Going along with our Super Bowl / Chicago Bears theme, I’ve been searching for the ultimate Chicago- style deep dish pizza recipe. While Pizzeria Uno is credited with inventing the dish, Gino’s East is also famous for their deep dish pizza. Damn Good Food gives his take on Gino’s pizza crust and I’ve combined it with Pizza Making.com’s Pizzeria Uno recipe for cheese, topping and sauce advice.

If this is way too much work or your family will start WWIII over toppings, why not make English Muffin Pizzas? These are really kid friendly, fun and will make terrific appetizers as well. But if you’re going traditional, the kids can help with punching out the dough and assembly.

Gino’s East Meets Pizzeria Uno Deep Dish Chicago-Style Pizza Recipe

Crust ingredients:

1. 1 cup of warm water
2. 1 package yeast
3. 1/2 cup cornmeal or corn flour
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 2 T corn oil
6. 2 ½ to 3 cups of cheap generic flour
7. Yellow food coloring – the real secret to why Gino’s crust is yellow (optional)

Crust directions:

1. Take the water and put it in your mixer. Add yeast and a touch of sugar. Let the yeast foam up to be sure that it is active.
2. Then add the rest of the ingredients including 2 1/2 cups flour. Add between 1/4 and 1/2 teaspoons of yellow food coloring (optional).
3. Using a dough hook, knead the dough until it is well combined. The dough should be moist but not sticky. If the dough is sticky add a little more flour. Let the mixer knead the dough for 10 minutes.
4. If you have a gas oven, put it in there to rise (the pilot light keeps the oven slightly warmer than room temperature.) Otherwise, put it in a warm dry place – maybe by the drier in your laundry room or by a heating vent. If you desire a late in the day pizza taste (yeasty tasting), then let it rise all day.

Filling ingredients:

1. 1/3 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
2. 2 cups Italian-style whole peeled tomatoes, drained and squished
3. 1 teaspoon basil
4. 1 teaspoon oregano
5. 2 cloves garlic, minced
6. Salt to taste
7. 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
8. 3 tablespoons olive oil

Assembly:

1. Take the dough out of the oven, then preheat it to 350 degrees F.
2. After the dough has risen take your deep dish pizza pan (or a round cake pan with straight sides) and coat the inside of it with a very healthy coating of melted butter. You can also use a cast iron skillet, which will produce a crustier crust.
3. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thick and up it in the pan. Then pinch the dough up along the sides of the pan.
4. Place the cheese in tile-like layers on the bottom of the pie.
5. Next put in the tomatoes and the basil, oregano, garlic, and salt, reserving the Parmesan cheese for the top.
6. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the pie and you are ready to bake.
7. Bake the pie in a 475°F oven until the top is golden and gooey and the crust a light golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Variations: Before you put on the Parmesan cheese and olive oil drizzle, you might like to add any or all of the following: Italian sausage, hot or mild yellow onions, peeled and diced pepperoni, sliced thin mushrooms, slice olives, or maybe sliced green sweet bell peppers, cored and sliced thin.

Or you can be totally untradional and go the "foo-foo" route with some shrimp, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and feta cheese. Mmmmmmmmm.

No, I’m not going to Miami, but I will be watching Da Bears vs. the Colts this Sunday. It’s become a family tradition for us to make food based on the region where the teams are from. I was really hoping that New Orleans (gumbo) or San Diego (fish tacos) would make it to the big game this year. Since I can’t think of Indiapolis food, we’ll going with a Chicago theme. We used to live in the Chicagoland area (that’s where Nathan was born) and boy was the food terrific!

This week I’ll be featuring some yummy Chicago inspired recipes. I’m convinced that it’s impossible to make deep dish at home, but I’m going to try to find something close or settle for calzones. And I’ll try to find some good Polish food and rib recipes to share, too.

I’ll be including some books as well, after all you’re going to need something wholesome to distract the kids from potential wardrobe malfunctions from Prince (he’s been known to have a few), and the Viagra (Ditka!) and GoDaddy ads.

But first, why not check out the NFL’s Super Bowl website to learn more about the game and players? This would be fascinating for your older children – if they can get dad away from the computer for a minute. And check out the Super Bowl History page with links to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and pictures of the tickets and rings (click on the scores to see them).

The Super Bowl is such a grand American tradition with a rich history and many hereos that kids can look up to and admire, like da Bear’s Walter Payton on the left. Take advantage of the game and use it to bond with your family and teach kids about America, sports traditions, role models, and great regional food.

Little Fun; Little Learning is blogged by Revka, a homeschooling, married SAHM to three girls. (She also blogs at The Porch Light.)

Revka says she’s always on the lookout for fun activities and educational ideas "the littles," kids ages 0-5. At Little Fun; Little Learning she shares complete on-site projects/ideas and links to valuable resources.

No only does she write about fun crafts like Hand Print Sheep, but she gives you very detailed instructions and ideas on how to combine the craft with other activities. She also highlights books, writing activities, and ways to teach children about money.

Revka’s only been blogging at Little Fun; Little Learning since January 8. I predict her site will be a great resource for parents of little ones, not just homeschoolers. Check it out!

I was recently sent a box of items to review by Brighter Minds, a children’s new media publisher that develops and distributes multimedia products including software, DVD and online games, and books. Brighter Minds uniquely combines educational fundamentals and entertainment value to provide a enriching learning experience for children aged 2 to 12.

Lucie really loved the PBS Kids Feeling Happy Book. Rhyming text and colorful illustrations describe six different feelings in the large board book. Each emotion is represented with a face on an interactive spinning wheel. Lucie liked spinning the wheel to match the face with the emotion described on the page. At $6.95, the book is very reasonably priced.

We also received PBS KIDS™ Giant Touch–and–Learn Cards: Numbers from One to Ten, which costs $9.95. Oversized flash cards for very young children seem to be a new trend. Usborne carries several versions of baby flash cards.

The  Giant Touch–and–Learn Cards: Numbers from One to Ten cards are unique as the front of each card has a touch–and–learn tracing feature that allows your child to trace the cut–out numeral and feel the shape. The back of each card has a wipe–clean surface where your child can practice writing and drawing.

So these cards are not only see, read and tell cards, like traditional flashcards, but touch and draw cards. Great idea since the more senses your child uses, the better they learn. You can introduce taste to counting activities numerous ways, such as having your child count how many food items are on their plate. Or you can make 1-2-3-4 Cake!

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One of the biggest parenting challenges is to get kids to go to sleep. We had a tough time getting Nathan to go to bed by himself since he hates to be alone. We weren’t successful until just before he started kindergarten. Now he puts himself to bed without behing asked. He knows when he’s tired and it’s time to go to sleep.

Lucie’s a whole different kid. Like her dad, she’s a night owl. I’ll often fall asleep before she does and she’ll spend the evening watching Mythbusters or poker tournaments on TV with her dad. But like her brother, she’s usually aware it’s bedtime, and allows us to tuck her in with little fuss.

Here are some books that may help you in getting your children to bed:

• Good Night, Sleep Tight – Claire Freedman’s book for young children is a wonderful grandma-grandchild bear book. While babysitting, Grandma tries several ways to get Archie to feel sleepy but nothing works until she remembers how she used to put his mother to bed when she was a little girl.
• Ten in the Bed – Jane Cabera’s twist on the 10 little monkeys story. Instead there are ten cuddly animals pretending to be cooks, pirates, doctors and more falling out of the bed. Not only are they having fun falling out of bed, they’re pretending to be all sorts of wonderful people, too.
• A Goodnight Kiss (also called Kisses) – By Nanda Roep writes about all the kisses there are, including the very important goodnight kiss.

And here are a few sleepy time recipes to try, courtesy of the Got Milk? website.

Grandma’s Warm Milk
Enjoy the old standby night time drink promoting restful slumber.

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 cups milk (low fat or nonfat)
2. 3 tablespoons honey
3. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Add honey to milk and warm in the microwave.
2. Remove and stir in vanilla.
3. Enjoy and then slumber off to bed. (Don’t forget a pit stop to the potty, first!)

Sleepy Tea
This warm and fragrant bedtime blend will have you sleeping like a baby.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup hibiscus flower tea
2. 1 cup milk (low fat or nonfat)
3. 2 tablespoons honey

Directions:

Prepare tea by letting it steep for at least 5 minutes. Add the milk and honey and stir well.

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