My 3 year old started preschool last week, right after his third birthday. I've now got to pack him lunch (aww!!!) This might sound odd, but paking lunch makes me feel like a 'real' mom. I love waking up early to put an ice pack and juice box into his insulated lunchbag along with a little treat - fruit snacks or mini brownies or a smartie cookie. I'm sure the novelty of packing lunch will wear off eventually but for now I'm loving it. It makes grocery shopping even more fun looking at things he might like to eat and all the little "snack packs" of his favorite foods.
I had a little ball of extra pizza dough which I made into mini pizza crescents for Zach's lunch. He loved them! And so did I. Just roll out the dough thinly into a circle, spread lightly with pizza sauce, sprinkle with cheese, cut into wedges, roll up and bake.
In my opinion, the sauce can make or break the pizza. It's so easy to go wrong with sauce as I know personally. Too sweet, too sour, too tangy, too thick, too thin, too bland, too salty. However, I am happy to announce that as of today, my search is over! I have tried so many different recipes out there from America's Test Kitchen to Wolfgang to Cooking Light. They all were missing something and I had to keep looking. This recipe is perfect in taste and consistency. I double the batch and freeze it or use as dip for breadsticks.
Papa John's Pizza Sauce
1 cup
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can tomato paste or puree
1/4 cup water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp basil
1/8 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Freezes well.
Papa John's Chicken Club Pizza
Toppings for 1 - 14" pizza
1/3 - 1/2 cup Papa John's Pizza Sauce
1 cup Grilled Chicken Breast, chopped (or rotisserie chicken breast)
1/2 cup Crumbled Bacon
1/2 cup Ham, chopped
1/2 cup Diced Tomatoes
2 mushrooms, sliced
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese
Spread sauce on semi-baked pizza dough. In a bowl toss all topping ingredients together and sprinkle evenly on top of pizza crust. Bake on a pizza stone (if you have one) at 450 degrees F until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown, 8-10 minutes, maybe more.
Mmm. I've been looking for a good pizza sauce. I'll have to give this one a shot!
ReplyDeletethose pizza crescents look amazing!! definitely want to try the sauce recipe too!!
ReplyDeleteLove these pizzas...look delicious! My children woud be very happy if I make them.
ReplyDeleteThat sauce looks and sounds great.
ReplyDeleteMy son turns 3 next week. Is yours potty trained already? We are not there yet! Sigh. Hoping to have him ready for preschool by fall!
With something that looks this good - make sure to pack your son an extra serving - I can imagine some people stealing his lunch! hehe...
ReplyDeletewow the cresents are such a good idea. So different from eating normal pizza wedges, fab!
ReplyDeleteWhat a splendid idea! :-) I'm having a house-warming appetizer party this weekend, and these will be marvy. :-)
ReplyDelete@katrina - My son turned 3 two weeks ago and all of a sudden BOOM he was potty trained. He just woke up and said, I don't want to wear diapers, and he's been accident free almost 95% of the time. Good luck!!!
ReplyDelete@ramblingtart - They're so easy and everyone loves pizza. hope your party goes well!
@trissa - it's one of his fave lunches so far I think, so I def. pack extra. Baking for sharing is the best kind of all.
@daydreams & reagan law - def. let me know what you think of the sauce.
@marymoh - Isn't it funny how all kids like pizza? it's like the universay kid food.
These look so good and easy!!
ReplyDeletethe crescents are a GREAT idea!! i'll have to steal this idea from you ;)
ReplyDeleteand a little secret from me to you, the little joys of making lunches will never wear off as long as you can step back and laugh sometimes! i make lunches for my fiance when we have leftovers, and i LOVE doing it :)