You know I like a good pizza. Who doesn’t?
Carnitas Pizza with Mango & Goat Cheese, Chicken & Artichoke Pesto Pizza, BBQ Pizza, Thai Tofu Pizza (yes, pizza + tofu = very delicious) Hey, it’s all good!
Exhausted from a 5:30am workout, and in no mood to cook dinner, I nearly wept when my boss told me one of my fave pizza shops in town was having an insane anniversary special tonight: $3.99 for a medium, 2-topping pizza.
PIZZAAAAAAAAOOMG!
Me and Northern Lights Pizza were like this in high school. My friends and I ordered from them so often, the delivery guys used to let us put their freaking car-topper delivery light on our cars and drive around with it on there for awhile. It was cool at the time. I’m sure of it.
Back then, with my killer, teenage metabolism, the order was ALWAYS hand-tossed crust with alfredo sauce (yes), tomatoes and chicken. Fast forward a decade and I’m ordering a wee bit healthier…well…for pizza anyways!
Artichokes & tomatoes for her, beef & mushrooms for him. Ok, so we splurged for the garlic-butter seasoned crust. Hence the butter run-off on the side of the pizza box – muwahahaha!!!
Did I mention I worked out this morning? 
I haven’t had this pizza in nearly a decade and I’ve forgotten how good it is! The sauce is really, really light – kind of like the pizza sauce in Rome – and the crust was killer. Chewy and light.
Why is pizza so good? Why?!
I don’t even know what anniversary they were celebrating but, darnit, I’m glad they were – this was such a treat. Plus since Thursdays are my Fridays, pizza just feels right, you know?
Life is short – eat pizza! 
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What were you like in high school?
In high school, if I wasn’t eating, sleeping or breathing – I was dancing! I took tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, tumbling and a million other dance classes about 4 days a week at a studio, and was also co-captain of my high-school’s dance team (wow, just remembered that!) We had practice 4 days a week at 6 am – it was madness!
Oh, and I was also on the synchronized swimming team – booyah!
Alfredo sauce pizza?! No way. YES WAY!
Synchronized swimming sounds like so much fun.
I loooooove pizza. My husband makes the best pizza ever, and I’m just so excited for him to FINALLY come home this weekend. Not only do I get to see my heart, but he’s making me pizza!
Holy awesome abs!
EXACTLY what I was thinking! Woah girl!
Haha – I, too, moved into the comments section to comment on the high school six pack! Ridiculous!
Ummm yeah – they went into hiding circa freshman year of college and haven’t returned since. Let me know if you see them…
Uh Yum, and the fact that you got a garlic butter crust. nom nom nom! I always get the garlic dipping sauce when I order pizza from anywhere lol…
by the way, you have friggin abs even when you were a weee wittle thing!
I’ve made your Thai Tofu Pizza before, and it is awesome! Now I want to try the Chicken & Artichoke Pesto Pizza–that sounds amazing!
I was definitely a goody-two-shoe in high school (oh, wait, I still am). I was in band, track, cross country, 4-H, FFA, and spent my Friday nights doing homework. . .yes, I was a nerd!
I really want to get into the habit of making my own pizza…when we do delivery or carryout we always over order and pig out…sooooo bad for us lol but pizza is so good!
Nice pizza deal!!! Our local bakery/deli always has “Chili Bash” on Thursdays (all-you-can-eat chili soup, cinnamon rolls, chips and chili cheese dip) for $5. Well, apparently today was “national chili day” so it was all-you-can-eat for $2.50!!!!! HELLO! I was totally there. Day of the Deals I guess!
That is so awesome! I would be there every week!
That pizza looks delicious! In high school, I was the band geek. I loved band. Actually, I’m still in it right now in college. I also was in Key Club which is a service and volunteering club.
$3.99 for a pizza?!?!?!?! the deal is a steal!!!!
gosh, now i’m craving a pizza.
Love your blog – get it on Google reader.
I’m a Seattle sixth grade teacher – three kids of my own – one a college student in Iowa (Grinnell). Two vegetarians – and I would love to make the Thai Tofu pizza, but the link appears to be broken. When you have time, can you take a look?
Thanks for writing such a great blog.
Whoops! Fixed!
Suzanne — What a small world. I am a Grinnell grad who has recently moved to Seattle!
Kristin – Delicious looking pizzas, what a deal!
Hi, Jess.
Did you love Grinnell like my son does? He could not be happier.
Welcome to Seattle. It’s not Iowa, but it’s pretty great here!
Love the flashback photo!
That pizza looks unbelievably delicious. What a wonderful dinner (and at a great price to boot!).
Ok, I have been following your blog for about 4 months and I must say, that I just LOVE it! I have made so many of your recipes with tons of success. My post today was driven by successfully making your Scallops-n-pasta re-recipe. I was originally terrified to make a dish with scallops, but you made it look so easy and it was simply AMAZING! I just want to thank you for having this awesome blog!
Thanks! I know – seafood can be super intimidating. I think seeing it used in such simple dishes when we were in Italy helped me make the leap to give it a try!
OMG that pizza looks sooooooooo good!!! I might have to make me some pizza this weekend!
My high school was very small (62 in my graduating class) so we were all pretty much friends with everyone. I was in band (flute) but I wasn’t into sports!
I LOVE pizza! Synchronized swimming? That’s impressive! I ran cross country, track, and 2 years on the pom-pon squad. Oh yeah, late 80′s early 90′s were my time in high school. I’m sure you can just smell the Aqua net.
I was a dancer in high school too! I was Captain of my high school drill team and a dance teacher, and I danced around 20 hours a week. It was great because I could literally eat anything I wanted, which mostly included sweets. My drill team friends and I all always went to Starbucks after our dance functions like football games and such. Now, I can’t even imagine drinking caffeine that late. Wow, it is amazing how times have changed.
That pizza looks delicious!
Can I just say, holy abs?! Oh and that pizza looks killer!
I’m so jealous of your pizza right now, but since I got myself a Panera soup (in a bread bowl, of course), I decided I didn’t really NEED pizza tonight. (sigh)
High school me was all about music – marching band, concert band, choir, show choir, solo and ensemble (band), All-State Honor Choir, etc. I was section leader in both my senior year. So I basically lived in the north wing of our high school where the music rooms were. And in the spring I would add tennis to my activity list. Hm, I guess I also did speech and debate. Like you, I was pretty darn busy, but I sure loved (most) every minute of it!
OH pizza is so amazing! It’s my favorite friday night food too!
I went to Gusto last night on Ingersoll – so good! Definitely a must if you enjoy pizza, and all different kinds!
Now I want pizza! The good stuff like yours! My favorite pizza is bacon, feta, and tomato with garlic crust. Holy amazing!
I was a running queen in high school–lots of cross country & track! I was in the “prep/jock” group (isn’t it funny how that seemed to matter so much back then??). I was also a serious perfectionist! I totally freaked out if I forgot to do my homework! Nerd alert!
HAH! you crack me up. I have always wondered what it was like to drive with the cool pizza light on your car…I mean, I guess I could always get a job as a pizza delivery chick, but I don’t think the experience is worth it. You’ll have to let me know!
It was seriously hilarious back then – I although I seriously want to slap my younger self for it now. How lame!
In high school I was go go go. Between Student Council, AP classes, Irish Dance, Racquetball and Tennis I don’t know how I had time to see my friends! But I managed. Probably why we had the killer metabolisms.
This post is exactly why I just nominated you for the Women’s Health Blogs We Love round-up. You are a realistic example of how we can live healthy lives without deprivation! Love reading ya Iowa Girl!
Awesome!! Thank you!!
That pizza looks mighty tasty!
In high school I played tennis and was in every club known to man – even math club, although I hated math. Go figure. I ate fast food ALL the time, and unfortunately I didn’t have an awesome metabolism to balance it all, so I was on the chubby side. But I learned from my evil ways and lead a pretty healthy life!
I’m having pizza tonight too (from where I work). Best pizza in town to me!
Oh high school days! I was one of those who was doing stuff I should not have been doing! I wasn’t a mean destructive bully troublemaker…..I just didn’t want to go to school, skipped alot of classes, drinkin & smokin & partyin! I worried my parents to death but I did manage to graduate. Luckily it was a fairly small school, everyone knew everyone & everyone was friends. Most of us still are friends, 30 years later!! In fact, I was just out last night having drinks with some of the cheerleaders, flag girls, and one drum majorette! (She made it a point that she was neither a cheerleader or flag girl….she was a DRUM MAJORETTE! Ha!). And…..Northern Lights Pizza is the bomb! Love It! Wish I woulda known about that deal!
Synchro!! Woot Woot!
look at those abs!! haha too cute.
i did a lot of dance too- ballet and jazz. i also loved soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, girl scouts.. way too much! explains the metabolism thing b/c i feel like nowadays if i don’t workout i probably get in 100 steps a day- car to elevator twice a day lol.
pizza is sooo delicious! my favorite as a kid used to be hamburg/onion and i would devour like 3 large slices with my dad haha- nowadays i try and stick to Greek (spinach, feta, tomato!)
Cute Swimmer pic
Highschool was a mix of short shorts and athletic clothes…. Bad years in the fashion dept.. haha
Oh my that pizza looks SO FREAKING AMAZING! In high school my friends and I would frequent The Pizza Ranch – back then we just said “The Ranch” cuz I guess we were cool like that. That is still my favorite pizza place today! But I totally wish we had a Northern Lights nearby too! Mmmm that crust!!!
My husband is obsessed with the Pizza Ranch!
Oooh, we live just 2 blocks from a Northern Lights Pizza – how did I NOT know about this deal???? UGH!! I love their pizza!! I usually get thin crust, because then I can pretend that the thinner crust makes up for dipping in the garlic butter sauce. . . right??!!
Wow, you were the girl I *wanted* to be in high school! I was the classic nerd. . . . studied a lot, yearbook editor, newspaper staff, never got into trouble, no boyfriends, boring boring boring! LOL!
what a great deal! i was uber busy in HS. cross country, track, a million volunteer clubs, church youth group + activities, NHS, etc. and i studied sooooo much because my HS was ridiculous. my 3.5 gpa was barely enough to land me in the 50% range of my class… that’s a public school, mind you. that’s what you get for living in a college town.
Yay for youth group! lol. those were the days
I use to love to eat weird things as a teenager. I guess not much has changed, only now, my weird choices are just a bit healthier.
Pizza is still a fav of mine! I love your combos. Have you ever done a homemade crust? Do you have it anywhere on here?
I haven’t! Just when I got comfy using yeast in baking, Trader Joe’s came to town and I fell in love with their pizza crust! Need to give it a whirl sometime…
Wow! That is an amazing deal for a pizza! It looks so good too! I wish we had deals like that where I live!
Let’s see, in high school, I was very big into singing and acting. I was involved in every single choir I could join and I was always in the musical. I also took dances classes. I was very involved in tap dancing. I still miss all of that. I would like to get back into it.
Wow! Look at you and your teenage abs!
Your pizza sounds good…The P word is one of my biggest downfalls…can’t live without it, can’t have it in moderation. If I could eat only one thing for the rest of my life, it would be pizza. For every meal. And I would never, EVER get tired of it.
In high school, I was very self conscious. I thought I was this huge, fat girl, and it took me ten years to discover that really–I wasn’t. I wish I had been able to see myself for the way I really looked…it would have been a much more pleasant experience.
Look at those abs. Woah, girl.
I was never much of a pizza person, but now I’m in love with making my own pizzas. I love piling on the toppings with out paying $.50 x 10.
In high school, I was running, running and running. Cross country in the fall, training in the winter and track in the spring. I loved it all!
I was a dancer in high school too.
I love Northern Lights. Favorite pizza in the DSM area so far!
Kristin- Must say, my hubbie LOVES your blog (he reads your brother’s blog as well) and now I read you when I can too! We have tried many recipes and have never been disappointed.
We are making pizza tonight on the grill and I will point him in the direction of your recipes (YUM!)..perhaps this is how I finally get him to try tofu.
best- Kristin
Oh, and in high school I rode my bike to get anywhere, was a competitive gymnast and on the high school ski team, yearbook, prom committee, etc. CRAZY….
I’d eat your husband’s half.
I have never had Northern Lights but I worked at Pagliai’s in Johnston AND Iowa City during University and still love their pizza when I come back to town. The pepperoni pesto pizza is so delicious.
My friends and I just had Papa John’s last night. Since we live in Kuwait, a country that outlaws ALL pork products, the pizza toppings are wacked out! They have an “Arabic Pizza” with hummos and olives even! We stuck to the “Meat” Pizza which was just basically all sorts of turkey made to taste like sausage, ham, beef, bacon, etc. It’s so weird.
Pag’s=BEST PIZZA EVER!!!
didnt know you were on the synchro team! i did it competitively for 9 years:)
That pizza looks amazing!
While I wasn’t dancing as much as you, I was on the dance team in high school too. Other than that I was painfully shy and super introverted!
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http://jdavissquared.blogspot.com/2011/02/opi-review-and-giveaway.html
have a great weekend, girlie!
Alfredo sauce and pizza were made to go together. It reminds me of dipping my olive garden bread sticks in alfredo sauce… Which I did in highschool. A great idea
So, even if you actually got 4 toppings on your pizza, you still got the 2 topping price?? Because it was half and half? Amazing!! Did you have to argue your point or was it not an issue?
I really liked Northern Lights breadsticks while I was in Des Moines. Pagliais ruled though!
Up here in Okoboji, we don’t have too many good pizza options, though Woody’s in Estherville is pretty awesome.
I was from a small high school, so I was involved in all the classic sports: volleyball, basketball, track, golf, and softball. I was a band geek too!
Usually most pizza places will do that for you!
My husband and I do it all the time since we have very different pizza tastes. 
After bookmarking and copying down so many of your recipes – I FINALLY made one last night!! It was a variation of the recipe you recently made with TJ’s chicken sausage and gnocchi. We didn’t have any gnocchi on hand or TJ’s sausage but I used the chicken sausage we did have with whole wheat penne, and used onions instead of shallots. Holy YUM!!! I loved the wilted spinach in the recipe and the light/almost non existant sauce just based on the olive oil and cooking water. My husband, 3 year old son and I happily cleaned our plates!
Cute post. Your pizza looks sooooo good….
In high school I played soccer and basketball and was also pretty involved in student council. I had a lot of friends, good friends – which means we didn’t do anything too crazy. I’m so thankful for them now looking back. The people made the experience!
I am cracking up, Kristin!! Synchro and the pizza…oh memories
xoxo
Pizza IS awesome. Had dinner at Bertuci’s, a brick – oven chain in my area. Whole wheat crust; half tomato sauce, eggplant, portabella and roasted pepper. The other half: mozzarella, prociutto, arrugula and balsamic drizzle–to die for awesome.
Yes, I worked out today
My husband just brought home a crust (it’s not delivery, it’s Di’Giorno! LOL) and italian sausage and other fixings; so we basically got a better deal than delivery too, but we have to make the thing. I’m going to try to add more veggies to my pizza (the pacakage came with TWO crusts, so we’re doing a his and hers too!) because I am on a diet and I didn’t work out today.
I wish my school had synchronized swimming!
SYNC SWIMMING!!! TOO AWESOME!!! I don’t know if we have discussed this, but am judging trampoline and tumbling this weekend because I was once an elite level power tumbler/trampolinist…. who knew!?!