How do you spend your Fridays? We usually wake up early, brew some coffee & prep for our weekly morning playdate before we wrap up work for the week & make homemade pizzas while sipping old fashions before getting cozy on the couch to watch a movie!
This post includes all of our typical Friday shenanigans, I’m spilling all the secrets with links to why I started a weekly playdate, the Ramsey fam pizza recipe & a step-by-step for making the perfect old fashion. Ready?
Let’s chat about friendships. Early on in my motherhood journey I felt lonely and like I was having an identity crisis. And honestly, I didn’t have many friends in my inner circle experiencing my new way of life, with diaper changes and middle of the night feedings. I was craving, not only time by myself, but deeper connection with other moms.
Fast forward three years, and though I have other moms surrounding me and in my inner tribe, I still sensed this loneliness inside myself and within the hearts of mamas I was seeing regularly. And over the years of friendships changing and coming and going, I learned one important lesson, maybe the most important one of all. That lesson is this: if you want a friend you need to be a friend. And if you want severals friends you need to be willing to extend yourself to several others in need of friends.
So that’s what I started to do. And little by little my tribe began to grow and grow. Don’t be mistaken, it was hard, and still is. I’ve been told “no” more often than “yes” to a playdate invitation, but because of all the times I chose to be brave and ask more mamas and their sweet kiddos to come over, the no’s didn’t hurt so bad, it makes me feel sad more than disappointed or embarrassed. And my mama tribe has expanded and keeps growing, and not even by me. I have several friends who have invited their friends and so on. Isn’t it interesting when we feel included by someone into something we have the urge to include someone else? It’s like our empathy thermometer just keeps getting higher and higher when something ignites a flame inside our hearts.
In my current season of life, a weekly playdate seemed like the best option, and probably the most fun for my kiddos. But what could it be for you, in your current season? Coffee dates with another neighborhood mom? Bringing meals over to new moms in your community? A weekly walk with a family up the road? Whatever it is remember that when you invite people, they will come! Maybe not all of them, but the right ones will keep showing up.
If you want to read more on this topic, click here.
Now for the extra good stuff, old fashions and pizza dough! And since you’ll want to sip an old fashion while making pizza let’s start there.
Step-by-Step Simple Old Fashion Recipe
What you will need…
2 glasses (preferably crystal, but any will do)
2 oz. shot glass
Whiskey or Bourbon of your liking. Some of our faves are Woodford Reserve and First Call, but you can do any good mixing whiskeys like Maker’s Mark, Bulleit Bourbon or Breckenridge Bourbon Whiskey.
Bitters. We enjoy orange, but there are tons of options!
2 orange slices
2 cherries, these are some of our favorites
Muddler. Here’s one if you need to order one!
What you do, step-by-step…
- Take glasses and place 1 orange slice in each
- Use muddler to muddle orange slices. If you aren’t familiar with muddling, do a quick google search.
- Add a splash of bitters to each glass, literally a teeny splash
- Pour 2oz of whiskey or bourbon of your choice into each glass
- Add ice (Alexander likes these and I prefer stone rocks) to each drink
- Top each drink with a cherry & voila!
- Sip & enjoy!
The moment soooo many of you have been waiting for…the Ramsey fam’s pizza dough recipe! I honestly feel like I’m sharing one of the biggest secrets. This recipe has been circling through Alexander’s family for decades. Alexander’s parents started the Friday night pizza night tradition when he was young and it’s been one of our favorite family traditions to keep. Now that you have your old fashions, let’s start making the dough!
Ramsey Fam Pizza Dough Recipe
Here is what you need…
1 large mixing bowl
1 cup warm water (around 110 degrees F)
1 tsp sugar
1 packet dry yeast (or 2.5 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
All-purpose flour
What you will do…
Add warm water and yeast to mixing bowl. Mix and let sit for 5 minutes or until yeast is activated (bubbling).
Then add the sugar, olive oil and salt. Mix and begin to add flour. There is no exact measurements for flour, but mix it until it starts to form into dough. Then take it out of the bowl and knead on countertop (sprinkle flour down first so it doesn’t stick). Continue to knead it and add more flour until the dough isn’t sticking to your hands but also is not dry, it should be easy to form into a ball.
Next, drop 1 Tbsp of olive oil in the bottom of the bowl and place dough back inside bowl in the shape of a ball. Cover with a towel and let rise for 20 minutes. It should be soft and at least double in size. While it rises, preheat the oven to 450 and begin to chop and cook your toppings.
Once the dough has risen, add a little olive oil to the pizza pan(s) and begin to spread the dough, starting at the center of the pan and working outward, gently push the dough to the edges of the pan(s).
As for toppings: make your own pizza sauce by opening a can of tomato sauce and sprinkle in oregano and basil or Italian seasoning. Then top with your favorite pizza toppings! Pro tips: sauté meat before baking pizza and we personally love to sauté our veggies too.
Bake for about 18 minutes or until dough is cooked all the way through.
Have fun and be creative! We love letting our kids help while dancing to our favorite dinner playlist. Alexander often starts the dough with Liliana while I make old fashions and chop veggies. And we have her add the cheese and her own toppings! *and I swear we include Finley in our Friday adventures, he’s usually just scooting around or in my arms, hence him not being in a single photo.
Now that the secrets out, let us know when you try it!