Pizza Salad--My New Favorite Thing

I love having salad for dinner. I never thought in a million years as a child that I would ever say that. But I do! There are lots of yummy toppings and you don't feel as guilty or bloated as when you have cake and ice cream for dinner... yes, sometimes that happens. Don't judge me.

The only problem with salad is that even when it has ample protein in it, it just doesn't feel very filling and I find myself looking for something a little more satisfying just an hour or two later. I've never been one of those girls who eats a salad and declares how full she is. I say, "Bring on the breadsticks!"

So the combination of pizza and salad is just too good to pass up. You still get that light, happy feeling that all adults do when they have successfully eaten a good amount of vegetables, but you get the satisfied feeling of being full too. And the best part is that this dinner is SO easy, especially when you don't make your own pizza dough. But homemade is really good, so kudos to all you great supermoms and dads and other readers out there! You rock.



Here's how I do it:

1. Buy the frozen bread dough loaves in your local grocery store.
2. Let the dough thaw all day long in a greased bowl. If it is taking too long to thaw, heat your oven to the lowest setting and place the bowl in the oven for as long as it takes for the dough to double in size. 
3. Sprinkle cornmeal on a baking sheet. This keeps the dough from sticking and gives it an amazing texture. 
4. Roll out the dough and place it on the cornmeal covered baking sheet
5. Put it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or just until the dough starts to turn golden around the edges
6. Pull the pizza dough out of the oven and top it with your favorite sauce (I did pesto) and fresh mozzarella (you can, of course, not do fresh, but it is SOOOOOO much better with fresh). Pop it back in the oven for about 5 minutes until cheese is all melted. (You can also butter the crust and sprinkle parmesan, garlic, or basil flakes around the edge. It's divine.)
7. Pull pizza out and top with your favorite leafy greens (arugula is great), and your other toppings. (I did fresh shaved parmesan, halved cherry tomatoes, and peppers) 
8. Viola! Enjoy. (Enough parenthesis for you?)

I have done this several times and I have to say that the fresher the ingredients, the better the pizza. It is seriously delicious and my two year old will even eat it, vegetables and all! He'll eat anything on a pizza. 

My favorite toppings for this pizza are so good, even though I don't have a picture, I'm going to share it with you. 

Sauce: fig preserves

Cheese: fresh mozzarella

Greens: arugula 

Other Toppings: bacon, fresh parmesan, sprinkled balsamic vinegar

Fourth of July Trip

So Evan's family had this tradition that they would make their way down to Washington D.C. for the fourth of July fireworks show that they do (which is supposed to be the biggest display in the country, nbd). Since we are only hours north of DC in Maine, we decided to make the trip down in three hour long increments so that we could make lots of stops along the way and see historical sites. I've had a few trips back east in my life, but unfortunately I didn't remember a lot from them.

So here's some pictures from the trip!

Alex and I in front of the Old North Church

Evan and Alex in front of the memorial for the War on Terror in the courtyard for the Old North Church. These represent all the the deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The site of the Boston massacre. It's kind of weird to be smiling in this picture because of where we are, but I think it might have been more weird to frown...

Evan and Alex enjoying lunch from Heisler's Dairy in PA. Evan used to come here when he was a kid for ice cream. I finally got to taste the famous Guers lemonade, also made around Evan's home town. 

Random totem pole in front of Heisler's. 

View at Heisler's. Now I know why they call them "blue mountains." You can't tell in this picture very well, but in person the mountains in the very back are a deep blue. 

In front of Evan's beloved old home. 

At Evan's elementary school. I was trying to teach Alex to roll down the hill. He didn't get it. 

Alex and his buddy Willie at the DC temple visitor's center. 

At the DC temple

In front of the White House with some Asian tourists

The World War II memorial. 

Stone-faced Alex and crew at the Lincoln Memorial.

At the grave of the unknown soldier. We hoofed it all the way there and made it just in time!

The beautiful view. In just minutes it would be raining like crazy--hard to believe looking at this photo.

Right before the fireworks show. It was such a fun day and we saw so many things! I think we all look a little exhausted here. Except Theo. He slept pretty much all day long. The life of being a baby.

We saw so many things on this trip that we didn't even take pictures of. I do love pictures, but I'm glad that we weren't glued to our cameras this trip and just enjoyed all of our time together. Even though memories are better solidified when you have photos, and I might not remember everything from this trip, I will remember that we had a great time as a family, and we really lived in the moment.