When I was preparing one of my Simple Plate meals recently, I set aside some of the veggies.  Mushrooms and green peppers just aren’t “my thing,” so I didn’t want them in the meal I was preparing for myself, but I knew someone else could use them.  Looking at what I had on hand, it occurred to me that they’re pizza toppings!

We do homemade pizza once a week, and Thrive Life can make it very easy to add a variety of toppings on a more “individual” basis, because you can prepare small amounts of:

• green peppers (or red peppers, if you prefer those)
• onions
• mushrooms
• sausage
• ground beef
• ham
• chicken

Because you don’t have to buy a whole pepper, or cry chopping an onion, etc., you can easily add just one or two people’s worth of a given topping.  (As for pepperoni, we buy that in a package from the grocery store and store it in the freezer.  You can pull out just as many pieces as you need, add them to the pizza frozen, and pop the remainder of the package back in the freezer, so it keeps for a while.  The slices are thin enough they thaw out just fine while the pizza cooks.)

(If you really want to go all-in, Thrive Life also has tomato sauce mix, dehydrated cheese, and bread dough mix.  I would personally not use these as my go-to options, but they might be worth considering for food storage or if you need something that can travel.)

Our pizza recipe was adapted from an episode of Reading Rainbow years ago, and although there are more impressive dough recipes out there, this one is nice because it’s easy.  (My kids make this most Friday nights.)

Pizza

Pizza

Rachel Ramey

This easy recipe, adapted from one featured on Reading Rainbow, is easy enough that older kids can make it.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 14 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 44 minutes mins

Course Main Dish

Servings 2 pizzas

Ingredients

  

• 2 c. warm not hot water
• 4 + c. flour we use whole wheat
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. instant quick-rise yeast
• 8 oz. tomato sauce
• 1 Tbsp. oregano or to taste
• 4 c. mozzarella cheese grated/shredded (give or take)
• toppings as desired

Instructions

 

• Mix water, flour, salt, and yeast. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.
• Punch down and shape into two crusts.
• Mix oregano into tomato sauce and spread over pizzas. (We don't usually mix this ahead of time, or use the full can of sauce. We just pour some onto each pizza, dump about 1 tsp. of oregano onto each, then swirl the oregano and sauce together with our clean fingers as we spread it across the crust.)
• Top with cheese, then other toppings as desired. Bake at 450 degrees for about 14 minutes (or for 6 minutes on a preheated stone).

Notes

If you are short on time, you can let this "sponge." Mix 2 c. warm water with 2 c. flour and the yeast. Let sit (to "sponge") for 15-20 minutes. Mix in salt and remaining flour and follow instructions from AFTER the rising. ("Sponging" substitutes for rising.)

The Pampered Chef Large Round Stone with Handles on the SidesReynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper (Premium, Non-Stick, 75 Square Foot Roll, 2 Count)Utopia Kitchen Stainless Steel Pizza Cutter