Grown Up English Muffin Pizzas
Sometimes it's not so fun to be a grown up.
So many responsibilities. So many bills. So many days of work.
Sometimes I wish I could just be a kid again. Would that be so bad?
Sometimes I even think the food was better back then. In fact, I still enjoy a solid peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch from time to time. Though now I eat natural peanut butter instead of Jif; Polaner all fruit instead of sugary jam; and 100 calorie sandwich thins instead of Wonder bread.
Oh how times have changed.
I needed a super quick fix in the kitchen on Tuesday night (someone didn't do the grocery shopping this past weekend...and by someone I mean me). I have zumba and pilates after work which goes until 9 so typically we will whip up a quick pizza, using fresh, whole wheat dough from the grocery store.
But someone didn't buy it this week. So I had a great idea. What if we just went old school and got our pizza on via English muffin? I'll be honest...I didn't have high hopes for this one friends.
But oh how wrong I was. Shaun turned these little throw-together pizzas into a fantastic and easy dinner. I proclaimed them THE BEST DINNER EVER! (via reververating microphone).
Ok, I didn't quite go that far. But I did mention that these would take the place in my heart as my new favorite weeknight dinner! A dinner to be added to our weekly repetoire for sure. By making these English muffin pizzas a little more grown up, this dish went from eh to mmmm in an instant.
Grown Up English Muffin Pizzas
whole wheat English muffins
tomato sauce (jarred or quick recipe below)
fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
dried oregano
for the sauce:
olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 C tomato sauce (e.g., Red Pack)
3 tbsp parmesean cheese
basil olive oil or dried basil
kosher salt
pepper
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Half the muffins and toast in a toaster. Top with sauce*, a slice of fresh mozzarella cheese and oregano. Lay on a wire rack set over a sheet pan and bake for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and gooey. Sprinkle with oregano. Dig in.
*If you want to whip up Shaun's easy sauce, here's the recipe. In a small sauce pan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil and saute the minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the tomato sauce and mix well. Add the basil or basil oil and parmesean cheese. Let simmer for a few minutes so flavors meld together. Use while warm.
So there you have it. Perhaps the easiest dinner of all time and one of my new favorites. Perhaps being a grown up isn't so bad after all...
So what do you think? Do you ever dabble in foods that you loved as a kid (circa my pb&j habit)? What's your quickest weeknight meal?
10 Comments | April 14, 2011 | Share Article | Email Article | tagged pizza, quick dinners | in Recipes Print Article | Permalink
Reader Comments (10)
I love English muffin pizzas!! My favorite quick meals are always a sandwich or salad of some sort. Sometimes both! :)
Kids food is underrated! These look like a great easy dinner!
This makes me happy to be a grown-up. My favorite kid meal was pizza rolls and I need to make a version that I have been wanting to try forever. Until then, my pizza love can be quenched for a bit with these lovelies!
I've always preferred pizza bagels to pizza english muffins, but these do look good (and with the doctored-up sauce, just fancy enough to be "grown-up food"). When I was a kid I loved toasted PB&J sandwiches, I could really go for one of those right now!
This IS the quickest I've seen! It looks good. Slap on some pepperoni and my hubs will eat it!
When I taugh first grade, I'd always crave their snacks that they bring...I'd buy myself a box of Goldfish or Buggles every now and then.
Those are adorable and that melty cheese looks crazy delicious!! :)
we make these too, OFTEN!!! sometimes on english muffins and sometimes on pitas - both delish. i love kid food - especially kraft dinner and hot dogs!!! i'm kind of pathetic!
We used to take the "canned" rolls and make pizzas like this! This does look like such a fun and totally delicious meal!
these look totally delicious! i LOVE pizza...and mini version? even better!!
Yum!!! Those look fab.
I have made fancy grilled cheese sandwiches...and those always go over well.
Also, Instead of pb&j, I'll sometimes do sunbutter and figs---kind of a more sophisticated spin but still fills the kid craving!