Penny Pinching Pizza

My mother and father-in-law got the wonderful opportunity to live in Sicily for 3 years do to my father-in-law's job. Among the spectacular things they brought back when they come home to live in the states was an authentic Italian pizza oven and a true Italian pizza recipe to go with it. Every time we get to visit them along the eastern sea board, we get to partake in this great process of making our own, one of a kind, pizzas in the great pizza oven. Delicious is only the tip of the iceberg of how these pizzas taste. Then, we come back home to reality where the closest thing we get to these pizzas is a dream. This process, among other things, has instilled in us a love for our Friday pizza night.

Now, the problem with pizza night is that to go to the closest pizza joint is, most nights, in the range of $25-$30 and, now that we live in the country, a 40 minute drive round trip (if I am really fast) . So what do we do you ask? We make our own. Not only do we save money, but we have SOOO much fun and make memories that will last forever in the process. While I love that Italian recipe from my mother-in-law, the truth is it takes a while to make. So I have come up with the best and fastest way that works for us.

I start with Fleischmann's Pizza Crust Yeast strips and simply follow the instructions on the back. Another great thing to use are the prepackaged pizza crust mixes. They are fast and easy. The Fleischmann's will make three pizzas or bread sticks for us. When we make the pizza I use two packs. This will make one large pizza and 8 bread sticks for our family. I make both batches all together at the same time then divide it up in thirds (ish). Two thirds are for the pizza and one third is for the sticks. This makes enough for the 4 of us with extra for lunch on Saturday. Once you roll it out then you can top it how ever you want. Think beyond pepperoni and cheese. This is a great way to use the weeks left over. Leftover taco stuff? Make a taco pizza. Leftover BBQ chicken? Make a BBQ Chicken pizza using BBQ sauce as the sauce. Leftover ham from Easter or need to use up the weeks lunch meat? Make a Hawaiian pizza with ham and pineapple. Your options are endless. There are also times when we have ran out of pizza sauce and I have subbed traditional spaghetti sauce and it tasted just fine. For the bread sticks, I just roll the third into a ball, divide it into eight pieces, roll each piece into a stick and bake. When they are done, I brush them with melted garlic butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. We have also made stuffed crust and stuffed bread sticks using mozzarella sticks. It is so very good! Not only is it much healthier but this whole process never costs us more then $5-$8 to make and we all love it.

I encourage you to start a new Friday night tradition that will last a life time and save some money in the process. Everyone involved will enjoy it and it is a great way to spend some old fashion quality time with your kids and hubby (or wife).

Happy Savings,

Lynden