Are you the type of host that spends TOO MUCH time in the kitchen, including during the Championship game?

If so, you’ll love the refreshing “ease” of this idea – a “PIZZA TOPPINGS BAR”.

Everything can be prepared ahead of time, takes a short amount of time to set up (on the big day) and once the oven is preheated…

everyone can help themselves!

And if you want to include a second dish… consider a big salad, also with lots of toppings.

The day before, shop for salad fixins, individual-size pizza rounds, sauce and toppings.

Prepare one large bowl of salad greens and place the individual salad and pizza toppings in separate bowls, cover & refrigerate…

HELPFUL HINTS:

1. I love UDI’s 8-1/2″ Thin & Crispy, Gluten-free Pizza Crusts (check the frozen bread or gluten-free section of your grocery store for these).  They taste as yummy as their full-gluten cousins but EVERYone can enjoy them.  And I feel like they are less filling too, so your guests won’t “roll” out after the game (LOL). 😉
2. Set out several vegetarian toppings and varieties of cheeses also – to cover different tastes.   I like Mozzarella, Sharp Cheddar, Goat Milk and Parmesan or Romano cheeses for the final sprinkle before cooking.
3. You can serve the mushrooms raw, but they stay on the pizza better (as a topping) if you saute them ahead of time.  Use olive oil, fresh garlic and your favorite seasoning(s) for EXTRA flavor!  On game day,  warm them up slightly (in the microwave or in a saute pan) before placing them in their toppings bowl.
4. I also like the individual packs of gourmet pizza sauce.  These are an option to consider if you don’t want to have one large bowl of pizza sauce because each package covers one 8-1/2″ individual pizza perfectly!

GAME DAY!

Use a football-themed tablecloth (paper is super easy to clean up), or pick up a length of artificial turf (at the hardware/DIY store) and use white electrical tape to create fast, football field “yard lines”.

I used my Easter grass (ha ha.. gotta love re-purposing).

At the Dollar Tree, I found football-theme paper plates and napkins, green bowls and

a fun foam football (also perfect for frustration throws over any of the Ref’s bad calls!)

So, right before everyone arrives on the BIG DAY, all you have to do is:

1. Set drinks in tubs and ice them down.
2. Use white tape to create a football field
3. Turn on the oven to 375°
4. Cover a couple of cookie sheets with tin foil (for easy clean-up)
5. Put out a sign of brief baking directions, the pizza rounds, as well as your (prepared-ahead) salad, bowl o’  pizza & salad toppings and a variety of salad dressings. 

Also… consider creating your own, homemade “signature” dressing (my favorite is a citrus vinaigrette (OJ mixed with bottled & a package of Italian Dressing).

Now, you can kick back & enjoy the BIG game because

your guests can prepare their own customized salad…

Pizza…

and pop it in the oven themselves (HINT:  4 can fit in a 2-shelf oven at once).

So, instead of slaving over burgers, dogs, wings, etc., your goodies are going to be healthier, self-serve, D.I.Y. and…

YUMMY!

Enjoy the game!