We made some kick-butt pizza Saturday night. In fact, we made some kick-butt pizza 2 Saturdays ago as well. My two stepkids don't eat much besides processed foods...I don't have much control over what they eat. However, Saturday nights, they are with me, so I decided to start a new tradition. Instead of letting them eat frozen pizza that their dad buys for them, we are now going to make our own homemade pizzas each Saturday they come. My stepdaughter is really excited about learning how to cook, so I let her roll out the pizzas while I did the dishes.
The dough recipe we use makes 2 pizzas, which is perfect. We can make one regular pizza, and one with more adventurous toppings. The 'safe' pizza is pepperoni and cheese. That's it.
Here, I'm working on the 2nd pizza. Barbecue chicken was the theme for that one. We couldn't help stealing some bits of BBQ chicken before the pizza went into the oven.
The pizzas looked fantastic cooking int he oven. All the kids kept asking when they would be ready.
Here are the pizzas straight out of the oven. The pepperoni and cheese pizza sprung a leak while it was baking, but that's okay with us. We like using the pizza trays with the little holes in them cause we get a little crisper of a crust.
My son is chowing down on his pizza. He usually likes to complain about food, even if it is something he likes, but there was no complaining tonight.
The kids ate their pizza and we finished watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, before we started our movie. We have learned a lot watching that show. I think it has really opened the older kids' eyes to what most processed food is made up of. Having a cooking from scratch tradition not only is healthier for us, it allows us to bond as a family. Kids that cook and eat regularly with their parents are less likely to be involved with drugs and violence. The time spent together in the kitchen helps create positive memories and trust that will carry over into other areas of their lives. Also, being able to cook for yourself from scratch is a skill that will help you continue a healthy lifestyle throughout your life. I hope that this tradition will be one that we can continue for a very long time.
What do you cook together as a family? Do you have any special memories of cooking things from scratch?
what a wise way to go about creating change ... making foods everyone loves from scratch and experimenting with one ... then watching Jamie's Revolution before the family movie ... best of luck with that!
ReplyDeleteAlso - interesting books on your shelfari - I'm going to check them out! Thanks.
thanks...I need to update with some of the newer books i've been reading. My brother is such a smarta$$...he asked me the other day, Hey, do you ever read any books that aren't about organic or pansies? I'm like, just shut up. And no, not lately, I don't.
ReplyDeleteMMMMM Pizza. I haven't made pizza in a long time. Now I'm going to have to make some homemade pizza very soon. It looks so good.
ReplyDeleteGreg and I can't cook in the same room together, so we don't have any dishes we cook together as a family. But Nick and I cook together all the time. He sits on the floor and "stirs" (i.e. bangs a spoon on a metal bowl) eating little pieces of veggies while I'm chopping them. Then, he attempts to circumvent the childproof plastic thingies over the stove, so that he can burn himself. Finally, he throws a fit when I won't let him play in the refrigerator. Fun family memories. ;)
I can't wait until the age of reason, when I can actually let him help, even in some little way. When is the age of reason, anyway? 24, perhaps?
Looks yummy. I love pizza! We make alot of pasta as a family. We love to go in the garden and pick whats for dinner and come up with new creations! We also watch alot of food network and look up the recipes that intrigue us and then make them. We all love to cook!
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