Friday Night = Family Night

It’s Friday!! And that can only mean one thing around here….Family Night!  Johnny and I decided several years ago that we wanted to have a special night together every Friday.  I think it may have started back when we lived in a Chinese village and needed to be creative.  Anyway, I started making pizza every Friday night back then, and we still continue the tradition today.

The kids love it too!  Every Friday when we go into Gabriel’s room to tell him “good morning”  we tell him it’s Friday, Pizza Night!  And he is always excited, for many reasons…that means the next day is Saturday and Daddy won’t have to work, he loves to eat Mama’s yummy homemade pizza, and last, but not least, he and I make chocolate chip cookies!!  We don’t do sweets much around here, so those Friday night chocolate chip cookies are a BIG hit!

In the past year I have read in at least two other places about people who have a weekly Pizza Night.  One of the articles was in a Good Housekeeping.  The writer had lots of great ideas to share to make it even more fun.  She liked to have a wide variety of different toppings and let people make their own individual pizzas.  Maybe when the kids are a little older, I’ll try that idea.

Another special feature of Friday Family Nights are that after the kids are in bed my hubby and I watch a movie together.  As the kids get older and stay up a little later, I’m sure we’ll watch movies all together.

As a bonus, I’d like to share my favorite pizza crust recipe with you.  I did not create this recipe, but we do really like it.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

• 2.5 c whole wheat flour
• 1 T yeast
• 1 T sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• Mix together, then add:
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 c warm water

Preheat oven to 500. Knead dough until soft ball forms, then let rest for 5 minutes.  Roll dough out and place on pizza pan.  Prick holes all over the dough with a fork.  Bake 3-8 minutes until puffy.  Add your toppings and bake until cheese starts to brown.

I have always made this crust as a 12 in. round pizza, until lately.  Since Nathaniel has gotten old enough to eat pizza too, I need more pieces!  So I bought a large rectangular pizza stone and I roll this same crust out into a larger square.  It’s enough dough, and the crust is a little thinner.

Try it out and see what you think.  I’d love to hear comments from you on pizza recipes and ideas for family nights!  I’ve been searching for that perfect, and easy, pizza sauce recipe.  Maybe you have it!