Quick and Easy Homemade Pizza!

I've been talking to a lot of different people lately, about saving money. It seems that whatever your walk of life, these days we are all watching the pennies. When I'm trying to save money, I really start to notice how much food we waste. Half a tin of this, a bag of forgotten that, it's hard to keep track of what you haven't used, before it turns into half-frozen mush at the back of the fridge (or is that just my fridge?). The problem is, it's easily done, we're all busy parents so it's not always easy to think of recipes to use up what's lurking in the fridge, when all you really want to do is run to the nearest takeaway!

So, how do we give our children the healthy choices they need, without slaving away in the kitchen, and giving ourselves a bit of time off once in a while? You'll have noticed, I specialise in easy, lazy home-cooked food, so here's another one, easy on the pocket, fun for the kids and it can tidy up a lot of leftovers... french bread pizza! If you're a real bargain hunter, you can find french sticks and batons reduced to clear in the evenings in a lot of major supermarkets. I find these are fine to cook the next day, and you can save pounds! The other great thing about recipes like this, is that it caters for the fussy eater. Children can select and add their own toppings, according to preference, so there is no excuse for picky eating! You can use a basic tomato puree for the base, but it can be a little dry, so I've included a pizza sauce recipe that is easy and will make you look like a pro!

We used the end of a cooked ham joint, chopped into pieces, half a tin of left over pineapple and an onion, roughly chopped. However you can add pretty much anything you need to use up, such as bacon, sweetcorn, tuna, peppers, chicken, sausage, tomatoes, to name but a few! Go nuts! The base is just a french stick, chopped in half, and then sliced length ways, with tomato puree spread thickly, before adding the toppings. Oh, and don't forget the grated cheese on top! We did remember eventually, after we took this photo!

If you find Tomato Puree a bit of a strong taste, try this Pizza Sauce instead:

Easy Pizza Sauce

175g Tomato Puree
5 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Tsp Dried Oregano
1 Tsp Dried Basil
0.5 Tsp Dried Rosemary
300 ml Water

Simply stir thoroughly and you're ready to create your perfect pizza!

For more easy recipes for busy families click the link!