Trader Joe's Saves the Day

It's no secret that I heart myself some TJs. Not only can you find delish food, but also great time saving, prepared meals that are made to my standard of "real" food.

On Sunday we had some friends for dinner. They have a 4 year old & of course we have a 3 year old. What do you serve to 4 adults & 2 little ones & please everyone at the same time? PIZZA!!! But not just any pizza. Individual, made to order pizzas. This also supports one of my ideas about kids & food. I've found that the more that you can get them involved in the process, the more likely they are to venture into new areas of eating. For example, B has been weird about pizza lately. He insists on taking the toppings & cheese off & eating the bread & sauce only. But when faced with a counter of toppings he picked Bruschetta, shredded cheese, goat cheese crumbles, and pepperoni. AND HE ATE IT!!!!

So here's what we had for our pizza bar.

Sauces

• Pesto (TJs)
• Bruschetta (TJs)
• BBQ Sauce (Bold & Smokey...from TJs)
• Pizza Sauce (TJs)

Cheeses

• Grated Parmesean/Romano Blend (TJs)
• Quattro Formagio (Italian 4 cheese blend....TJs)
• Smoked Gouda, that I grated (TJs)
• Goat Cheese Crumbles (TJs)

Toppings

• Pepperoni (TJs)
• Shredded Rotisserie Chicken (Grocery Store...TJs was out!)
• Sliced Red Onions (TJs)
  
• Cilantro (TJs)
• Chopped Basil (TJs)

We used the plain pizza dough from TJs. Each bag makes about 3 individual pizzas, or 2 decent sized pizzas to share. They have a wheat dough & a garlic herb dough as well. You can find them in the deli section. You bake them at 425 for about 10-12 minutes, but you'll want to check on them every few minutes.

Everyone made their own pizzas (I made BBQ Chicken) & we had some great combos. We all shared, so everyone got a taste of everything. For sides the kids had peas (frozen) & apple sauce. The adults had a salad of roasted veggies that I had made earlier in the day. And that is a story for another day!

Try the pizza party with friends or your just family. I promise you that you'll have fun. Just remember to wash your hands!

Bottom Line
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Make ahead: Prep toppings early in the day
Cooking time: 15 mins
Servings: up to you!