I've been eating pizza since I was born and could pick it up (I don't think my mother ever strained it). I grew up in a Catholic Italian household and my father's idea of meatless Friday was cheese pizza, how cool. I now make pizza at least once a week for dinner and make smaller lunch pizzas once or twice weekly (well calzones and strombolis in there too).
If you learn to make a refrigerated dough, like the Lehmann dough on this site, you can make pizza on short notice. I make the dough once a week, one or two 12 inch pizza balls and four to six 7 inch balls for lunches (either for pizza, calzone or stromboli or pitas). The dough keeps up to 5 days or so and I pull it out when I want it. If you know within 2 hours or so of when DH is coming home you can prepare the topings (grate cheese, cook sausage, etc) and put in refrigerator. Pull out the dough and let it rest on the counter for up to 2 hours and then form, top and bake the pizza before he can change his clothes after getting home, any time between 24 hours and 5 days of making the dough, how cool.
My wife had a childhood like yours, I call the meat, starch, vegetable plate the "3 blop method" of plating, no kidding. I've tried to share my rich food culture with her since we started dating 38 years ago. Needless to say, I make the pizza and pasta around here. Try the Lehmann dough, you won't be disappointed.
Ron
