Its Pizza Night!

Friday nights have evolved into pizza night at our house.  It’s how we kick off the weekend.  Mom doesn’t have to cook, and movies, popcorn and pillows are not far behind.  The other day I let myself think for just a minute about how much money I had spent on pizza.  And I got a little scared.  It was a whole lot.  So I decided I was going to change up pizza night just a smidgen, with make your own pizza night!  But I have this little problem.  I’m scared of yeast.   I consider myself a serious cook; I’m not afraid of much if I have a recipe.  But a few years back, I had a yeast disaster that scarred me.  I most likely killed it with hot water, but nonetheless I was not going there, no matter how much I wanted hot, fresh, bread.  How I let that small packet of of tiny yeast pellets get the best of me, I’m not sure.  But for make your own pizza night, you have to make your own dough.  I believe its an unwritten rule.  So I had no choice but to turn to my Okie cooking bff, The Pioneer Woman and grab her pizza dough recipe.  I took a couple of deep breaths, and ripped open that packet of yeast and got busy.

Pizza Dough (recipe by The Pioneer Woman)

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

3/4 cup warm water

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp kosher salt

3 Tbsp olive oil

Combine the yeast and warm water in a s mall bowl.  Allow it to sit for 10 minutes.  Add the flour to the bowl of an electric mixer.  (You can use dough hooks or the paddle attachment).  Sprinkle in the salt and mix on low, slowly pouring in the olive oil.  Add the yeast/water mixture.  When it all comes together transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise for 1 hour.

I am happy to report that I did not kill the yeast, and I had my first batch, of many, homemade pizza dough.  Then the fun began.  I just picked up a jar of our favorite marinara sauce, shredded some mozzarella cheese and let everyone go crazy with their choice of toppings.  This can also end the “what kind of pizza are we getting ” fights that might occur. My husband and I got all fancy with sautéed onions and peppers and the kids kept it simple with pepperoni and black olives.  No one had to leave to go get the pizza, or wait on the pizza delivery guy with a bunch of hungry kids, and we saved us a cool $20.

And just like that our Friday night routine was officially reinvented.  Change up pizza night at your house by letting your kids get in the kitchen and get messy and creative.  And if you’re not scared of yeast, you’ve got one up on me!  So what are you waiting for?