Friday Night Fun

 Kids are feeling pretty down these days with most sports and after school activities being cancelled. Yet there's one thing that can't be exed out and that's Friday night. It 's meant for fun dinners and activities to welcome in the weekend There are plenty of neat dinner ideas and snacks to keep everyone full and fun. 

Pizza has always been a Friday night standard. It's easy to make at home with the dough consisting of just flour water,  yeast, olive oil, salt , and yes, a teaspoon of sugar. What makes it special is what you put on top. A fun idea is creating individual ones and let the kids put what they want on top. Vary the toppings. Have chopped bell peppers along with  chopped and diced broccoli and cauliflower. Kids love pepperoni so you can always make that one of the toppings too along with extra cheese. A spin on pizza is a calzone. The name means big sock however you can make them little sock size for your little ones. Another way of looking at it is as inside out pizza. Usually the toppings and sauce go on the inside and then the whole thing is baked in a 375 degree F oven for thirty to thirty-five minutes. Omit the pizza sauce and save that for later dipping. Like pizzas , calzones can vary . Kids can stuff them with sausage and bacon along with Canadian bacon and sausage. They can also be stuffed with the traditional ham and ricotta cheese but different veggies can be subbed in for the ham. You can also season or not season them too. Kids love barbecue and if the weather is still warn in your area then think about a cook out with their favorite burgers and hot dogs. Since it's Friday serve up a bowl of potato chips or tortilla chips with nachos too.

The end of the week usually means movie or game night. The fun food that comes to mind with both of these activities is popcorn. A tasty version is subbing in olive oil for a richer flavor. You could also make a variety of different flavored corn. Add a heady sprinkle of cheddar cheese powder or finely grated Parmesan.Caramel corn is another sweet treat perfect for munching during a marathon or Scrabble game. The caramel is a mix of butter,vanilla and the two sugars brown and white cooked over a stove top. The already cooked corn is then tossed into the mix and coolers. There's a great recipe in the Two Sisters Food blog (where I get all my frosting recipes). Another fun Friday night treat is a bowl of potato chips. However the store bought kind can be greasy, especially when eaten at night. This is when the air fryer comes into play. Air fryer chips are crispy and just as tasty as any of the commercial brands. You just need Russet potatoes sliced thin with a mandoline.It's then soaking them in cold water for thirty minutes. Before frying coat both sides of the slices with cooking spray and then cook for sixteen minutes at 300 degrees F and then the last few minutes at 400 degrees F. Remember to salt them too.

Nothing will take away Friday night fun. Bake that pizza , pop some corn. Have fun foods and fun treats for the best night of the week.