Collin and I are never quite sure when our last "Pizza Date Night" will be just the two of us before our baby boy arrives. Given it is Friday afternoon and still no baby nor immediate sign that he is arriving soon, we are celebrating the fact that we get to enjoy another Pizza Date Night just us this evening.
Our Pizza Date Night tradition began during our first year of marriage, a year that was also my first year of teaching and Collin's first year at law school. Not to say that teaching and law school will lead one to drink, they did lead us to need a reason to celebrate surviving each week. Due to a tight budget and our newlywed spirit, our weekly date night involved staying in, cooking pizza, enjoying wine, and watching a movie...just the two of us. 3 years 8 months and 3 days into our marriage, we are still celebrating every Friday in this manner. Collin and I both look forward to this tradition and in some weeks, even start dreaming about it on Monday. A weekly night to reconnect, relax, enjoy great pizza, sip on some wine (and in my case now, Pellegrino), and cuddle up on the couch has been the perfect recipe for our marriage!
We are excited to share our pizza night with our family in the years to come, but for now, we love being able to enjoy just the two of us. If this baby boy of ours decides he wants to stay put for a little longer, maybe we will even get another Pizza Date Night next Friday! We will be happy either way.
For your reading and eating enjoyment, I will include recipes for some of our favorite pizzas to make. They are based on Trader Joe's products and are meant to be delicious, fresh, and not too time consuming. Yes, I could make my own sauces and pizza dough, but the point of these date nights is to relax. So take advantage of what TJs has to offer and save your homemade sauces for another night!
We use Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Pizza Dough for each of these pizzas. It is best to leave the dough on the counter for 20 minutes or so before rolling it. Also, heat your pizza stone in the oven on 500 for about 10 minutes before you put the dough on it. Roll the dough on parchment paper, put your toppings on, and then transfer the parchment paper to the stone (this is a two person job).
The Basic
Balsamic Chicken (cut the chicken into small chunks, cover in balsamic vinegar and a little honey, bake on 400 for 15 minutes, stir half way through)
Goat Cheese
Sun Dried Tomatoes (these will burn, so don't put them as the top topping)
Artichoke Hearts
Pizza Sauce (we love TJs pizza sauce--the cold one, not the one in the jar)
Honey Mustard Chicken
Create honey mustard sauce with equal parts honey and mustard (we like TJ's Aioli Garlic Mustard), add a few sprinkles of dried tarragon
Pour some of the honey mustard sauce over slices of chicken and bake on 400 for 15-20 minutes
Slice and caramelize 1 red onion on low heat covered for about 40 minutes--stir often
Pour some honey mustard sauce down on the pizza, then put the chicken down, and then cover with red onion
Top with avocado slices when you take it out of the oven
Pear and Gorgonzola Pizza
Slice and caramelize 3 sweet onions over low heat covered for about 40 minutes--stir often
Slice and caramelize 3 pears over low heat covered for about 15 minutes--stir often
Balsamic Chicken (same as above and optional for this pizza)
Cover pizza with a little bit of olive oil, then put gorgonzola cheese down, then pears, followed by onions and chicken
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Boil 2 chicken breasts in water until they are cooked through, shred the chicken and cover in your favorite BBQ sauce (if you have all day, you can cook the chicken in a crock pot with the bbq sauce)
Slice and caramelize 2 red onions on low heat covered for about 40 minutes--stir often
Put BBQ sauce down on pizza dough, then thick chunks of buffalo mozzarella cheese, next the chicken, onions, and tomato slices
Tonight, we are trying a new pizza: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-sausage-sweet-onion-fennel-pizza-10000001963973/
