Our family got busy and took a shortcut today, but we still met the Slow Food $5 Challenge! We got preoccupied with more outings and I didn't get pizza crust started on time. I was so tempted by the fresh -baked focaccia bread topped with pesto sauce at the local farmer's market, that I decided to use it instead. The vendor suggested that I could make a horizontal slice to create a middle layer, then fill that with our pizza "toppings."
We got out some fresh spinach, chopped some mushrooms and onions, picked a little fresh basil from the garden, and even sliced up some oven-baked chicken breast to please my carnivorous husband. We added less than half a jar of purchased tomato sauce. The girls enjoyed helping place all of the ingredients in the center of the focaccia loaf, then we closed the top to make what we called our "pizza sandwich."
We browned the focaccia in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes, then I sliced it to serve with fresh tomatoes. Our overall cost for the meal was about $12, or $3 per person, and we had food left over. It would have been significantly less if I hadn't purchased the already baked bread. But we still came in well under the $5 per person cost of the so-called "value" fast food meal.
One of the best reminders that these things matter is when my toddler begs to eat a little fresh spinach before we've finished making our pizza. And she grins like she just got the biggest treat!