rise for one hour. Punch it down. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray, sprinkle with a little cornmeal (don't worry about making an even layer, it gets spread out when you press the dough into the pan). Stretch and press the dough into the pan with your hands. Add sauce and toppings to taste. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes on the bottom rack.

Ratings:

Me: I try not to eat too much cheese because it is high in saturated fat, but it just tastes so good. I just tried to balance it out by eating a lot of broccoli.

Hubby: He liked the pizza and ate some carrots, but said the broccoli was stinky.

5YO: Was very excited, ate two pieces, and carrots.

4YO: Same as big brother.

1YO: Chewing is an issue, so he couldn't eat much pizza, but he also ate broccoli with me.