English Muffin Pizza

Parker LOVES pizza! It is his favorite food! He's not picky either. He will eat pepperoni, sausage, veggies, plain cheese...whatever I put in front of him. Kevin and I used to buy Bagel Bites, but my kids are big eaters! Parker can eat 8-9 of those in one sitting and Avery can eat about 4 so one big box is gone in one sitting! I decided to make a healthier version when I started to stay home with the kids. It's super easy and the kids gobbled it up! I mix the toppings up depending on what I have on hand, but the kids aren't picky when it comes to their pizza. Now that Parker is older, he gets to help me make the pizzas...which of course means Avery wants to "help" too. It gets a little messy with cheese and herbs everywhere, but the kids have fun. Not that they don't already love pizza, but they tend to eat more of whatever we are having if they help make it...even if it's just to shake the dried parsley container (hence the reason why I have parsley on A LOT of our meals!).

Gather it:
English muffins, sliced in half
pizza sauce (pasta sauce will work too if that's all you have on hand)
pepperoni (regular or mini - the kids LOVE the mini)
yellow bell peppers, diced
shredded mozzarella cheese
Italian herb seasoning

Make it:
1. Set oven to broil. Place English muffins on a pizza stone (or baking sheet) and broil for a few minutes to allow it to crisp up a bit. If you like a soft "crust" you can omit this step. Watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't burn.

2. Put sauce on top of muffins then the cheese. Sprinkle herbs on top of cheese then add pepperoni (and other toppings of your choice). Sometimes I add a little bit of extra cheese on top of the toppings so that they "glue" together and don't just slide off.

3. Place back in oven and broil until cheese is melted. I like a few little brown "burnt" spots on my cheese. Again, watch it carefully so it doesn't burn.

Easy and yummy!!!

This was last summer when Parker wasn't 3 yet and yep Parker had a whole English muffin pizza! 

I told Parker as I was tucking him in bed last night that if he has a good day at school we would make pizzas for lunch today - his eyes lit up and got excited. I also told him  he had to stay in bed and no getting out...guess what...he stayed in bed! lol

Parker wanted to know if he could eat the pepperoni instead of putting it on the pizza. lol he ate a handful before any others made it on the pizza. FYI the pot holders are there to protect their little hands/arms from burns. 

taking big bites of his pizza

Parker shoving a large piece in his mouth while Avery contemplates what to eat first.