Pizza Mia

Back in February, my husband and I went to a youth conference in Gatlinburg, TN with some teens from church. We stayed in a townhouse that weekend, so we took advantage of having a full kitchen and I cooked all our meals. Well, that’s not entirely true. I wrangled everyone into helping. That’s right, I got teen guys to cook.

Here’s the details on planning the menu. First, I had to find out if there were any food allergies or special dietary needs. We had one vegetarian, but other than that all the others said they would eat anything.

Next, I decided on meals that were easy to prepare, and could be done in an assembly line. The desserts would be easy too. A lot of the ingredients could be used in multiple dishes too. Here’s our menu:

Friday Dinner: Hamburgers/Veggie burgers with all the good stuff you want on a burger, French Fries and Mocha Pudding for dessert. (Mocha Pudding deserves it’s own post, coming soon.)

Saturday Breakfast: Omelets in a Bag, muffins, and cereal.

Saturday Lunch: Quesadillas, Mexican Rice, Refried Beans, Chips and Salsa.

Saturday Dinner: Pizza Mias, Gooey Butter Cake.

Sunday Breakfast: Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls with How Sweet Eats’ Vanilla Cream Glaze, muffins, cereal.

Before going, I made sure that I had as much prepared as possible. Meats cooked, muffins made, ingredients mixed. Hey, I didn’t want to spend the whole weekend in the kitchen. It worked out really well. I’m so proud of how organized I was. Friday night after dinner, I had everyone mix up their omelets and store in the fridge overnight. That made Saturday morning go smoothly. I was so proud of our teens. Not only did they help me out in the kitchen, but by the end of the weekend were taking the initiative in getting food ready. You don’t see that everyday. Thanks guys!

Anyway, here is a recipe that is a crowd pleaser. Nothing fancy here, just something incredibly easy that can be adjusted to your tastes and easy to serve to a large group. We call them Pizza Mias, not just because they are personal pizzas, but because the recipe was given to me by my friend Mia. Here’s what you need:

• Sub rolls
• Marinara sauce
• Your favorite pizza toppings
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese, or whatever cheese you prefer for pizza
• Aluminum foil to keep you sane

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Slice the rolls into two halves if not already sliced.

Add your sauce.

Then lay on the toppings.

Now the cheese.

Now stick it in the oven for 10 minutes or so until the cheese has melted. See how easy that was, I kinda feel goofy for spelling it all out for you, it’s such a no brainer.

Mia suggests that for a large crowd, use multiple pans so they are ready to go as soon as another comes out of the oven. She also sticks to just 3 options, cheese, peperoni, and sausage. Get an assembly line going and it couldn’t be easier!