Mini Pizza Pops

So these were originally Mini Deep Dish Pizza's using muffin tins, but I didn't love the idea of my kids biting into a cup of pizza sauce. So we made them like this and called them pizza pops cause they could just pop'em in their mouth.

Their texture is perfect! They crisp up nicely on the bottom and kind of curl up a tad around the edges. Needless to say my kids went crazy for them! Using just 1 tortilla, I got 12 mini's out of it so each of my girls got to make 6. It was the perfect after school snack. It actually filled them up enough and I didn't hear any requests for snacks before dinner! That's pretty darn huge ;).

What you will need: 

• Tortilla's
• Pizza sauce
• Mozzerella cheese
• Mini pepperoni's
• Any other pizza toppings you like

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425*
• Cut circles out of a tortilla, whatever size you like, though the mini's are pretty darn cute
• Add your pizza sauce, cheese and toppings
• Lay mini's down on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
• Bake for about 10 minutes 

Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks

So I usually make garlic bread with some nice bread from the bakery and my own garlic butter spread. So when I found this recipe for dough to make bread sticks I had to try it out! She and I do our garlic spread a bit different but I'm sure either way will be delicious! My husband was going to be late for dinner and I literally had to bribe my kids to leave him some of these. They were extremely upset, but obliged and left him 3. He took one bite and "MMMMMMMM" with his eyes closed. They're good. Real good.

What you will need:

Bread Sticks (can also be used for pizza dough!)

• 1 C warm water (I aim for 110*)
• 2 1/4 Active Dry Yeast
• 1 T sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 T olive oil
• 3 C bread flour (I used all purpose and it still ended up amazing! I only ended up using 2 3/4 C)

Garlic Butter Spread (and cheeses)

• 6 T butter, softened
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 T seasonings of your choice ( I used a blend of some rosemary and thyme but get creative! Or skip this step, it won't matter :) )
• Grated Parmesan cheese to taste
• Grated Mozzarella cheese  to taste

Directions:

Bread Sticks

• In your mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast and sugar over your warm water and let it activate and foam up
• Add salt, olive oil and half the flour to the mixing bowl and combine
• Add flour 1/2 C at a time until your dough is sticky but won't come off onto your fingers when you touch it
• Knead the dough for 6 minutes exactly 
• The dough will be able to scoop out of the bowl and not be stuck to the sides
• Scoop the dough out and mold it into a bowl
• Spray your mixing bowl with non stick spray and put the ball of dough back in
• Cover with plastic wrap or cover with a towel and place somewhere warm to rise for 1-2 hours
•  Preheat the oven to 500*
• Roll out the dough out into a nice big circle
• Spread the garlic butter all over on top
• Sprinkle both your cheeses on top (I also added a little parsley to mine)
• Bake in the oven for 9 minutes

Garlic Butter Spread

• Grate garlic into the softened butter and mix together
• Add your seasonings (optional) and combine
• Spread over dough
• Top with cheese

Pizza Dough

So once upon a time I swore off baking anything with yeast for 3 1/2 years. Not because of some superior knowledge of how deadly it is (because literally every food in existence is apparently trying to kill us according to the internet), but because I couldn't figure out how to bake with it in Portland. :(

To be fair, I only tried maybe 5 or 6 times before giving up. No matter what I did it was always really dense and awkward. I hated it. So I avoided it.

Back in Idaho and I'm celebrating by baking everything I can think of with yeast. Pizza dough included.

What better recipe to try than....*gasp*...Pioneer Woman? So unlike me....;)

This was beyond easy to make. I'm angry at how easy it was to be honest. It was easier than driving to the store to buy premade, or waiting at home for delivery. Plus my girls loved every second of it. They're on a dough kick like me. It's basically like Christmas around here when they find out I'm making more dough for them to play with.

Anyways. Fun, delicious, easy.  

This recipe also makes two crusts.

So don't go using all the dough for one pizza and then yelling at me for it coming out skiwompus.
Refrigerate the other half if you plan on using it in the next few days. Or freeze it!

Enjoy!

What you will need:

• 1 tsp. active dry or instant yeast
• 1 1/2 C warm water (I stick with 110*)
• 4 C all purpose flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/3 C extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

• In the bowl you plan on mixing in, combine the flour and the salt
• In a separate bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let it get all foamy
• Slowly add in the olive oil to the flour in your mixing bowl and combine
• Add your foamy yeasty water to the flour mixture and combine
• Grab another mixing bowl and spray some non stick spray in there
• Form your dough into a ball and roll it around a bit in the non stick spray bowl
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until you're ready to use it (I made mine the night before and pulled it out the next evening. Made things go really fast and easy! I also plopped my dough into a large ziploc....it seemed to be just fine that way!) 
• When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 500*
• Use your hands and fingers to press the dough out to the shape you want
• Add your toppings
• Bake for 12-15 minutes!

Tostada Pizza

Once again, on my quest to find gluten free things my daughter will eat. The biggest challenge for me has been lunches. I can't take very long to cook a real meal, but I don't have the luxury of throwing together a sandwich anymore because we have yet to find a gluten free bread she likes.

 I tested this idea out and it was GREAT! Much better than I thought it would be. I've been getting very annoyed by the fact that I feel like I end up having to make a less healthy meal than I normally would have because of gluten. I made my dinner menu a few days ago and actually had "hot dogs" listed for dinner because she doesn't eat the buns with her hot dogs. Uugh. So, yeah, this idea did get under my skin a little bit because isn't some nutritional goddess of any kind, but at least I can serve it with a size of fruit and feel a little better.

I couldn't stop eating this thing. It's just a giant chip with sauce and cheese on it for crying out loud. So why is it soooo good?

What you will need:

• Tostadas (I didn't even know where to find these when I went to get them.  How sad. They're just by all of the other tortilla's. Duh.)
• Your favorite marinara/pizza sauce
• Mozzarella cheese (I used cheddar as well)
• Pepperoni slices (My kids like the little baby ones because of their cuteness?)
• Any other toppings you like on a regular pizza

Directions:

• Spread the marinara sauce on before adding your cheese and toppings
• Turn oven on to 350 degree's and warm tostadas until cheese is melted and toppings are hot

Deep Dish Bubble Pizza

I'd forgotten I'd made this and have had a few requests for the "recipe" (it's ridiculously easy) so here you go! This is a fun dinner to have your kids help you make and even more fun to eat. It acts as a pull-apart bread once it's done so the kids will love it!

What you will need:

• 10" cast iron pan (or any dish you have that can go into the oven)
• 1 refrigerated biscuit dough
• 1 jar of your favorite pizza sauce
• 2 C shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1 pkg. pepperoni
• Any other pizza toppings you like!

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Lightly grease the pan
• Cut eat biscuit into 4 pieces (I used my kitchen scissors but a pizza cutter would work great)
• Drop the pieces evenly around the pan, they will bubble up as they cook
• Layer your pizza sauce and various toppings
• Cook for about 25 minutes or test with a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean
• Once it's done, dish out the slices. It acts as a monkey bread so you can pull it apart and enjoy!