First Step to a Family Meal Night – A Semi-Rant
March 12, 2009
It’s time! It’s time that you establish family meal times. Real family gatherings around a real table, with real food, not fast food in the car. Pick one night. set a time and stick to it. Make it seem like a game, not a mandatory function, although you need to make sure that everyone attends.
The easiest way, and many of you are probably already doing this, is pizza night. Pick one night each week, gather around the table and talk with your kids; and more importantly get them to talk to you. Start off buying the pizza and gradually begin to make the pizza with the kids. Let each kid make his own pizza; you will be surprised at how fast the kids take to this. They get to show their individuality, tease each other and generally COMMUNICATE. Once you get the hang of this start letting them bring their friends. This gives you a chance to show you approve of their friends, set some rules but try to go with the flow.
We did pizza night for years, it became a neighborhood thing; exchanging conversations with the neighbors, our kids and their friends. Our oldest son has a friend who was a Russian immigrant, 6 foot tall about 130 lbs, stark white skin. This kid, looking to find his place in our nation, had adopted the affect of the hip-hop movement; complete with dreadlocks, piercings and pants down around his knees. He would show up every Friday night (pizza night) and we would just look at him. We were looking to try to understand him and see what new “things” he had attached, as it were. He would see us and think we were making judgments and that we didn’t like him. It wasn’t until we told him we just wanted to understand him, that he realized he was welcomed into our world. We now, 15 years down the line, are good friends and laugh about the old times.
Here is an easy pizza recipe, fire up the oven, add some toppings and get to know your kids.
Pizza Dough
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 10 |
| Category: | Misc |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 2 | package | yeast, dried |
| 0.66 | cup | water, hot |
| 7 | cup | flour, all-purpose |
| 2 | Tb | salt, kosher |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 2 | water, hot | |
Dissolve yeast in 2/3-cup hot water, (water should not exceed 105 degrees) in large mixer bowl. Mix in flour, salt, oil and remaining hot water until a ball forms. Place dough in greased pot, cover with plastic wrap, allow to double in size at room temperature. (approx. 2 hrs) Punch dough down and return to pot to rise a second time (1hr). Divide into equal circles and roll out for pizza.
Hint: The rounder your circles are the better the pizza will look.
Full recipes makes about 5 14 pizzas. For half recipe use 1/3-cup water with yeast.
Pizzas
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 10 |
| Category: | Vegetarian Entrée |
| Meal: | Pizza Party (Theme Meal Plans) |
| 1 | recipe | pizza dough |
| 1 | 15 oz can | tomato sauce |
| 1 | lb | cheese, mozzarella |
| 1 | lb | cheese, Mexican |
| 6 | Tb | cheese, Romano, grated |
| 5 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.25 | cup | corn meal, yellow |
For individual pizzas cut dough into 10 pieces. On floured surface, shape dough into a round disk. Work dough from middle to outside. You want it about 1/4 “ thick and thicker just around the edges. Place on flat board, (peel), upside down cookie sheet or cutting board, with some corn meal to allow the dough to slip off peel. Cover with thin layer of tomato sauce, leaving about 3/4” at edge. Sprinkle on cheeses. Sprinkle on 1 TB romano. Drizzle 1 tsp. of oil on top.
Optional toppings: sausage, mushrooms, onions, peppers. Add toppings, remember pizza will only be in the oven around 12 minutes, so cut thinly and if you are using saugage, makes sure you put it on last, so it will cook. Pre-heat oven to maximum temperature for at least 30 minutes. Cook pizza on a pizza stone or cookie sheet 8-12 minutes until done .
Hint: For parties make the pizza ahead of time and reheat.
Note: Be sure to add the pizza dough recipe to your shopping list.
Special Note: Use 1/5th of the dough for pizza donuts for dessert. See recipe under Pizza Donuts in the Cooking for the Kids category at emealsforyou.com)
Entry Filed under: Dinners, Rants, Semi-Rants and Non-Rants. Tags: Family meals, family night, homemade pizza, kids meals, pizza, pizza dough. donuts, pizza night.
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