Make your own pizza night

Mushroom red pepper pizza

One of our favourite meals to make on a weekend is make your own pizza night.  It gets the kids involved, and everyone gets the topping they like.   The kids love it!  Our son who loves bacon (who doesn't?) will typically stuff his crust with cheese and more bacon, while our daughter typically does a mushroom and red pepper pizza with not a lot of cheese.  We usually do a fancy pizza and of course always offer a slice to the kids!

Our fancy pizza this time?  Pesto Shrimp Pizza, inspired to me by a thin crust pizza they offer at Earls Restaurant.   I had this for the first time a few years ago, and loved it!  And so super easy!

Bacon pizza with cheese and bacon stuffed crust

 Pizza dough:  Either buy a pre-made crust or by the dough from an Italian market or make your own (which is what I do).   Combine 1 cup of warm water, 2 and 1/4 teaspoons of yeast, 1 TBSP sugar in a mixing bowl.  Add in about 3 1/4 cups of flour and 1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil.  Throw in a dash of salt on top of the flour.  Knead well and let rise for 45 min - 1 hour.

Toppings:  While the pizza is rising, prepare the toppings....sliced mushrooms, red pepper, cooked bacon and/or pepperoni, mozzarella, pizza sauce (I cheated and bought pre-made tomato sauce from Sobeys).  Kids can decorate their own and even roll out the dough if you are okay with a bit more mess!

Pesto Shrimp Pizza

Pesto Pizza:  Instead of tomato sauce, use a pesto (I bought the one from Costco).  Spread on your dough and bake for 10 minutes in the oven at 350.  Once baked for a bit, take out, and top with shrimp.  I have used both raw and cooked.   If using cooked, you need to bake the crust longer in the oven first.   Also pat the shrimp dry before adding to the pizza.   Sprinkle mozzarella on top, and can also top with fresh or sun-dried tomatoes.  Bake until shrimp is "snappy" and crust is cooked.   Take half a lemon and squeeze over pizza once cooked.   Serve with a few glasses of red wine (!!)


If you are having a large crowd, you can double the dough recipe and make the pizzas on rectangular cookie sheets!   Leftovers are great for breakfast, school lunches or a midnight snack!