Pizza With Help from Trader Joe's and Some Super Mario-Inspired Cookies

Boo, Cloud, Coin, Mario Feather, Pikachu, Spike Shell

Tip for guys: Buy a girl pizza. And if she's vegetarian, take off the pepperoni for her then give her your best smile.

Reward: These cookies

The other weekend, my friends and I were starving around 2am. Being in a college town the natural answer to our problem was pizza. Not fancy California Pizza Kitchen pizza or thin crust, Mediterranean-style pizza with fancy cheeses and herbs. No, I'm talking slices as big as a quarter of a pie, very tomato-tasting tomato sauce, plain mozzarella cheese, and crust so flimsy there's no other way to eat it than to fold it up into a pizza sandwich. This giant slice of college for about $1 a slice. Now that's a good end to a Saturday night. My friend E promised to buy me and my roommate pizza just because he's that awesome. He's one of those people who takes the word "friend" very seriously and is very dependable. (My roommate and I have even discussed making him a plaque with his name and "Awesome Guy of the Year" on it).

The first time I met E I was immediately drawn to his arm were he has an old-school Mushroom tattoo from Super Mario. Because he loves Nintendo so much, and had an all-nighter of work coming up, my roommate and I decided to make him sugar cookies in the shapes of old video game characters and objects. I don't know who was happier: E for getting free cookies or K and I for getting to spend hours cutting and decorating cookies instead of doing work. 

The cookie and icing recipes we found at SnackOrDie.com. Unfortunately we didn't get to try any of the cookies, so I can't tell you from personal experience how they were, but he brought them into work the next day and his coworkers ate them all -- I think it's safe to say they were a success :)

Staying on the theme of pizza, I made a wonderful discovery last weekend: Trader Joe's pizza dough is DELICIOUS. And even better than being tasty? It costs only $0.99. Warning to Boston college students: you better get the dough now before I buy all of them to keep in my fridge and freezer.

Although it feels a bit funny to be giving a recipe for pizza, especially since I didn't make my own crust (or my own sauce.. ), I figured it might inspire some of you to give it a shot and show that making a filling meal (with plenty of leftovers) is not only delicious, but quick and easy as well: perfect for college students!

Kelli's Veggie Pizza with Help from Trader Joe's
Ingredients:

• Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Pizza Dough 
• Dried basil 
• Dried minced garlic
• Cornmeal 
• Part-skim mozzarella cheese 
• Favorite pizza sauce
• Sweet yellow pepper, diced
• Cherry tomatoes, sliced
• Spinach, washed and drained 

Directions 

1. Let dough sit out in room temperature for 20min
2. Preheat oven to 425
3. On a floured surface, roll out dough into a circle, making it as thick as you prefer 
4. Sprinkle on basil and garlic 
5. Spread pizza sauce over pie, covering up to the ends 
6. Scatter spinach on pizza then top with cheese
7. Place chopped pepper pieces and sliced tomato on top of cheese
8. Finally, spread a light layer of cornmeal on baking sheet or pizza stone. Place pizza on sheet and bake in oven for 8min (or until it reaches desired crispiness) 

That's it! Very quick and very delicious! I wrapped the individual leftover pieces in cling wrap, making it easy to grab a piece to put in my lunchbox the next day.

 

I adore Audrey Hepburn movies. My favorite is Sabrina, but I was watching Funny Face Monday night. Just the music, the outfits, and the way they talk put me in such a good mood for the rest of the night :) 

--Kelli