Author Pamela Layton McMurty shares with us her fun Halloween pizza recipe for keeping kids happily busy and well-fed (before the sugar rush).
Enjoy!
Connie
Pamela Layton McMurtry was named for a book. She grew up in Southern California with one foot on the beach and the other in the library. She is a parent of seven, artist, caterer, teacher and author. Her A Harvest and Halloween Handbook on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com features recipes, party themes and plans, decorating projects and activities for the macabre-impaired. She is related to William Shakespeare, so she thinks she can write.
Fun and easy pizzas for Halloween from A Harvest and Halloween Handbook. Pizzas are so quick and easy to make and lend themselves to creative touches. If each child makes their own, or at least helps choose the toppings, you can be sure they will get some dinner in their tummy before heading out to trick-or-treat.
Pizza
Preheat oven to 400°. Place in a mixing bowl, stir and let react until foam covers the surface
2 C very warm water, almost hot
2 TBSP dry active yeast
2 TBSP sugar
Add
1 TBSP salt
2 C all-purpose flour
Beat until smooth, add and beat again;
2 C flour
Add and beat until a smooth elastic dough is formed
1 1/2 – 2 C whole wheat flour
Let the dough rest for a few minutes, then roll it out 1/2″ thick and form into shapes. Spread with
marinara sauce, I like Prego spaghetti sauce
decorate with desired toppings
grated Parmesan cheese
grated mozzarella cheese
sliced pepperoni
olives, onions, corn, carrots, beets, bell pepper, zucchini,
ham, pineapple
Bake 12 -15 minutes for small pizzas, 20 – 25 minutes for large pizzas or until cheese melts and crust is golden brown. Serve with a Seize Her Salad.
Seize Her Salad
We love this quick and easy version of the classic.
Toss together:
1 bag chopped romaine lettuce
1 generous handful Caesar croutons
bottled Caesar dressing (I use Ken’s Steak House Lite ®)
grated Parmesan cheese
And here are a few ideas for entertaining tweens and teens:
Host a progressive dinner. Ask a few friends to co-host by serving appetizers at one home, salad and breadsticks at another, the entrée at a third and dessert at a fourth home. There could be games, stories and jokes told around a fire. Have the kids decorate cookies or cupcakes if you wish.
Here’s a game to play: Halloween CATegories (like Scattegories).
Players each get a playing card printed with the above pattern. Select a letter of the alphabet for each round. Players use that letter to write a word for answers on their cards. Give them 3-5 minutes to fill in the answers.
Say the first letter selected is M. A costume starting with M might be a martian or mermaid or maid. The monster could be mummy or Medusa or a minotaur. After the time is up, have players read their answers. If two players have the same answer, they cancel each other out and don’t get a point. For every unique answer, a point is given. Play the second round the same way but use a different letter for the answers. At the end, add up the scores, the highest number wins.
For more fun and games; please see A Harvest and Halloween Handbook.
