A fun, easy meal to make with your toddler!

Cooking has been something that I have developed a passion for over the last 7 years after graduating college, moving out of my parents’ house, and moving in with my (then boyfriend) husband. Something about having another person to cook for really sparked something in me to get creative and lean into cooking as an outlet for that.

That being said, one of the hardest parts of motherhood for me is to maintain that creative outlet. My husband works late a lot, and it is SO HARD to have the time to devote to cooking and really enjoy it. So, instead of letting it be something that frustrates me, I’m going to channel that energy (and practice my best patience) into teaching Bruce how to cook, and teaching him other things through cooking.

“Good luck”, you guys are probably thinking. Bring a 2 year old into the kitchen? I know, I know, it might be crazy, but is it so crazy it just might work?!

Which brings me to these pizzas! Bruce man and I are solo this weekend (Happy deer season opener to all of the other hunting wives out there!), so we spent our Friday night making mini pizzas. I had bought these mini cauliflower crusts from Trader Joes and KNEW they would be perfect for this, so I was excited to to this activity with him.

He loved it of course, and had so much fun helping me layer the ingredients on the pizzas. I was impressed — I had to coach him to put toppings on ALL the pizzas, not just one, but he did great at taking not-too-big of handfuls and was quite accurate with getting it on the pizza (obviously I didn’t have high hopes).

I can’t wait to get him involved in some more cooking adventures with me!

One thing to note — I pre-cooked the toppings, which were country sausage and zucchini (Trader Joes has pre-packaged bags of mini zucchinis, which were perfect!). It was perfect to get the actual cooking that he isn’t ready to be involved in yet out of the way, and have it ready for him. I try to make a point to do a lot of dinner prep during nap time and then just have it easily accessible in the fridge when we are ready to start cooking.

Also, you do not have to use country sausage and zucchini as your toppings, that’s just what I chose. You can swap out for your fave toppings!

Have you made these? Let me know what you think or any questions you have in the comments below!

RECIPE

Makes 4 mini pizzas, serves 1 adult and 1 toddler comfortably – duplicate as needed for the number of eaters in your family!

INGREDIENTS:

• Mini Cauliflower Crusts from Trader Joes
• Pizza sauce (I used a Trader Joe’s brand, but usually prefer Rao’s when it is available!)
• Shredded mozzarella cheese (buy the full fat – it is better for your littles and melts way better!)
• Country sausage, cooked (I saved the leftovers to have as breakfast through the week!)
• Mini zuchhini, halved and chopped

DIRECTIONS:

• If using your oven to bake, pre-heat to 500
• Spread out the mini cauliflower crusts in a line (they come in a 4 pack)
• Using a spoon, scoop about 1 spoonful of sauce, and spread evenly on 1 crust
• Repeat on each crust
• Take a pinch or two of shredded cheese, and sprinkle evenly on each crust
• Top with sausage and zucchini
• Bake in the toaster oven on 450 for about 5 mins, or bake in the oven on the top rack at 500 for about 5 mins (when the cheese is melted to your liking)