Family Night Date Night In

Having small children can sometimes make it difficult to get a night out, so when we can't have one out, sometimes we have one in! There's nothing better than the smell of fresh dough and even better, the smell of fresh pizza baking in your oven- so for our Friday night I decided to make some fresh pizzas for the whole family to enjoy.

The dough looks awesome and ready to go!

My *secret* ingredients: King Arthur Flour Company's Pizza Dough Flavoring {which makes the dough extra yummy} and Pizza Seasoning which we sprinkle on top of our pizza's to add a little zest. The Pizza Seasoning actually smells like those scratch-and-sniff stickers shaped like pizza's you used to get as a kid, and believe you me, it sure makes your mouth water!

Dough balls of perfection! After giving them some warmth and room to rise, they were ready to roll out.

This dough doesn't need much flour, just a tinge to take away some of the stickiness.

Peyton approves of the preparations!

It's easy to make a crust for pizza- just 'fork' your whole 'pie' leaving just the edges for your crust.

I like to use EVOO {that's Rachel Ray for Extra Virgin Olive Oil} to make the crust golden and to add some subtle flavor.

What kind of pizza toppings do you like best? These are Troy's favorites: Sausage, pepperoni and onion. I also like to use marinara instead of 'pizza sauce' since it seems to give it a little more flavor and still retains the thickness of pizza sauce. Of course, we also like to layer it in shredded Italian cheese too. Yum!

One of two 'pizza pies'. Are you hungry yet?

I put Troy to work when the first pizza came out of the oven. Here he is cutting it into slices.

The boys enjoying their slices. Peyton ate two whole slices all by himself and then asked for a banana which he saw in the fruit bowl sitting on the kitchen counter! He sure is taking after his Dad in the eating department!


Compliments to the chef if I don't say so myself! ;-)

After Peyton went to bed, we had our 'date night' by making chocolate chip/reeses pieces cookies and watching 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'. Whoever said that you have to leave your house in order for it to be an official date night obviously never tried one in! Try it sometime- it's a lot of fun!

*As per Cathi's request, here is the recipe that came with my bread machine:

Ingredients: Makes 6 small or 2 large

Pizza Dough
1 tsp dry yeast
16 3/4 oz. (OR 3 cups 6 TBSP) bread flour
1 TBSP milk powder
1 3/4 TBSP sugar
1 tsp salt
1 TBSP butter
11 3/4 fl. oz. (OR 1 cup 7 TBSP) water

1. Select dough cycle and press start (my machine has a setting for pizza dough, but just use whatever setting yours has for dough)

2. After the cycle has ended, knead dough on a lightly floured surface until it becomes elastic and springs back when touched.

3. Divide into 6 balls or 2 large balls, and place in a warm area for 10 minutes.

4. Shape each ball into a flat circle. Place the circles on two seperate baking sheets and prick both circles with a fork.

5. Let rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.

6. Brush each circle with pizza sauce {I use marinara and also prep my crusts with olive oil first, but you can use whichever you'd like}. Sprinkle with your choice of cheese. Top with your favorite toppings {I also like to add more cheese on top of the toppings... what can I say? I'm a cheesy person!}

7. Bake in a preheated 340• oven for 15-20 minutes.

You can find King Arthur Flour Co.'s Pizza Dough Flavoring and Pizza Seasoning HERE. You don't have to use it, it just makes your pizza a little more tastier! Enjoy!