We actually started pizza night for me originally. It was at a time when I was really struggling in finding direction in my life. I only had one child and as we sat and waited for the next one to come with a few failed attempts I started to get discouraged and wondered what my purpose was except to have children. I needed something to occupy my mind and my time besides thinking about all of the babies that I wanted. I spent a lot of my time researching and finding new recipes, shopping for the ingredients, and making it with the people I loved so much.
Although finding things to occupy my time is NOT a problem for me anymore with three kids, pizza night reminds me of that difficult time and how I found a way to focus on things that I could control instead of those that I could not. It's a tradition that probably won't ever die in our family but will just change with time. The latest discovery being how easy it is to make knock off "Wingers" wings to go with that pizza (Shad's specialty).
I love the versatility of pizza. You really can put anything on pizza. I also found an awesome pizza dough recipe that makes it way easy. I love this recipe because you can actually make the dough a night or even days in advance and stick it in the fridge. It actually makes it better. We tried a lot of different dough recipes in the beginning and this one just couldn't be beat.
Here are a few tips that we found in making pizza if you want to try it yourself:
1. ALWAYS use a pizza stone. You just have to. It is not the same if you don't.
2. Heat your oven to 475-500 degrees with the pizza stone in the oven for up to an hour. You want the sucker good and hot so it cooks the crust quickly and lightly melts the cheese. The toppings don't need to be "cooked" anyway.
3. Use a pizza peel, or something like it, to pull the pizzas in and out of the oven. We were too cheap to buy one until just 6 months ago and were using two pieces of masonite board Shad had wrapped in wax paper along with some big spatulas. I wish I would have taken a picture of us using it before we got rid of it because it was pretty hilarious. We are pretty awesome at "jimmy rigging." If you plan on making pizza a lot, buy a peel. We use a thin metal one like this one. It does the job and more.
4. Cornmeal is your best friend. You must use cornmeal on the underside of your pizza before you put the toppings on or it won't be sliding off of that peel onto the pizza stone. Test it out and make sure it slides easily before you put the toppings on. There is nothing worse than making a pretty pizza and having it destroyed as you try to put it in the oven because you didn't put enough cornmeal. The cornmeal also helps to give the crust a little "crunch," for lack of a better word.
5. My dough recipe only takes 9-10 minutes in a hot oven to bake. Watch your pizza carefully.
6. Only use mozzarella cheese. I grew up with cheddar cheese pizza. I never loved homemade pizza. Now I know it was mostly the cheese that was the problem.
7. When the pizza comes out, take a stick of butter and rub it all over the crust and sprinkle powdered parmesan cheese or this yummy mixture. You will thank me when you get to the end of your pizza.
8. Try making your own pizza sauce on the spot. Shad has mastered this. He throws a combination of fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian spices, and fresh garlic into the food processor and "WALA!" Enough sauce for one pizza!
9. Having a double oven is awesome. That is all.
10. Don't be afraid to try new combinations but also make a pepperoni pizza every time for back up. Most of the time our kids aren't as adventurous as us.
Here are a few recipes that we have tried in the past. Some have made it to the table more than others but I can say that there really wasn't one that we absolutely hated. The kids even liked most of them.
You'll have to forgive me on the pictures. I am usually so anxious to eat when the pizza comes out that I have a hard time getting a good picture or really a picture at all sometimes. Most of these pictures were taken years ago. We are due to try a few more pizzas here soon. Shad said he is getting tired of these combinations.
CPK Jamaican Jerk Chicken Pizza
Somewhere online
This one is still one of my favorites. The spicy chicken with the sweet sauce base and touches of roasted peppers just makes it awesome.
You can go all crazy and look up a Jamaican Jerk sauce for the base or you can just buy this:
It is pretty amazing stuff. The first time we made this I was at the store in search of all of the ingredients to make the sauce and this was sitting on the shelf for about $5. Totally worth it. I'm always about taking the easy way out. Makes this pizza a winner for me every week. It's also great on chicken and other things too. If you are only using it for this pizza it lasts a long time when you are only using 1/2-1 cup each time.
Anyway, that is the base for the pizza. Just pour it right on the crust right out of the bottle.
Toppings:
- 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast- pounded thin
- 2 tsp. Jerk seasoning (McCormick makes this but you can also just put your own combination of spicy spices like cayenne, paprika, chill power, etc. The key is that the chicken is SPICY)
*Rub the jerk seasoning all over the chicken and grill or pan fry. I stick it on my little George Forman
- 1/4 cup thin sliced yellow onion
- 1/3 cup roasted red/yellow peppers (I do my own. If you don't know how here is a great tutorial)
- 1/4 cup crispy bacon
- 1 T. green onions
- Mozzarella Cheese
CPK BBQ Chicken Pizza
Food.com
- Chicken Breast, cooked and cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (any variety)
- Mozzarella Cheese
- 2 T. chopped, fresh cilantro
- 2 T. smoked gouda cheese (we've never used this. I could never find it at the grocery store)
- 1/4 red onion, sliced thin (I usually use yellow since I have that on hand)
Coat chicken in 2T. BBQ sauce. Spread the rest on the base of pizza. Top with remaining toppings, except for the cilantro which is added after baking.
BLT Pizza
Family Fun Magazine
- 9 strips bacon
- 2 T. Dijon mustard
- 4 oz Mozz cheese
- 2 oz Parm cheese (or just use all Mozz)
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1/2 T. lemon juice
- 1 T. Mayonnaise (kraft "spicy Mayo" is pretty amazing)
- 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Cups finely shredded romaine lettuce
- Avocado, sliced (optional)
Top pizza with Dijon mustard, then cheese, tomatoes, and bacon. Bake. Mix lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and romaine lettuce. Cool pizza 5 minutes then top with lettuce mixture and sliced avocado.
Ultimate California Moon Doggie Pizza
Food.com
- 1/4 cup pesto sauce
- 6 oz grilled chicken breast
- 1 jar marinated artichoke hearts (or 1/2 can)
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- Mozzarella Cheese
Top pizza with pesto sauce, cheese, chopped artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, and sliced chicken breast. Bake.
CPK Thai Chicken Pizza
Food.com
We have only made this one once and it was a long time ago so I don't remember it too well except for that it was kind of different. We have been thinking of making it again soon.
*This makes 2 bigger pizzas
Spicy peanut sauce (base)
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce (great for lettuce wraps too!)
- 1 T. honey
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp minced ginger (or more if you wish)
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 2 T. toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp Vietnamese chili sauce (or dried chili flakes)
- 1 T. oyster sauce
- 2 T. water
Toppings:
- 10 oz cooked chicken breast- cut into cubes
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 4 scallions, slivered diagonally
- 1/2 cup white bean sprouts
- 1/4 cup shredded carrot
- 2 T. chopped roasted peanuts
- 2 T. chopped fresh cilantro
- *We also added mushrooms
Directions:
Combine sauce ingredients in a small pan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to boil; boil gently for one minute. Divide into 2 portions for use on chicken and pizza; set aside. Coat the chicken with 1/4 cup sauce. Set aside in refrigerator. Spread sauce over pizza. Cover with cheese, green onions, bean sprouts, carrots, chicken, and peanuts. Transfer to oven and bake. Sprinkle cilantro on top after removed from oven.
Greek Pizza
allrecipes.com
This one wasn't my favorite. Shad seemed to like it better than I did. I couldn't get over the mayonnaise base. If you wanted to I bet you could substitute Greek yogurt, but I have never tried.
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 1 T. oil from the sun dried tomatoes
- 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped (we used black olives)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
- 1/2 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
Mix mayonnaise, garlic, and 1/2 cup feta in a small bowl. Spread mixture over pizza, then top with tomatoes, olives, and oregano. Bake. Toss spinach and onion with the 1 Tb. sun-dried tomato oil. Top hot pizza with spinach mixture and remaining 1/2 cup feta cheese. Return to oven and bake until cheese melts about 2 minutes longer.
Alfredo Pizza
myself
This is one that I have been making long before we started having regular pizza nights at our house. We really liked alfredo so I made a pizza with all of the fixin's on it. Recently Shad made a version of this and used an alfredo packet but added extra sauteed garlic to it and thickened it a little more. It was very yummy.
- 1/2 cup Alfredo sauce (make your own, canned, or from a packet. I prefer packets. They make about a cup of sauce and they only cost $.33)
- grilled chicken
- olives
- tomatoes
- mushrooms
- Mozzarella cheese
- spinach (optional)
- bacon (optional)
- Italian seasoning
Spread the alfredo sauce as your base. Sprinkle with cheese and toppings. Bake.
