When I was a kid, I always packed a “cold lunch” for school. I would never eat school lunchroom food!! (Keep in mind, this was the 80’s and 90’s when school lunch still fit the bad stereotypes). There was one exception to the rule: French Bread Pizza Day. This was a day I looked forward to every month.
Now I’m a very mature adult (of sorts), and yet I still love french-bread pizza. Not only is a delicious dinner, but it is really fast and easy. It’s almost impossible to mess this up (as long as you watch the broiler). We often make this on Saturday nights because something about Saturday night makes me not want to cook.
Start with….. french bread. Just buy a loaf at the grocery store and cut it in half length-wise. Now line a long baking sheet with foil (because it’s Saturday night and I don’t want to scrub a pan) and put both pieces of the bread on the sheet, cut side up.
Top each half with about 1/3-1/2 C pre-made pizza sauce. No. I’m not making my own pizza sauce here. This is supposed to be a fast, easy meal and making homemade sauce doesn’t fit with that. If you want to make your own sauce, go for it! 🙂
Now top each slice of bread with 1/2-2/3 C shredded mozzarella cheese. Use as much or as little as you like.
Put the pizza in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes. Now turn the oven off and turn the broiler on low (because I’m notorious for burning things under the broiler, I always use mine on low). Broil the pizza for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is gold and bubbly. The reason I use both the oven and the broiler is because using the oven helps the bread get crisp all around while the broiler melts the cheese and helps the top edges of the bread get crispy.
Now pull it out and slice it up on a cutting board. Pair this with a salad and you’ve got a meal in less than 15 minutes!
