Because it’s on the short list of Jona-approved foods, pizza is a popular dinner item at my house. Jona can’t take all the blame; Aaron and I both are pizza-lovers too. However, you know how much I crave variety in my weekly dinners, so I like to find alternatives to mix up my menu a little (while still keeping my guys happy). These pizza-like recipes are also perfect if you have little helpers who like to be part of the cooking process. (I can’t cook nowadays without “help”.)
Here are four easy ways to bust out of that pizza-night rut without sacrificing the pizza-night flavor.
Clockwise from top left:
{one} pepperoni pizza pull. This pizza-casserole combo combines cut-up breadstick dough, pepperoni (and anything else you’d like), and cheese; all are layered into a loaf pan and then baked in the oven. Super quick and easy!
{two} pizza waffles. This is one of those “why didn’t I think of that?!” recipes. The pizza dough in this case is biscuit dough that you fill with your desired pizza toppings, and then cook in the waffle iron! How cool is that, right? One tip: be sure to make your dough plenty thin (and you may have to keep pressing down your waffle iron) to be sure that it cooks all the way through. This is a fun one that’s sure to be a hit.
{three} mini cauliflower pizzas. This one is an excellent way to sneak some veggies into your family’s diet. Jona inherited his father’s aversion to most vegetables, but they both gobbled these up. The “crust” is made from cauliflower and it’s surprisingly light and crispy. Just be prepared to work hard to wring out the water from the cauliflower when you’re making the crust… that is some watery stuff!
{four} mini pizza pockets. Mini-sized everything is just cuter, right? These little pizza pockets are adorable, delicious, and easy to make. Just cut up crescent roll dough and put it into a mini muffin tin, then simply fill each cup with sauce, cheese, and pizza toppings. When they bake they puff up into little pizza-flavored muffins.
Do you have pizza night often at your house?