blog hopping and proud of it

I'm a blog hopper today! Hooray!

Miranda invited me to hop along with her and Hannah and I graciously accepted (because if I'm anything it's gracious).

This month's theme is "A Quick and Easy Family Recipe." I'm not sure what qualifies as a family recipe though. I'm thinking it means something my family eats right? Well, I've already shared the recipe for our favorite meatloaf, yummy chicken and scrumptious meatballs. Aside from those three, this is the other meal that garners no complaints around the dinner table (and when I'm looking for family recipes, that's a biggie).

Pizza. Big surprise right?




I'm going to share a little tid bit of information with you. Up until a few months ago I had never made homemade pizza. Yeast scared me. You stir it with water and it dissolves or gets foamy or something like that? It's alive? Yikes.

I always wondered why people made their own pizza. All that work. All those ingredients. All that yeast. Don't people know they can just buy pizza and keep it in the freezer until they're ready to eat it? I didn't see what the big deal was. Plus that scary yeast.

I've changed my ways. I came across a recipe for weeknight pizza dough (from the blog of my high school friend...hi, Stephanie!) that has resulted in my family eating more than their fair share of pizza in the past few months.

Here's what you need:


(Don't you love tiny glass bowls? I've always wanted to post a recipe using my tiny glass bowls and today's the day! Hooray!)


2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water
1 tablespoon rapid rise or bread machine yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 475º.

Mix the dry ingredients in a big bowl. Add the hot water and olive oil. Mix for 5 minutes and then let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

Here's what you've got:

A happy ball of quick and easy pizza dough (made with yeast that is not scary in the least bit).

This is when I chop the dough into two pieces. I like thin crust. My kids don't know any better so they like it too. Plus, it makes two pizzas instead of one. Two is always better than one, especially when you're talking pizza.

Roll it out. Stick it on a pan. Poke holes in it. Spread it with sauce (store bought for me, from your own homemade stash if that's how you do things around your house). Sprinkle with cheese. Call the kids to come in and help with the toppings. We stick to pepperoni around here. We're simple folk.

Stick the pizzas in the oven and after about 12-15 minutes, you've got dinner.




I make my pizzas on rectangular cookie sheets so we usually end up with wonky looking triangles and some pieces with no crust. Nobody's complained yet so that's what I'll keep on doing.

Here's a bonus recipe for you. I came across it this week. If you're craving a little sweetness after your pizza, make some of this lime yogurt dip and eat it with your favorite berries.



It is so good. I might have made two batches this week and possibly eaten them both almost all by myself (with only a little help from my two-year-old who loves raspberries). I maybe even licked the bowl.

Yum.


Thanks for hopping along with me today. Go check out these other lovely ladies who are blog hopping too. Maybe you'll find a new quick and easy family recipe that will garner no complaints from your loved ones. That's what I'm hoping for!

Hannah

Miranda

Dianna

Jaime & Emily

Jessica

Jessie

Lindsey