Call it a pie or a pizza - more like a pizza pie, made with mac and cheese and pizza dough for the pie crust, and with lots and lots of cheese. Mac and cheese, pizza, pesto, sauce, and cheese more cheese cheese! - completely kids' favorite and comfort food. Hence, it is perfect to make for Pi Day! It is a day to celebrate the mathematical constant, π - the ration of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. It is celebrated on 3/14, because of the order of digits 3,1, and 4 as they are the first three digits of pi. Pi day was founded by physicist Larry Shaw in 1988. So, what do we do on a special day, discuss a lot about π and eat a lot of pie! :-)
Coming back to the recipe, well, there is no strict recipe! All you need to make is pizza dough, a box of mac and cheese, and some cheese. Any shape or flavor is okay. What makes it more fun for the kids - cheese, cheese, and more cheese. So add cheese as you wish or whatever you have in hand. Any flavor cheese is fine as long as it's your favorite! Eventually having fun with kids is more important when you try to make fun stuff like this and is going to bring a huge smile on your kids and face and yours too.
Ingredients
Pizza crust
A box of mac and cheese
A few spoons of cream cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Shredded cheddar cheese
A few teaspoons of basil pesto
A few teaspoons of pizza or pasta sauce
Slice cheese (3-4 slices)
Any veggies of your choice (optional)
Pizza crust
This recipe makes two crusts. So use one portion for the pie and the other to make a pizza (a circular pizza always has the concept of pi always attached to it) to celebrate π.
I used my bread machine to make the dough.
Water - 1 cup
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Bread flour - 3 cups
Bread machine yeast - 2 tsp
Add the above to the machine pan in the order accordingly suggested by the manufacturer and select the dough cycle. Alternatively, you can knead the dough by hand too. In the meantime, make mac and cheese according to the instructions in the box.
Once the cycle is complete (or proofing is over), remove the dough from the machine on to a floured surface. Punch the dough (which is full of fun for kids), fold, and repeat a couple of times. Divide the dough into two. One portion is used to make the pizza pie. The other portion can be wrapped and refrigerated to use later (to make pizza crust).
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 13-inch pie dish and sprinkle a little cornmeal. Roll out the dough such that it fits the pie dish and carefully place it on the dish.
Spread a couple of teaspoons of cream cheese to the dough base. Add a few teaspoons of sauce and pesto (whichever you prefer) and spread it.
Add the prepared mac and cheese and spread evenly. Add more sauce or pesto here and there as you wish.
Add mozzarella chunks, slice cheese (torn into smaller sizes for even spreading), more shredded cheese. Top with veggies if preferred.
Bake for 15 to 20 min.
Cool, slice, and enjoy the perfect slice of heaven!
