Kids Can Make Pizza!

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:

Vegetables
green 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

Meats
hamburger, 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.