Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

Oh, the places I've gone! It has been a whirlwind for the last few weeks. There was a trip to the south of France with Jessica and Todd and all of his family. (They let me tag along.)

Then home to switch suitcases before I drove to the beach for some fall break family time with Mommy, J-Daddy and the little girls. Big Sister is in college now. Since our summer weather has lasted into October this was a great time to be at the beach.

Back home again to do some laundry and repack for a trip to the edge of the city—yes, Jessica and Todd have moved to the 'burbs!—for a look at their new house and a baby shower.

Then I got home in time to help set up for a huge 200th anniversary celebration at our church. My contribution was ironing tablecloths and helping with flowers for the dinner tables. There were a LOT of tables to set.  And of course, the clean-up afterward. 

So last night I was over-the-moon happy to be at home. And to have my friends come for dinner and a movie. This is a weekly event, held at someone else's house. She is away this week. Since I have missed too many of our weekly get-togethers I suggested that maybe they could come to my house. I live far enough out in the country that not everyone had been here to the farm, so it was wonderful to get this group out here.

We take turns bringing dinner to these weekly gatherings and I had plenty of offers to bring the meal, but I told them that I was happy do the dinner if they were willing to make the drive here.

Taking a cue from my daughters I decided an "activity dinner" might be fun. Midway through our movie, I hit pause and we headed to the kitchen to make our own naan pizzas. This is the easiest meal to put together. If you're doing it for a group, you just need to have some counter space. And I'll admit having two ovens helped.

This isn't a recipe but more suggestions for how to do it.

NAAN PIZZA

naan bread (you'll find them near the bakery/deli section of your grocery)
Rao's marina sauce, or your favorite pizza sauce
pesto
shredded mozzarella
fresh mozzarella pearls
pepperoni
grilled chicken tenders, sliced (I cooked them in a grill pan in the afternoon)
mushrooms (I bought them sliced, after cleaning I sliced them thinner)
green peppers, diced
onion, diced
tomatoes, sliced thin (I laid them on paper towels to drain a little)
baby spinach

Spread a small amount of marina or pesto on your naan. Add any combinations of toppings. Hint: Don't pile this too high—it's pizza, not a salad! Top with cheese.

Put pizzas on a baking sheet and slide into a preheated 400º oven for about 10 minutes, until cheese melts and and the edges are a little brown. Cut into 4ths for easy eating.


The topping possibilities are endless. One favorite is to use barbecue sauce instead of marinara and top with grilled chicken, red onion and cheddar cheese. Jessica told me that she sometimes uses up leftovers—like okra or broccoli— as toppings. If you were ordering this in a restaurant, it would be called "gourmet pizza."

We were having such a good time, I didn't even think about a food photo until we were nearly done eating. But y'all know what pizza looks like. I did find a picture of naan pizza that I enjoyed at Mommy's house a few years ago. You can read about how she makes hers here. She has some kid friendly suggestions.

Check back here in a few days for the dessert recipe from last night. All the ladies took some home for husbands and everyone of them asked for the recipe. It's an oldie goldie that's perfect for fall. I'll post it in a few days.

At this very minute I'm looking at a gloriously empty calendar for the rest of the week. All I can say is "Yay!" Everything I've done over the last few weeks was wonderful. But being home feels really good.