Pizza Night

When money wasn't so tight pizza night was an every week ordeal that we all looked forward too. Me because it was simple, them because, well duh, it was pizza. With these menu ideas you can keep that pizza tradition but now it is more cost effective, still simple and much more fun. There is no better way to get your kids involved in the kitchen then having a pizza (or taco night) allowing them to top their own little pizzas and you pop them in the oven. They will gobble them up because 1. they helped and 2. well duh, it is pizza :)


Stromboli this will feed 2-3 adults or 2 adults and 2-3 toddlers

Refrigerated Pizza dough
Can of tomato sauce seasoned with basil and oregano (if using this add a tad of garlic salt to the sauce before using) or favorite marinara
Cheese (mozzarella)
and your favorite pizza toppings Pepperoni is the most popular here but I like mine with lots of veggies and sometimes bacon (cook and crumble the bacon first).

Roll your dough out and spread the marinara on the dough leaving one inch on each side spread your cheese and toppings on half the dough leaving one inch on the sides, fold the dough half with only marinara over the half with toppings pinch edges shut. Grease a cookie sheet and set Stromboli on the pan, prick holes in the top for steam to escape and bake on 350 for 15-25 minutes

Mini Pizza
One can of mini biscuits
Marinara sauce
Cheese (and any other toppings)

Flatten the biscuits with a rolling pin add marinara, cheese and toppings and cook according to can instructions, watch them closely because the time may be 2-3 minutes less than suggested.


Pizza bites
One can of crescent roll dough
Marinara sauce
cheese and any other toppings you like, I find that the diced pepperoni or ham work best in these

Before rolling your crescent rolls according to the package directions add your sauce, cheese and toppings to the widest end, roll, bake according to the package instructions

Calzone

1 loaf of frozen bread (double to feed 4-5 people, 1 loaf is enough for 2 adults and 2 (picky) toddlers)
1/2 lb of your favorite meats (deli meats such as ham, salami or pepperoni work best)
about a half a cup of marinara sauce
Shredded cheese

Roll loaf out until it is about 8" by 12"
Layer the meat down center (length wise 12" side)
Top with cheese
Fold in the two short sides about a half an inch
Roll (so that the roll is the size of you long side)
Bake, seam side down on a greased baking sheet @ 375° for 20 minutes or until browned
You should get 8 pieces per roll, serve with the warmed marinara sauce

*tip When adding these items to your menu you can purchase cheap spaghetti sauce for $1 or less (store brand) Freeze into 1/2 cup containers so that you don't waste it and it is always there for a quick meal.

Dutch baby with fruit for under $4

This is a great Sunday morning food. It is super cheap and so so easy, I had forgotten about this little dish until I saw it on Food network the other day.

If you are familiar with popovers then this will look super similar.

The best thing about these are you can make them your own. Top them with whatever you want. Fruit and Powdered sugar are my favorite toppers.

We have a nice little strawberry patch out back and Strawberries make the perfect topper. Blueberries are another fave with a bit of lemon zest but sometimes blueberries can be expensive!

The rule to this little beauty is 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of milk for each egg.

So here is what I do.

First make sure your pan is cast Iron OR Oven safe!

3TBS butter (.25)
3 Eggs (room temp) (.30)
3/4 cup whole milk (room temp) (.25)
3/4 cup flour (.14)
Heaping (and I mean heaping, don't be shy now) TBS of sugar (negligible)
2 tsp of Vanilla I eye ball it (you will find I am famous for "eyeballing") (.25-.50 depending on your vanilla quality/cost)
a pinch of Kosher salt (I always use kosher or sea salt but a pinch of table salt is fine as well)(negligible)
Fruit of your choice (assuming it is out of season we will say 2.00 a pint for berries)
Lemon (.33)
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat your oven to 400°

Place your butter in your skillet on medium- med/low heat (or stick it in your preheating oven) to melt the butter in the pan. This will grease your pan and melt the butter to be placed in your dutch baby batter. Now you can do this by hand if you want to but if you want to do it the easy way, pull that blender out (or food processor) Add everything but the butter and blend on medium speed until uniform. (if mixing by hand combine your milk and eggs first then add your other ingredients making sure to mix out all the lumps) Now grab that butter, swirl it around in the pan to coat it all and then pour into your batter, whisk to combine. Pour mixture into the pan and place in oven. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until puffy in the middle and golden brown around the edges.

While it is cooking prepare your fruit. You can use any fruit blueberries, strawberries, apples (baked), peaches.. Whatever is in season and that will cut your cost immensely. With berries, zest the lemon and add half the juice to the berries sprinkle with a tad of sugar. When it is done, pull it out of the oven and dust it with powdered sugar, cut into pizza like slices and top with the fruit of your choice. The possibilities are endless and the reward is, well so sweet.

You can change up the dutch baby by changing your extract, try lemon extract topped with blueberries, or maple extract topped with baked apples, or even with chopped nuts and drizzled with caramel. Don't like fresh fruit? Top it with some nutella or just some pancake syrup.

Want something more savory? use maple extract and serve with sausage patties!

You won't be disappointed and neither will your family!

I will be making this twice this week so be sure to check back and see the pictures of this baby!!