The Pizza Toast

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time."

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Pizza toast.

It is such a simple meal. A struggle meal if you will.
Where as a box of frozen pizza or takeout could just be too expensive to justify. I ate this meal many times while growing up. It was way better than my mom's signature Kraft Singles nachos. Yes, you read that right. A plate of tortilla chips topped with neon orange cheese slices, microwaved until melted. Sometimes, if she was feeling fancy, she topped them with salsa before heating. I still gag at the thought of them. She even used to add salsa and then warm them up. Blegh. My brothers don't remember these "homemade nachos" but I sure do. Yuck.

Pizza toast, though- that was different. That was comfort. That was fun. That was a little slice of happiness on a busy school night. It became one of my favorite meals as a child. My brothers and I still talk about mom making them sometimes. And, on occasion, I still make it for my family. Today, was one of those days.

Pizza toast.

Now that I have a family of my own, I still make it every once in a while. It’s quick, it’s customizable, and it’s nostalgic- at least for me. Everyone gets to build their own version, like little personal pizzas without the all the fuss of rolling dough out. Sometimes it’s loaded with veggies, sometimes it’s all about the meat, and sometimes, like today, it’s just simple pepperoni.

The perfect lunch in my mind.

It's nothing fancy but that's the point or the beauty if you will when it comes down to this simple meal. It's like making something out of nothing. It's way better than a frozen pizza to me.

I thought I would write about it today and immortalize it.

So without further ado, here is my recipe:

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The Pizza Toast Recipe

Ingredients:

Bread (any kind- white, wheat, sourdough, whatever’s in the kitchen)

Pizza or pasta sauce

Shredded cheese (mozzarella is classic, but use what you’ve got)

Toppings of your choice (pepperoni, veggies, leftover chicken, mushrooms, etc)

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven (or toaster oven) to 375°F.

2. Lay slices of bread on a baking sheet.

3. Spread a thin layer of sauce over each slice. I happened to have pizza sauce today but pasta sauce also would work.

4. Sprinkle on cheese... (don’t be shy here.)

5. Add your toppings of choice.

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

7. Optional: switch to broil for 1-2 minutes at the end for golden, crispy cheese.

It's good hot or cold, just like your favorite takeout place but better because it's homemade. Don't forget the ranch to dip!

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This childhood staple dish of mine, will hopefully pass down to other generations. Just something simple like sauce on a piece of bread, made my day. It reminded me of simpler times, when I could play The Sims for 9 hours straight, or read a 600 page novel in 3 days.

Thanks for reading about pizza toast as a somewhat ode to my childhood. Especially with the quote at the beginning of this post, I was a huge Laura Ingalls Wilder fan while growing up. Including that quote, feels like the perfect reminder that sometimes, we just need to let ourselves become children again. Even if only through something as small as a slice of pizza toast after grocery shopping with your children.

I hope you enjoy the recipe attached to this post and the childhood nostalgia that came with it my friends.

Chloe Rose Violet 🌹