Pizza Night

Tonight was pizza night at the Rench Ranch.

I realized last night when I was making the grocery list that we had not made homemade pizzas since we moved into this house.  Boboli pizzas, yes.  Delivery, too often to mention.  But not for real made-from-scratch dough pizzas?  Nope.

One reason I've put off making pizzas is the fact that my kitchen is short on counter space.  In the old house, I had a huge island where I could roll dough and put out all of the toppings.  Not so in the new house, but I've learned how to make things work when I need to.

My kids certainly didn't mind standing at the stove to put the toppings on their pizzas.  Neither did I.

I love these nights when we are all in and out of the kitchen.  Dinner certainly isn't a chore when everyone is laughing, music is playing, and I have a nice glass of red at my elbow as I roll out pizza dough.  Even better, we each have our own pizza, so we can customize them as we please.

Here's mine:

Pepperoni, sausage, olives, and mushrooms.  All of my favorite toppings.

Saturday night dinners at our house are casual.  I don't go out of my way to make over-the-top dishes.  Sometimes we just have noodles and red sauce or waffles or scrambled eggs and bacon.  I figure I cook healthy, balanced meals at least five nights a week, so I can take it a bit easier on Saturday nights.

I also know that these Saturday nights when we are all four at home to share stories and laughter around the dinner table are numbered.  Molly is a sophomore, Abby a seventh grader.  Before I know it, they will be out of the house, making lives of their own.  I hope they will take some of these family traditions and recipes with them as they do.

And I hope they remember they will always have a place at my table.