After feeling unmotivated all day, I was determined to take a night off from cooking. I wanted to just lay on the couch and take a nap. Leonard and Ryan had baseball practice, so I was thinking "what a great opportunity to just order some pizza." Plus, for lunch I went with a couple ladies from the office to this burger place nearby and inhaled what they call their "Ultimate Burger". When it was time to go home, I escaped my food coma and started feeling determined again. As soon as I picked up Marley from daycare, I had an epiphany! I miss spending time with The Littles (Les and Ryan are the "Bigs", Lucas and Marley are the "Littles"). How can I incorporate cooking dinner and spending time with them??? Of course! Have them help make a surprise dinner for Leonard and Ryan! Now, mind you, I have always tried to get them to cook with me. But the Littles fight over silly things sometimes, causing me to stress out in the kitchen. Here's a guilty confession: One time, I "fired" Marley because she was mixing some brownie batter made a huge mess on the dining table. I guess I was impatient that day. Extremely impatient. But, I have since "rehired" and apologized to her. Now, Marley will occasionally peel the carrots for me, mix batter, put toppings on or scramble eggs. Lucas will help, but most of the time he's busy playing with Ryan or drawing. I think it's really important to teach my kids how to cook, because years of watching my Grandma and Dad cook has taught me more than just cooking. It taught me how to provide my family with meals, and spend quality time with them.
So, the game plan was set. We made a quick trip to the supermarket for our ingredients, and spent $26. It was a little pricey, but for a last minute dinner idea it was money well spent. I got to spend time with the Littles, and hear them say silly things to make each other laugh. They were talking about how Daddy and Ryan are going to be so surprised! They took turns and worked together. They put almost all 2 lbs. of mozzerella cheese on 3 half loaves of pizza, but I fixed it and spread it evenly. I heard them tell each other about their day at school. $26 made more than enough dinner for the 5 of us and we had a great time. When Leonard and Ryan came home from practice, the pizzas were done and my little niece, Kay, came over. The boys were surpised and excited! :) I had a great night!
Per the request of one of my friends (and a follower), here is my recipe! Make some memories with your Littles!
French Bread
Pizza
(Makes 6-8
Servings)
Ingredients:
3 loaves of
Supermarket Bakery French bread
1 jar of Marinara
Sauce (I used Prego Traditional sauce)
2 lbs of shredded
mozzarella
Desired toppings
(I used pepperoni, sweet Italian sausage, & fresh mushrooms)
Butter to butter
the bread
Garlic Powder
Directions:
Preheat oven to
300°
Slice each French
bread in half (the long way) to make 6 pizzas. Slice off the bottom of each half
loaf to cut off all the hard crust. Place on cookie sheets. Spread butter on
top side of each half loaf and sprinkle with garlic powder. Place in oven at
300°for 10 minutes to slightly toast.
After bread is
slightly toasted, remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to 400°, Allow the
bread to cool off, then spread Marinara sauce on each half loaf. Add light
layer of cheese and desired toppings to pizza. Top with more cheese so other
toppings won’t fall off. (If using Italian Sausage, remove sausage meat from
the sausage skin and sauté in a pan until brown & crumbled. Cook sausage thoroughly.)
Bake pizzas in oven for 10 – 15 minutes until cheese is melted.
Remove from oven
and enjoy! :)
XOXO,
Kayfletch
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