The other day when I was at the grocery, I spotted some flatbread and the photo on the package looked delicious – it was pizza. So I placed the bread in my buggy and remembered that a little friend of ours, Matthew, was going to be spending a few hours with us in a couple of days. I decided that’s when we’d use the flatbread to make homemade pizza.

Matthew is in the 4-H Discovery Cooking Club and really enjoys working in the kitchen so I thought letting him prepare his own pizza would be fun. I thought about our favorite pizza toppings then headed to the produce department to continue my trip around the store.

The first item I picked up for the pizza was a large green bell pepper, then I grabbed a bag of purple onions. I remembered that Matthew likes sausage pizza so as I went through the meat department I picked up a pound of mild sausage. We like bacon on pizza, but I knew we had plenty of that at home.

When I got to the aisle with pizza sauce in it, I checked out every can and jar of sauce before deciding on which one to purchase. We don’t fix pizza often. Honestly, I’m not sure when the last time was, but I do remember I fixed it on the grill. After finally deciding on the sauce I stopped in the dairy department for mozzarella cheese. I don’t care for cheese, but I do eat it on pizza.

After picking Matthew up at school and arriving at the house, I let him know what the plan for supper was. He was all in. I put some bacon in the oven to cook then put some sausage in a pan to fry. We rarely have sausage and I’d forgotten how much mess it makes when it’s frying, especially when you are crumbling it up as you cook it.

It didn’t take long for the sausage to cook. When it was done I put it aside and started preparing the bell pepper and onion. I decided it would be a good idea to sauté the veggies. I put them in a pan with a little olive oil, then I noticed some shiitake mushrooms on the counter. I knew Brad would want those on his pizza so I chopped up a few and threw them in pan with the pepper and onion.

About that time I remembered we had some country ham in the refrigerator and wondered how that might be on pizza (we like regular ham on pizza). I pulled my food chopper from the cabinet and chopped up about a cup of country ham. About that time Brad arrived.

The bacon was done, the vegetables were sautéed and it was time to assemble our pizzas.

Matthew washed his hands and started putting his pizza together. There were two flat breads in the package but Matthew decided half of one of the flat breads would probably be enough for his appetite. Matthew layered on some sauce, sausage, crumbled bacon and cheese. I asked him if he wanted some vegetables; he looked up at me and smiled while shaking his head no. Brad got to work adding toppings to the other flat bread and I did the other half of Matthew’s. Once they were ready to put them in the oven.

Brad and I like our crust crispy and when I asked Matthew, he said he likes his a little crispy. We set the timer according to the flat bread package instructions. After about five minutes we peeked in the oven to check on our creations. Matthew decided he needed more cheese, so we carefully poured a little more on and let it continue to bake. After another five minutes, the cheese was bubbly and we were ready to eat.

Brad said a prayer and we all served ourselves – with Matthew slightly burning the side of his hand while reaching for his.

I looked at both Matthew and Brad and said, “Well, what do you think?” Both shook their heads up and down because their mouths were full. I took a bite and after chewing and swallowing I said “Wow, this is pretty good.”

We all continued to eat until our bellies were full and agreed this was definitely a winner of a recipe and a great way to use flat bread.

When Matthew’s parents arrived to pick him up, we told them about making our own pizzas. I said now that he’s done it he can fix supper for you guys sometime. His mom and dad agreed that was a pretty good idea.

Even though this recipe was just one we all made up, it definitely fits in the nailed it category, and flatbread will be on my grocery list again sometime soon.

Sarah Condley is an amateur baker and chef who is compiling a cookbook of her favorite recipes.