Twirly Whirly Pizza and a good day

It was a good day. I got up, went for a 3 mile walk (up some huge hills) while Mr. M stayed home with the boys and made waffles for breakfast. Then I did 5 real push-ups! This is miraculous in itself.

In the course of the day, I mopped the kitchen floor, did all the dishes, mopped the bathroom floor, helped the boys tidy their room, vacuumed everything, and took the boys to the park. I won't mention that we only stayed at the park for 10 minutes because someone whose name rhymes with Blot had a poop incident in his underwear. I will mention that he cleaned it all up himself. I'm more of a wipe supervisor these days than anything else. But I digress.

The boys and I decided to cook Twirly Whirly Pizza together for their dinner. It was a great success. They both took turns kneading the pizza dough, helped roll it out, spread the sauce (into which I surreptitiously grated some carrots and zucchini), and sprinkled the cheese. The finished product was a hit with both of them. It had a little roll of spinach in it as well, about which Ethan said: "Mom, I like the spinach. It tastes really good in this pizza!"

Here's the recipe for Twirly Whirly Pizza (from Family Fun magazine):

1 tube refrigerated pizza dough OR 1 ball of homemade pizza dough from Basic Pizza Crust recipe
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1/2 cup shredded Italian-mix cheese (or whatever you want)
1 cup fresh (baby) spinach leaves

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Unroll dough from tube or roll out homemade dough into a long rectangular shape. Spread pizza sauce on top and sprinkle with half of the cheese. Top with spinach leaves.

Roll up the dough, as if you are making cinnamon rolls. Cut the rolled-up dough into 8 pieces, then lay them flat in a greased pie tin (like cinnamon rolls). Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake 22-25 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 8 servings.

While we're at it, here's the basic pizza crust recipe from Cooking Light, my favorite magazine:

Tbsp sugar
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/2 tsp)
1 cup warm water (100-110 degrees)

3 cups flour, divided
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil

cooking spray
1 Tbsp cornmeal

1. Dissolve sugar and yeast in water in a large bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in 2 3/4 cups flour, salt, and olive oil to form a soft dough.

2. Knead dough on a lightly-floured surface (I use my cutting board) for about 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Add enough of remaining flour, a bit at a time, to prevent dough from getting sticky.

3. Place dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat. Cover bowl with a moist towel so dough doesn''t dry out. Let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, for 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Press 2 fingers into the dough. If the dents remain, the dough has risen enough.)

4. Punch down the dough and divide it in half. Roll each half into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place dough on 2 baking sheets, each coated with cooking spray and sprinkled with 1/2 Tbsp cornmeal. Crimp edges of dough with fingers to form a rim. Cover and let rise again for 30 minutes (I never do this 2nd rise).

5. Top with desired toppings and cook in pre-heated 450 degree oven for 20-22 minutes.