by Midday meals are my favorite! What better time to teach little cooks about cooking? The fare is on the easy-side, we’re all still fresh and full of patience…unlike the busy supper-hour when my old-fashioned kitchen with its big-table-in-the-center becomes a one-person-too-many-kitchen! Unless it’s my dh vying for my attention, that is! By evening, I’m usually ready for some “taller than the table” conversation!
By helping me fix lunch my girls learn to use the stovetop and microwave, make sandwiches, chop veggies for salads, flip pancakes, become the “queens” of scrambled eggs…many days they won’t even let me in the kitchen because they want to surprise me with a fancy chef salad or a sandwich that would make Subway sit up and take notice!
Today for lunch we had apple slices, dill pickles and cheese pizza, courtesy of Miss Toddler…okay, she had quite a bit of help from me…
Pizza is one of my absolute favorites to make with children! And the best thing about my recipe for pizza dough is that it makes a bunch and keeps in the refrigerator for 2 weeks! Lots of dough to practice on and no time limits! My girls know the easy way to make pizza sauce: pop open an 8 oz can of tomato sauce, add Italian seasoning, garlic powder, minced onion and a bit of sugar…while they’re perfecting the sauce (we’ve diced garden tomatoes in a pinch and that’s better yet!) my two year old is poking fork-holes in around the edges of the pizza dough. Big spoons all around aid in spreading the sauce, and yes, some gets on the counter…
Toppings abound, the most fun for this part is when each girl makes their own personal pan…several kinds of cheese is a must! We’ve made all the traditionals, plus taco and bbq beef…yes, even dessert pizza! And on Valentine’s day we always send a heart shaped pizza to work in Daddy’s lunch cooler!
Pizza parties have been monthly occurrences with my homeschool friends…in fact, I got this recipe from one of them. It’s the best out there imesho!
Pizza Dough
-
5 cups flour
- 1 TB baking powder
- 2 cups milk (I warm mine in the microwave)
- 1/3 cup oil
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 TB (or 1 pkg) yeast in ½ cup warm water
Beat together. Let rise and then bake at 425 degrees for 18-25 minutes. Dough keeps in the refrigerator up to two weeks.
Tips:
- You can make this dough in your bread machine; I do it all the time. My bread machine pan is only a 2 lb capacity so I have to shorten the rising time by 15 minutes to keep the dough from spilling over and making a huge mess…
- On big pizzas make sure the center is completely baked before serving. It’s a thick crust and tends to be doughy if you’re not careful!
Wow, sounds creative in your kitchen! We need a bigger one!
I found you from your comments on Choosing Home. I am thrilled to have discovered this recipe for pizza dough! 🙂 I have my own recipe, but it doesn’t keep in the fridge for two weeks, so I will be trying this out.
We like pizza at our house, too!
~Stacy
We grind our own wheat for pizzas on Fridays–I need to follow your wonderful lead and have more kids helping in the kitchen!
Inspiring post!
Blessings,
Ann V.
Thank you! What a great encouragement! 🙂 I sometimes lose the vision to make it fun. 🙂
Thank you! I’m sure we all go back and forth on “this vision” ;O)but pizza is a great project to bring the fun back!
Looks like I’m making pizza tonight. I’ve been looking for a crust recipe. I usually buy the premade crust, but this would be cheaper.
Ohhhh…looks like we’ll be having pizza soon! I have to try this!
And I’m thrilled to hear it works on bread machines!! I seem to be yeast-dough incompatible (meaning whenever I try making anything by hand with yeast it usually fails miserably). I could probably get it to work in my KitchenAid too though with its dough hook. Ohhh now I’m craving pizza!
It does work great in bread machines!! Just put all the wet ingredients in first(2 cups warm milk + half cup water that would have been used to dissolve the yeast, and 1/3 cup oil), then mix up your flour, baking powder and sugar and dump in on top of the wet ingredients. Last of all add the yeast w/o dissolving it, just straight from the packet or jar, however you buy your yeast. Then don’t forget to check it before the dough cycle is done…mine always overflows the little pan, and what a mess!
The other great thing about this recipe, is that it makes enough for 3 pizzas, AND it keeps in the fridge for 2 weeks, so you can have pizza three times if, as in your case, Geri, you just have a hubby and toddler to feed. My friend uses this same recipe for biscuit type rolls, and for bread. I like it best though for pizza dough.
That’s great! Thanks Mary for putting the order for bread machines! I’m sure it’ll be gone in no time in our house…well once my DH is off his crazy diet!
Here’s to your Dh’s good health, and getting back to “real” food! Lol! 😉
I know! I’m not the most inspirational chef! It’s starting to ease a bit though and the diet’s not so strict…just still has to be organic but he’s eating a bit more “normal foods” now!
If it keeps up, you’ll have to take up gardening! Or maybe you already do! Eating organic can be hard on the budget, but I’d imagine you’re noticing all sorts of great side benefits to avoiding pesticides, etc.
Yes definitely! My husband wants to start a garden next year anyhow and I think it will be alot cheaper then. But I think it will be worth it in the end. We have already seen a few benefits. But I don’t have much of a greenthumb. When I was about 15 I tried making a veggie garden and did manage to get a few tiny peas, some scraggly tiny carrots (which it’s a compliment to even be calling them carrots!)
I hear you…not much of a green thumb here either, in fact, I’m always pleasantly surprised when things grow…that I’ve planted, lol. After 4 years of planting a huge garden only to have tomatoes be the only thing that thrived, it kind of chips away at one’s confidence. My hubby says it’s the location of the garden, not great soil, etc. Who knows? I haven’t had the heart to try it again for a few years. Tomatoes, yes, and certain flowers, yes, but not going the big garden route till we figure out the soil and its needs!
Too much work!
LOL I even failed at tomatoes!
Maybe it’s your soil? 😉
Lol, nice to have something to blame it on!
LOL…yeah I think you’re right!