OMG…this is so cute….one of the PTA mothers sent it to me the other day and I absolutely love the idea. Rachel Ray was running this story on her site about cooking pizza with your kids. I LOVE this idea because not only can we sneak some veggies in, and have a healthy home cooked meal, but its just plain old fun for them…they love it.
For me it’s great because I’ve been cooking pizza at home for years, but never really thought to pull the kids in. Here’s a neat trick, check out Whole Foods right near their pizza section…they actually sell organic, pre-made dough which they use for their own pizza. They sell it prepackaged in the refrigerated section. This is great because it keeps the kids away from the boring and messy dough making, and rising process (do you know any kids who want to sit still and wait 2 hours for the dough to rise? Lol). …it cuts out the boring part and let’s them jump right into “decorating” the pizza with sauce, cheese, and toppings.
I love the pre-shredded Sargento cheese also….again, this keeps the boring or sometimes dangerous tasks such as shredding cheese out of the children’s hands. I also love her idea about getting them little aprons with their names on them…..it really makes them feel like they are in charge……and, well, cleanup is easy!
Another trick I love….if you plan on making this a regular activity, pick up one of those pizza stones they sell at William’s- Sonoma. They hold the heat into your oven, just like having a commercial pizza oven, or a brick oven. This will make the crust nice and crunchy and keep the soft chewiness that we all love about pizza crust……before you know it, you might just end up having pizza night for all the wrong reasons!
