May 15, 2020 | Posted in:Cooking, Easy Entertaining
Fridays are for pizza! Celebrate National Pizza Party Day with an extra special (super easy) pizza party at home. Did you grow up ordering pizza and watching a movie to ring in the weekend? Me too! Disney and Pixar are celebrating Toy Story’s 25th anniversary by sharing some fun recipes to make a Pizza Planet inspired pizza party and I am all for it. I’m sharing their Pizza Planet Meatless Alien Meatballs pizza recipe and Rocket flatbread that uses store-bought Naan!
Can you count how many times you have watched Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story movies over the years? The first thing I think of is the clawwwww!
The minute I saw the Pizza Planet inspired alien meatballs I was ready to make the cute cauliflower-based recipe. Until I realized that my fridge didn’t have some of the items needed. Have you been there? Excited to try a new recipe but short key ingredients so you scrapped making the recipe? Me too. The thing is, cooking is fun and some recipes allow for easy ingredient swapping. I had a fridge full of other yummy items that could give me similar results. So, rather than get discouraged I used some Disney magic as my inspiration.
What to do if you don’t have all the ingredients to make alien meatballs
Use what you have! I whipped up my own Pizza Planet inspired alien meatballs using ground beef, it’s what I had defrosted and ready to go. Don’t fret, get to defrosting a package of ground chicken, ground turkey, Italian sausage, or pull out chickpeas, cauliflower, or other plant-based substitutions. You are now ready to make alien meatballs. Really, these days it’s all about using what doesn’t require another trip to the store for that one missing ingredient.
I whirred up an extra zesty pesto in my food processor using store-bought pesto fortified with fresh arugula and fresh basil I had in my veggie drawer. Then added extra virgin olive oil to create a loose pesto to spoon over the breadcrumbs and thoroughly mix. Next, gently incorporate the bright green pesto breadcrumb mixture into your ground meat and form into alien meatballs.
Don’t have breadcrumbs in the pantry? No problem! Substitute crushed gluten-free crackers or day-old bread. Bake up your alien meatballs and place two per pizza slice for a very tasty Pizza Planet upgrade to your cheese pizza. If you want your alien meatballs to have vivid green coloring, brush extra pesto on the meatballs once cooked or use the lighter meats like chicken, turkey, or the original cauliflower.
Easy substitutions for store-bought pesto
No pesto stashed in the pantry? Here are some flavorful and colorful substitutions that are likely in your pantry or fridge right now:
- Green or black olive tapenade
- Chimichurri
- Roasted red peppers, pureed
- Roasted veggies, finely chopped
- Roasted cherry tomatoes
- Sauteed mushrooms, finely chopped
- Canned or fresh chopped green chili peppers
- Jarred tomato pesto
- Jarred roasted tomato salsa
- Jarred Calabrian chili (spicy!)
- Verde simmer sauce
National Pizza Party Day At Home
Keep pizza night easy by doctoring up a frozen pizza or order in pizza delivery to your home from your favorite local pizzeria. If you want to create a fun family activity, purchase premade pizza dough and sauce from that same local pizzeria to create the cute Rocket pizza.
I topped the baked alien meatballs with pearl mozzarella for “eyeballs”. Any cheese in your cheese drawer will work, including cream cheese if you aren’t a fan of goat cheese. Black olives make the pupils of eyes and the mouths but these are your aliens, have some fun, and use what you prefer. Get creative, there is no such thing as a “wrong” alien meatball!
National Pizza Party Day is for everyone
Don’t have kids in the house? Doesn’t matter! My hubby took one look at the cute alien meatballs and became a kid right before my eyes. He was completely taken with the adorable alien meatballs and impressed with the sophisticated flavor. Did I mention they are absolutely delicious?! So delicious that you’ll see a non-alien shaped recipe of these pesto meatballs here on my blog very soon.
The remaining alien meatballs are waiting for us in the fridge. We decided that National Pizza Party Day is the perfect time to whip up a pizza with the dough I purchased and watch Toy Story on Disney+ to de-stress and have some fun. I hope you enjoy a bit of Disney and Pixar Toy Story magic for National Pizza Party Day!
Disney+ is streaming all the Toy Story movies
If you would love to celebrate National Pizza Party Day the same way I plan to and don’t yet have Disney+, there is a no-risk 7-day free trial to check it out here. All of the Toy Story movies are on Disney+ to view immediately! Did you already use your Disney+ trial? Pop over to TasteCookSip on Instagram for a chance to win 3 months of Disney+ streaming service.
We could all use some new streaming content these days and I bet we have similar happy memories of being entertained by Star Wars movies, Pixar movies, and the many Marvel franchise movies. Looking ahead, three months of Disney+ service will take your streaming enjoyment all the way through the much anticipated July 3rd Hamilton debut and beyond!
Thanks for stopping by! Are you looking for more cooking inspiration, Orlando-area food suggestions, and yummy Disney foodie info? Follow along on Instagram, Instagram Stories, Facebook and Twitter. Can’t wait for my meatball recipe, no prob! DM me on Instagram if you would like my meatball recipe before I post it and I’ll message it right over!
Note: The above Pizza Planet inspired recipes were provided as a courtesy by Disney and Pixar to share with you in honor of Toy Story’s 25th anniversary and National Pizza Party Day! All opinions are my own and I’ll be sharing my official pesto meatball recipe soon. Check back in the weeks to come.
Instagram giveaway ends Monday, May 18, 2020. No purchase necessary to win. Winner will receive their choice of a Google Play or iTunes GC in the amount of $25 to purchase 3 months of Disney+ service. This giveaway is not affiliated with, or sponsored by, Instagram Inc. You must have a valid Instagram account to enter and adhere to all Instagram’s terms of use to be eligible to win. Good luck!
Lisa Wilk
Hello, I'm Lisa Wilk! I'm a freelance food, wine and travel writer, photographer and presenter based out of Orlando, FL. While covering local restaurants and food events in the #1 tourist destination in the US, I find endless cooking inspiration when dining out. You'll often find me in the kitchen putting my own spin on those elevated chef creations to enjoy at home and when entertaining. I have a love and enthusiasm for wine, wine education and wine pairing. Find me about town teaching and demystifying wine as part of the popular @TheTastyTrio in the popular Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Perfectly Paired program series I've co-developed. Taste, Cook and Sip along with me on Twitter and Instagram at @TasteCookSip and @WineChix! Cheers!
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