This is perfect for those busy days when you want to eat well but need to put something together super quick. Whether you need to feed a large group, lunch ideas, or dinner for one. Pizza is a great option if your children are having sleep-overs or maybe you are having friends over for game night.
I love pizza! Who doesn't love pizza? I'm not saying I love it more than any meat dish, but I do love it. I have many fond memories associated with pizza meals. Growing up, it was something Mom would fix me and my brother on nights that Dad would be working late on the farm or maybe was on a hunting/fishing trip. Dad was a 'meat-n-potato's' man, pizza wasn't something he looked forward to seeing on his plate at home. Sometimes we would pile-up and head to Pizza Hut. Many good times took place there. Dad would get a pack of cigarettes from the cigarette machine, my brother and me would spend some quarters playing Ms Pacman, and Mom would be picking out songs on the juke box. Good Times.
Nowadays, pizza is something I enjoy at least once a month. If I head to a pizza joint, it's usually Bella's or Pizza Hut. If I have pizza at home, I have to make it myself because frozen pizza just doesn't agree with me. I guess it's the processed ingredients. Frozen pizza (for me) usually means heartburn, migraines, and digestion issues. If I have pizza, it must be fresh. Fresh is best.
From scratch, really?
Yes, really. It is super easy to make your own dough. It's only slightly longer if you make the dough yourself. I'll show you both ways and you're still only looking at 30 minutes roughly, depending on the size and how many you make.
Here is my Aunt's homemade pizza dough recipe.
Ingredients:
1 package of yeast and 1/2 can of water {dissolve}
1 Tablespoon of sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of salt
1 Tablespoon of salad oil
1 1/4 Cup of flour
Let the yeast rise for 5 minutes (or even overnight). Knead it and roll thin. Allow it to set at room temperature, add ingredients and bake for about 20 minutes. That's the basic, homemade pizza dough recipe. Feel free to add to it if you like, maybe you want to add some basil, garlic, or oregano. Go for it!
What if I don't have yeast on hand?
Me to a 'T'. Yeast is something I can never seem to find in my pantry when I am needing it. Maybe it is in there somewhere, hiding from me, I don't know. Usually when I am needing to put together something in a hurry, I don't always have time to look for it. Which was the case her recently. After a long day of taking care of projects, mowing a couple of yards, planting/sowing I was running out of time in the day. I headed to the store and scored some fresh vegetables with the idea of having a delicious pizza and not have to slave over a stove trying to put together a lengthy recipe. My goal was to put it together quickly so I could rest. Pizza is only limited by your imagination so feel free to use whatever ingredients you like, change it up. Nothing is set in stone here, in my opinion, with the exception of an excellent sauce and fresh mozzarella. Outside of that, add or remove whatever suits your fancy.
Let's do the thing - Here is what I used
Ingredients:
I used a pre-made crust
1 Package of white button mushrooms
1 Package of pepperoni
A jar of pizza sauce
1 Bell pepper
A couple of fresh green onions
1 Package of fresh mozzarella - sliced
First, I set the oven to pre-heat at 375 degrees. I used a pizza stone and just spread a little flour over it before laying down the crust. A pizza pan will work fine. Then I took a spoon and spread on the sauce. I didn't use too much, just enough to cover the crust without being too heavy. Then I sliced the mushrooms and spread them about. You could just add them without slicing them. My goal here was to not make the slices too heavy by adding too much. It's been trial and error for me over the years. I found that adding smaller pieces of everything I wanted works better than big chunks of everything. If the slices are too heavy, everything will slide off when you try to eat it. I didn't use all of the mushrooms in the package, I had plenty left over for the salad(s) to go with my meal.
Next I chopped half a bell pepper and added them to my pizza pie.
It's looking good!
Slice up a few of those green onions.
YUM!
Now, open up that fresh mozzarella take a taste to remind yourself how awesome fresh cheese is. You can lay the slices on the pie and just space them out because they will spread when they melt. I broke them up a little then spread them out. Either way will work just fine.
It's looking dreamy.
Add some pepperoni!
Pop that baby in the oven and rest a while. Let it cook for about 20 minutes and keep an eye on it. In the meantime, put together your side items. In my case, I made a couple of salads to go with it. After about 20 minutes, if it looks done, take it out. My crust looked done but the cheese wasn't quite there, so I turned the oven on broil for just a couple of minutes to finish it off. If you do this, don't turn your back on it. It only takes a couple of minutes for the cheese to brown slightly and you don't want to burn it.
Man-o-Man
Let it cool just a minute and serve that baby up. I had a medium pizza and since I was cooking for two, I sliced it in fourths. The slices weren't as big as they look, these are small plates, not standard size. They look bigger than they actually were. The next day, I made a second pizza and sliced into 6 because I was cooking for 3.
It was soooooo good and couldn't have been easier. If you love pizza give this recipe a try. The fresher the ingredients, the better it will taste. It only takes roughly 30 minutes of your time and you don't need to be a master chef to get it done. It's a win-win. Put it together, sit back and relax while the ingredients do all the work. It doesn't get better than that.
Enjoy and have a blessed day!