Pizza Partay

As of lately I have been looking for ways to be more frugal.  I would consider it recovering from a pretty intense spending problem in my high school and college years( another blog for another day)  Anywho, it turns out eating out costs a lot more than eating in.  Like A LOT.  Thanks to my friends of the small child variety, we rarely are up to the task of going to eat at a restaurant regardless of the cost.  Our table ends up looking like a crayon and puff war zone.   

Luckily, my mom is always good at making routine activities a little more exciting.  She suggested creating a fun night making homemade pizza.  

I was little leery of this at first being that I consider myself a bit of a pizza snob.  I was raised in a town that is home of undoubtedly the best pizza place on the planet.  Some might disagree but all of my Jersey readers are now nodding their head and probably drooling at the mere mention of the one and only Sam's Pizza.  It's not fancy but it is the best and that's all I have to say about that.  I knew making our own pizza would be like apples and oranges to what we have been used to but I figured it was worth a try.  

After three months, I can honestly say Friday night pizza is what I most look forward to during the week.  Every Friday during nap time, Lord willing for both children, I make the dough and set it aside to let it rise for the next few hours. I have researched a handful of recipes and I keep coming back to this one.   It is a big enough batch that we can make Wilbur his little personal pizza, 3 thin crust pizzas for Mom and Dad and even have some dough left over for bread sticks.  There is always plenty left over and we usually eat it for lunch the next day.  I feel like each week I am tweaking the crust a little too see how I can improve.  I am also hoping to find a healthier recipe in the future since, you know, carbs are the enemy.

What has really been a fun way to get creative is with toppings.  We usually always make one plain(cheese) pizza and then see what we can come up with for the other two.  So far Will has simple taste and loves the pineapple and pepperoni.  One of our first weeks we did a white pizza with prosciutto and arugula then drizzled aged balsamic on top, and I am still having dreams about it!  Some combinations turn out great and others, eh not so much.  Fortunately, my gracious husband tells me its his favorite even if some weeks they turn out borderline inedible.  

I had hoped to include little Will in the process but it led to flour everywhere and him eating cheese by the handful so we have resorted to movie time while Mom makes the pizzas.  We have been all about the Good Dinosaur lately, even though I could cry just talking about that stinkin sad movie.
It usually gives me just enough time to make little man's pizza and let him eat while I make the big kid pizzas.  By the time Dad gets home, the kids are bathed, full and ready for bed.  Mom is sweating and covered in flour but that it okay because date night commences as soon as the children are asleep.  The reason I hit the gym during the week is because come 7:00 Friday night I know I am stuffing my face with circle shaped Italian goodness with my fella by my side!

I really do hope this will be a tradition we can continue, even if it ends up being once a month.  This little party we have been enjoying is a nice way to keep things simple and inwardly focused.  There are so many pulls to be all over the place and trying to get out of the house.  I had hoped this would be less of a recipe post and more of a " how to have fun without leaving the house" post. The Lord has really laid it on my heart lately to just be a better steward over what He has blessed us with and to invest in my little family in new ways.  I know that the boys wont have any recollection of having Domino's delivered but my hope is that Friday Night Pizza Parties at home will be a sweet memory when they are big and grown(even though Im not letting them get big or grown!)

As always, I LOVE feedback!  Please feel free to share your favorite pizza recipe or your fondest family night memories.  Thanks for reading!