Pizza Sandwich — The Weeknight Shortcut in a Freezer-Full Season

The Concordia orientation materials arrived and I read them on the back porch in the evening while Ryan watched the twins in the yard, which is our current summer arrangement: I read, he chases, we rotate. The program is twelve courses over six semesters. First semester: two courses, Foundations of Special Education and Educational Research Methods. They start August 25th. I have four weeks.

The twins are starting at a daycare program two mornings a week in September. This is for the master's program — I need study time and Patty cannot add more days indefinitely — and also for them, because they are thirty-one months old and they are ready for peers beyond each other, which you can tell by watching them at the park where they migrate toward other children with the interest of people who have discovered that the world contains more interesting people than they previously had access to. Owen has made a friend at the park, a boy named Marcus who is approximately the same age and who also builds things, and they build together in parallel silence that is the deepest friendship a two-year-old can have.

Back-to-school cooking prep has begun: the freezer is being stocked, the slow cooker is getting heavy use, the Sunday batch cooking that was my survival mechanism for the last four school years is being reestablished with additional rigor, because this year I am doing the school year and a graduate program simultaneously, and the cooking has to almost take care of itself for that to work. Three soups. Two casseroles. A double batch of turkey meatballs. The freezer is full. I am ready.

I am thirty years old and I am going back to school. I have two children and a husband who just made lieutenant and a drawer full of a dead woman's recipes and a classroom of twenty new students in three weeks. I have more than I started with and I am adding more. This is not recklessness. This is what I am. This is who I am when I am going in the right direction: forward, always, with the soup pot full.

The big batch cooking — the soups, the casseroles, the meatballs — handles the heavy lifting on the hard days, but some nights you need something the kids will actually eat without negotiation, something you can have on the table in the time it takes to unload a backpack. This pizza sandwich became our answer to those nights: it hits every flavor the twins will accept without complaint, it takes almost no thought to assemble, and honestly, after an evening of orientation materials and educational research terminology, not having to think is its own kind of gift.

Pizza Sandwich

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 20 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 hoagie rolls or sub rolls, split
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce or marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup mini pepperoni slices
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives (optional)
• 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter, for brushing

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 400°F (or set the broiler to high). Line a baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup. Split the rolls and lay them cut-side up on the prepared sheet.
2. Brush the rolls. Lightly brush the cut sides of each roll with olive oil or melted butter. This helps them toast evenly and adds a little richness to the base.
3. Spread the sauce. Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of pizza sauce onto each roll half, spreading it to the edges. Don’t overload — a thin, even layer keeps the bread from getting soggy.
4. Add toppings. Scatter the pepperoni evenly over the sauced rolls. Add olives, bell pepper, or any other toppings your family enjoys. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
5. Top with cheese. Cover generously with shredded mozzarella, making sure to get it all the way to the edges so the crust gets a little golden melt on the sides.
6. Bake or broil. Bake at 400°F for 8 to 10 minutes until the cheese is fully melted and bubbling, or broil on high for 3 to 4 minutes watching closely to avoid burning. The edges of the bread should be lightly toasted.
7. Serve immediately. Let cool for 1 to 2 minutes before serving — the sauce holds heat. Slice in half for smaller portions for toddlers or younger kids.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 380 | Protein: 17g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 42g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 810mg