I really do prefer going through life, following day to day routines, keeping schedules, and establishing rituals. When I first married, I was able to clean the house every Saturday. Fridays were grocery shopping days. I planned out meals ahead of time and wrote them down neatly on paper. Life was precise and orderly. And then I had eight kids.
We clean whenever I can gather enough kids together to get the job done quickly. We shop whenever we realize that we’re fresh out of milk, eggs, orange juice, … Sometimes, I try to plan meals in my head, as I run through Meijer, and occasionally I’m successful. All form of precision and order has been stuffed under a couch somewhere, I suppose.
We have recently come up with a plan for consistency on Sunday night; however. After a bumper crop of tomatoes last summer, we were anxious to find anything we could throw tomatoes into, and call a meal for ten. 
Spaghetti, vegetable soup, tomato soup, chili, etc. One afternoon, the kids brought a Family Circle magazine up from the mailbox. On the cover was a photograph of a pizza called, “Sicilian-Style Pizza.” As I scanned through the recipe, I noticed a key ingredient, “crushed tomatoes!” We tried the recipe out the following Sunday.
We’ve been making this dish faithfully, every Sunday since. After lunch, Dwight tells Maddie to take Naomi up for her nap, while Ellynne, Josh, and Charlie clean up the kitchen. Kate and Julia are sent to separate couches, in separate rooms, with individual books to read. Sam is sent up to his room to play Legos.
On her way upstairs with Naomi, Maddie stops off at the piano for a little Chopin. Naomi begins chasing Livy(our Yorkie Poo) around the house with her doll stroller. Sam sees how much fun she’s having and runs off in the opposite direction, in order to cut Livy off at the stairs. Ellynne immediately launches off into a lengthy explanation about how she has already fulfilled her daily requirement by cleaning up the breakfast dishes. Both parents distracted, Josh takes this opportunity to sneak off the the restroom. This leaves Charlie, who upon seeing that he has been left alone to clean up, crumples dramatically to the floor, and begins to moan, “I always get stuck cleaning up all the dishes, every daaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!” Kate and Julia begin fighting about who got what couch last Sunday.
Once this battle has been fought, Maddie comes back to the kitchen and prepares the tomato sauce and pizza dough. I’m really proud of her, she’s done an awesome job learning to prepare this dish for us. At supper time, all that’s left to do is assemble. Try it; it’s easy, tasty, and beats frozen pizza any day!
Basic Pizza Dough
serves 8 (we double)
1 cup warm water
1 package dry yeast
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Combine water and yeast in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
Whisk together in large bowl; 2 1/2 cups flour, sugar, and salt. Add yeast mixture and olive oil, stir until dough forms a ball. Knead dough on well-floured surface, using as much of remaining 1/4 flour as needed. Form dough into a disk, place in a bowl that has been lightly coated with olive oil, and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a warm place for approx. 2 hours.
Remove dough, punch down, and roll into desired diameter.
Marinara Sauce
Makes 2 cups
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (28 ounces) tomatoes, crushed by hand
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
In medium sized saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic, cook 1 minute, stirring so garlic does not burn. Stir in tomatoes, sugar, oregano, basil, and salt. Bring to a boil. Cook, with lid ajar, for 30 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
To assemble pizza; Spread sauce on rolled out pizza dough. Sprinkle sauce with 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, and layer with sliced pepperoni; or any toppings you prefer. Bake at in a 500 degree, preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheese is melted and bubbly. ( I think the high temp gives the pizza a wood-fired flavor) Enjoy; let me know what you think!
