Every Friday night in our house goes the same way. Kids get home from school, eat half of the refrigerator of food, and play for a bit while they anxiously await the official start of our beloved pizza night. When it’s time to start making the pizza, they grab their cooking towers, anchor them on each side of the kitchen island, and prepare to eat their weight in pizza ingredients….I mean, make pizza. While the pizzas are cooking, we move the living room coffee table out of the way, spread out the picnic blanket on the floor, and pop in a movie. It’s always Cars 3 or Toy Story. So now if you ever come over on a Friday night, you know exactly what to expect. 😉
Really though, our whole family has come to love this tradition. It’s the perfect way to wind down a busy week. The boys look forward to pizza night and so do we! Great food, happy kids, and a relaxed evening. I won’t lie, some weeks after working full-time, I’m too tired to put any effort whatsoever into our Friday night plans, so we order pizza to be delivered. Either way, we never miss a pizza night!
Today, I’m rounding up my pizza night essentials. I buy all of my ingredients for pizza night at Trader Joe’s. This isn’t a sponsored post, I just really love the ingredients I get there and think they come together to make the best homemade pizza. And after doing this for 3 years now, I’ve tried a lot of different brands! Here are my favorites:
Trader Joe’s Shredded Mozzarella – this one isn’t dry and chalky like most other brands of shredded cheese. It’s shredded a little thicker and melts perfectly.
Trader Joe’s Quattro Formaggio – this blend of cheese gives your pizza the little extra something that makes people go hmmm….this is really good!
Trader Joe’s Sliced Prosciutto – I use this for my Fig and Prosciutto Pizza.
Trader Joe’s Fig Butter – I think I have tried nearly every fig spread out there for this pizza, and this one is hands down the best in terms of both taste and texture. The thickness is just right for a pizza base and it doesn’t liquify as it cooks, which means you don’t end up with a soggy pizza. I use this for my Fig and Prosciutto Pizza.
Trader Joe’s Pizza Sauce – I think I have also tried nearly every pizza sauce out there, and this one is my favorite. It’s the perfect blend of spices – so good that I haven’t even attempted to make my own. No reason to!
Trader Joe’s Ciao Pepperoni – This pepperoni has great flavor, and is mild enough for my kids to eat.
William’s Sonoma Grilling Pizza Pan – this pizza pan is better than a pizza stone. While they sell it during grilling season, I use this pan year round – both on the grill and in the oven. I now have four of these pans so that I can prep two pizzas while two are in the oven!
