Friday night has become pizza night at our house. It’s the end of the week, we’re tired, run down and not in the mood to cook. We want something that is quick to prepare and tasty to eat. That’s where pizza comes in. It is the perfect go-to on a Friday night.
We used to purchase a pie from our local Papa John’s. In the winter time we’d bundle ourselves up and drive over to the store, because delivery always took forever to arrive, but I wasn’t particularly happy with the experience. I always seemed to wait an extra twenty minutes for my pizza and I could never manage to order without spending at least $25 to $30.
I just couldn’t resist all of the other items on their menu. I’d come home with a pie, a side of chicken wings and cheese sticks. I think it was the daily deals that lured me to spend more than I intended and although the pizza lasted for more than one meal, it always felt like a big waste of money.
So one night I decided to stop wasting time and money and convinced my husband that we should make our own pizza. We pulled out the bread machine and flour and made our own dough, but the consistency wasn’t quite right and the end result was less than spectacular.
I wasn’t giving up just yet. I bought pizza dough in the can, you know the kind located next to the crescent rolls and cinnamon buns, but we weren’t particularly fond of that technique either.
The next time I went to the store I bought a prepared, cheese pizza from the refrigerated section near the deli. That Friday as I was cleaning out the fridge I found a bunch of vegetables just about past their prime. I decided to slice them up and saute them. I also added a little leftover ground beef and concocted the tastiest hamburger, veggie pizza.
My husband and I had so much success with that pizza that we decided to buy another prepared, cheese pizza the next time we went to the store. When the next Friday night rolled around we searched in the fridge and found onions, green peppers and garlic. We sauteed them with olive oil and Italian seasoning and topped our pie. Now we use pizza night as a way to experiment. Tonight we’re cooking up bacon, onion and pineapple.
I stopped buying pizzas from our local grocery store and started purchasing them from Costco. I store them in our downstairs chest freezer and pull one out on Friday nights for dinner. I think each pizza costs $9.99, but it’s fully topped with sauce and delicious cheese. All we have to do is dig in the refrigerator and figure out what to top it with.
We each eat a slice or two and then save the rest for a quick weekend lunch or store it in the freezer for another day’s meal. It’s a great way to stay in, cook together, eat something tasty and save money.
What a great way to clean out the fridge! My boyfriend's family always makes "leftovers" pizza after holidays that involve a lot of food. It has included everything from Thanksgiving turkey, to pearl onions in a cheese sauce, to cranberry sauce. I scoffed at the idea, but really, just about anything is delicious on pizza!
Your pizzas sound real tasty and economical, to boot. Great idea.
We have Pizza Night as well on Fridays. How funny you mention the breadmaker pizza dough! I tried the same without success, but it could have been the very old yeast, etc.etc. š Anyway, we buy a package of 5 frozen bread doughs from our grocery store for less than $3. Some stores sell frozen pizza dough as well, but this works just fine. We are creative with our toppings as well and most important, our toddlers like the pizza. Win, win and who doesn't need that on a Friday night.
This is a wonderful way to use up veggies; I do the same but turn them into a stir fry. I recently posted my favorite pizza recipe that I have used for years. I made it when we were dirt poor because we couldn't afford pizza delivery and then we continued to use this recipe because we moved to a rural area that doesn't deliver pizza. Also, another option that we have at a local grocery store that has a little pizza bake shop also sells the dough all by itself for a couple of bucks. I have stopped eating gluten but my youngest son will occasionally pick up one of these balls of dough on his way home through town to make a pizza for himself. Sounds like you have a good plan now but thought I'd share a couple of ideas that worked for us in years past. š
You're making me hungry. Good idea, I love pizza night and making pizza. My dad used to make "personal pan pizzas" on pita bread, so they were really healthy. I may have to use that idea again.