Kids Can Make Pizza!

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Just about any time is a good time for kids to make pizza, don't you
think? Here are some steps to help create a positive pizza-making
experience for you and your children.
Plan it out ahead of time and talk it over with your kids. Give them
options - kids love choices. What exactly do they want their pizza to
be? What do they want on it? Do they want it baked on a cookie sheet
and cut in squares? There's no one type of pizza, and they may even
want to make a couple of different ones. Maybe they'll invent their
own signature pizza!
Start with the crust. There are simple recipes for crusts in your
favorite cookbook that kids can easily do, but if that seems like too
much, grab a ready-made crust from the supermarket. Help may be needed
to get the dough spread out evenly with the homemade crusts. The kids
will get better at it the more they do it. There are some tricks to
help them such as greasing or flouring their hands first, and letting
the dough rest halfway through the stretching-it-out process.
The next step is the sauce. It doesn't have to be from scratch, nor
does it have to be traditional pizza sauce. It can be a bottled pizza
sauce, alfredo sauce, barbeque sauce, pesto sauce, or olive oil glaze.
Let your child decide.
Third in line is the cheese. It's like the glue that holds the
toppings onto the saucy crust. Your child can sprinkle mozzarella, or
experiment with provolone, feta, gorgonzola, or parmesan.
Don't forget the all-important toppings. Kids have their standard
favorites but let them know there are more toppings available and they
can taste pretty good! Again, they can use their wonderful
imaginations.
Here are some ideas for toppings:
Vegetablesgreen onions, garlic, red peppers, potato chunks, asparagus
tips, red onion slices, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes,
fresh spinach, red onion slices
Herbs oregano, basil, rosemary, cilantro, dill, parsley, sage, thyme
Meatshamburger, sausage, pepperoni, grilled chicken, Canadian bacon,
breakfast bacon, ham, taco meat
Help your child be successful with the pizza-making process by
assembling all the ingredients before they start. Depending on their
abilities in the kitchen, plan on helping with the washing, chopping,
and cheese shredding.
Before they know it, the pizza will be out of the oven and on the
table ready to be devoured. Your kids will be proud to serve up their
signature creations. Maybe every other Friday will become pizza night
at your house.