Make Your Own Pizza at the Storyteller Cafe - Disneyland Resort

We recently had the chance to stop in and have a dinner at the Storyteller Cafe (inside the Grand Californian Hotel at the Disneyland Resort).  The kids were both mesmerized by being able to make their own pizza's for dinner.  

If you haven't been there yet I highly recommend it!   It's a great break from the crowds and provides a number of more elegant dishes than you find at most of the other eateries inside the parks, although the Village Haus inside Disneyland is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine for it's BLT (with applewood smoked bacon) thin crust pizza.

The kids pizzas arrive on a Mickey Mouse shaped palette for the kids to add the sauce, mozzarella and pepperoni toppings.  Once you are done, the waiter/waitress takes it back to the kitchen to finish cooking.

Check out the pepperoni topping pattern my oldest came up with...

What's your favorite place to eat at the Disneyland Resort?  Why?

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50% off zpizza?

Fabulous Yet Frugal Friday...

Lots of local businesses are doing recession busting deals and your local zpizza is no exception!  When I found out that our local zpizza (located in Ladera Ranch, CA) is doing a buy one, get the second 50% off (Sundays through Thursdays), I knew I had to share.  Since each zpizza is independently owned and operated, each location will be having different deals.  For example, the zpizza in Aliso Viejo is offering 50% off of the x-large pizza on Tuesdays.   Call your local zpizza to find out what recession busting deals they are running!  Also, if you sign up for the e-newsletter, they will email you a $5 off coupon!

Talk about a way to save money when buying pizza for the family!

I became a huge fan of zpizza years ago (when I first moved to Southern California).  The whole wheat pizza crust is a favorite of mine.  Another thing I love about zpizza is the standard cheese is non fat (you can also order great soy cheese).  Zpizza is definitely the place to order from when you are craving pizza... but don't want the guilt.  They also have an amazing assortment of gourmet style toppings as well as super delicious side salads.  The gluten free pizza is also a great choice for people with allergies.

Pesto sauce with fresh sliced tomato pizza is one of my favorites, but the zbq is a very close second (pictured above)... What's yours?

There are zpizza locations everywhere these days, but if you don't know where your local one is you can go here.

(* note this is an un-requested/un-pitched blog post, we're just huge zpizza fans...)

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Easy Gourmet BBQ Chicken Pizza

I have been a huge fan of BBQ Pizza for years and have struggled to find one I love that delivers. I have to say, my search is over – I have made my own and it is SUPER easy! There are a number of ways to shortcut and simplify this recipe, but I’m going to tell you exactly how I made it last night and leave it up to you as to what parts you may or may not switch out! I highly recommend using a pizza stone to cook with (I’m adding a link to purchase an inexpensive one at Amazon.com at the end of the post). I’ve only recently purchased one and will never make pizza without it again!

Ingredients:
-1 Whole Wheat pre-made pizza dough from Trader Joe’s (you could also make your own, but I had a Trader Joe’s one on hand and didn’t have the time to make my own dough)

-1 bottle barbeque sauce (I highly recommend a honey flavored or other sweet variety)

-1 cooked rotisserie Chicken (you could save $ by cooking your own, but I was running short on time)

-1 purple onion sliced (corn and pineapple would also be a great addition)

-1 package shredded mozzarella (of course it would also cost less to shred this on your own)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly flour the pizza stone with whatever type of flour you have on hand, I use Whole Wheat Flour. Form the Trader Joe’s dough carefully to fit the pizza stone. Allow to rise for 15 minutes, and then re-work the dough to fully fit the stone if it didn’t before. Let rise for an additional 15 minutes if you have time, or just begin adding the toppings. (If you’re not using a pizza stone, you’ll need to prebake the dough to prevent it from being too soft in the center) I smoothed a thin layer of the barbeque sauce over the dough. Then I lightly sprinkled the shredded mozzarella cheese over the pizza. I then added a couple handfuls of the chicken (hand shredded). Then add the sliced onions. Then sprinkle a small handful of mozzarella over the pizza. Cook in oven until the cheese just begins to golden. Remove from onion and cut using pizza cutter. Serve and Enjoy!

This has instantly become one of my favorite dinners! Let me know if you try it and if your family likes it as much as ours!!!

Here's the link to the pizza stone if you don't have one yet:

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Five Healthy Family Dinners under $20

Making a meal plan for the week can be tough, especially if you are a working mother. I find that if I don’t plan ahead, it is far too easy to fall back on take-out, which as we all know is not the healthiest or cheapest option. So, I’ve pulled together some of our family recipes that happen to cost less than $20 to prepare, are nutritious and easy to make. My recommendation is to plan out 5 meals ahead of time (feel free to use our favorites below) and purchase the ingredients at Costsco as this lowers the cost dramatically, in many cases bringing the cost of the meal for the entire family down to less than $10!

Always keep lettuce and salad dressing around to accompany the meal. Grab a baguette or two to accompany soups and salads. Buy the large bag of fresh broccoli at Costco and steam in small batches throughout the week, my kids love the fresh steamed broccoli drizzled with Ranch dressing.

-Bruchetta (http://ocmomactivities.blogspot.com/2008/10/kid-favorite-bruschetta-recipe.html) and Chinese Chicken Salad (http://ocmomactivities.blogspot.com/2008/10/easy-chinese-chicken-salad.html). Make extra of the bruchetta topping because you can add it to cooked pasta to create a completely new dish the next day.

-Homemade Pizza (http://ocmomactivities.blogspot.com/2009/07/easy-pizza-dough.html)

-Panini’s (http://ocmomactivities.blogspot.com/2009/07/yummy-paninis.html)

-Chicken Pasta Primavera (http://ocmomactivities.blogspot.com/2008/10/chicken-pasta-primavera-another-kid.html)

-Corn Chowder (http://ocmomactivities.blogspot.com/2008/10/moms-yummy-corn-chowder.html)

Stay tuned as I’m putting together tips on how to keep your grocery shopping cost under $100 a week and still easily feed a family of four (this includes their lunches for school!).

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Easy Pizza Dough!

Even I Can Make THIS Pizza Dough…

Okay, so it’s no secret around our house – my home made pizza dough’s leave something to be desired. I admit it. I’ve tried, but there always seems to be something wrong and most of the time it’s the dough. Grrrr. I don’t have to make pizza all that often, but I REALLY want to be able to make a good pizza.

Last week, I found a great App on my iPhone for the Epicurious website. While playing around the other day found an easy enough looking recipe for Pizza Dough, it sounded too delicious. I had to try it. The biggest difference from most of the recipes I have tried is the length of time the dough rises and the amount of yeast. I made it for dinner last night and for the first time EVER, I received a two thumbs up from the entire family!!! The Epicurious iPhone App is awesome!

OC Mom Chef Note: I let the dough rise an extra 30 minutes once placed on the cookie sheets, this made them super light and airy, and it was awesome! I also did not hand knead the dough, I used the hook on my Kitchen Aid mixer. Only problem with this recipe was there was a lot of rising time, so I had to be home most of the afternoon while it rose, but it was worth it!

Pizza Dough Courtesy of Epicurious
Yield: Makes 2 pounds
Active Time: 15 min
Total Time: 1 3/4 hr
Adapted from a recipe by chef Chris Bianco, of Pizzeria Bianco, in Phoenix, this dough bakes up crisp and chewy.

Ingredients
2 (1/4-ounces) packages active dry yeast
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided, plus additional for dusting
2 cups warm water (105–115&Deg;F), divided
2 teaspoons salt

Preparation
Make dough:
Whisk together yeast, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1/2 cup warm water in a measuring cup and let stand until mixture develops a creamy foam, about 10 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

Stir together salt and 3 cups flour in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture and remaining 1 1/2 cups warm water and stir until smooth, then stir in 1 cup more flour. If dough sticks to your fingers, stir in just enough flour (up to 3/4 cup), a little at a time, to make dough just come away from side of bowl. (This dough may be wetter than other pizza doughs you have made.)

Knead dough on a lightly floured surface with floured hands, lightly reflouring work surface and your hands when dough becomes too sticky, until dough is smooth, soft, and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Divide dough in half and form into 2 balls, then generously dust balls all over with flour and put each in a medium bowl. Cover bowls with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

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