Huckleberry Love: Easy, Peasy Pizza Buns

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Easy, Peasy Pizza Buns

Now that Jaydn and Brynn are getting older, I like to include them in the dinner making process. Meals that they can participate in making or better yet make themselves are wonderful. They are proud of themselves for doing it and there is a much higher likelihood that they will actually eat them! Win win.
These pizza buns are a meal that my mom has been making forever. They are basically just our families take on a make your own pizza, with just a few little changes.

Can't Get Started Without:
~ Foccacia Buns (the delicious triangle kind)
~ Marinara Sauce
~ Italian Spices (oregano, basil, rosemary, etc.)
~ Grated cheese blend, the Kraft Italian 5 cheese blend is perfect
~ Pepperoni Slices
~ Sliced Green Pepper (optional)
~ Sliced Onions (optional)

Start by slicing the Foccacia buns in half; besides this step, slicing your veggies and putting the finished buns in the oven, everything else can be done by your child. :)

*I recommend doing all of the next steps right on your baking sheet. It saves a lot of time on the dishes front*

This next step is really important! Take each half of Foccacia bun, and press it down. This flattens the bun which makes them a million times easier to eat and improves the overall taste of the pizza bun. I've made them not pressed down and the buns were so thick that the taste of the bread overshadowed all the other delicious flavours and the kiddos could hardly get their mouths around them to take a bite.

Now get out your marinara sauce. As a rule, whenever I make anything with marinara sauce I always add some extra herbs and spices. Oregano, Rosemary and Basil are the main three I always add. Spread your sauce all over your open faced buns.

We love ours really saucy so we try to cover every square inch of bun. Yummy!!

Sprinkle a little bit of cheese over top of your sauced up buns. There is no need to use a lot at this point because you will be adding a ~~bit~~ ton more once all of your toppings are on.

Next comes the pepperoni slices. A single layer placed over your now cheesy, sauced up buns is the perfect amount, but make sure to cover every open space.

No one likes a non-pepperoni bite!!

At this point (if you're not into the extra veggies, or if your kids are like mine and run at the idea of eating a dreaded vegetable) you can stop here and add your final layer of cheese. Or, you can make your bun exponentially more delicious and add your toppings.

In my humble opinion, the perfect added veggies are sliced green pepper and onion, but feel free to do your own thing here and get crazy. ;-)

And if you haven't already done it, now is the time to add that incredibly important and delicious last layer of cheese. Don't be frugal with it folks. Cheese is a beautiful thing!

Finally, it is time to place your buns in the oven (insert hightop drum joke sound here) set to 350 degrees and then, wait for the deliciousness.

After about 10 minutes or once your cheese is nice and bubbly...

It's time to dig in.

Ingredients:
~ one Focaccia bun per person
~ marinara sauce with optional added oregano, basil and rosemary
~ 1 pk Kraft Italian Cheese Blend
~ pepperoni slices
~ one small sliced onion
~ half green pepper sliced

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cut Foccacia buns in half and press each side down
3. Spread marinara sauce completely over open faced foccacia bun
4. Sprinkle small amount of cheese over sauce
5. Place pepperoni slices over each Foccacia bun
6. Place optional veggies over top of pepperoni slices
7. Top buns with cheese (don't be frugal)
8. Place in oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is nice and bubbly
9. EAT!!

These are one of my favourite meals. I love how quick and easy they are to make and best of all the girls love em'!! What is your favourite go to easy meal?