Homemade Pizza
We eat homemade pizza almost every week! The way we make it is very quick and delicious, so pizza is a nice thing to fall back on when we don't have much time.
Crust: I like homemade crusts, but they are more time-intensive. We buy packages of six whole-wheat pitas at the store (Costs slightly more than $1--tons cheaper than Bobolis or other store-bought crusts. Not to mention healthier.) and use them as our personal-sized crusts. It works great for us, since we can't finish a whole regular-sized pizza by ourselves anyway! I keep the pitas in the freezer and pull them out as we need them. Just a couple minutes in the oven while it's heating and I'm preparing the other ingredients thaws them nicely.
Optional: Brush pita crusts lightly with olive oil.
Sauce: I used to use Ragu spaghetti sauce, but recently I've been making my own and really enjoying it! Here's my recipe:
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes, well-drained
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 (8oz) can tomato paste
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. each: garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil and freshly-ground pepper
Mix well. Taste, to see if seasonings are to your liking. Last time I made this, we topped four pita pizzas and I had two batches-worth left over to put in the freezer.
Toppings:
Cheese: We put a little bit of shredded mozzarella right on top of the sauce, add the rest of the toppings, then add more cheese on top of those.
Pepperoni tip: We love it, even though it's not the healthiest! If you're like us, consider doing this to cut down on the fat: Put a couple paper towels on a plate, and lay your pepperoni slices out on the paper towels. Stick in the microwave for 30-60 seconds, depending on how crispy you like them (We like them crispy!). The fat will soak into the paper towels, and you will be glad that you're not eating it when you see how much it is! (ugh)
Other: If we have the ingredients, we'll often saute things like mushrooms, onions, peppers, etc. with a clove of garlic and a bit of olive oil to add to our toppings. Try purple onions as a great alternative to the common white...they come out with an almost-sweet flavor. Mmm.
For something different, try making a sauceless pizza with sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach sauted with olive oil and garlic and feta cheese (Careful...feta will burn easily so you might have to cover it, or add it at the end). Experiment and come up with your own personal combinations!
If you have favorite toppings, please share! (I will try almost anything except for sardines:o)
Crust: I like homemade crusts, but they are more time-intensive. We buy packages of six whole-wheat pitas at the store (Costs slightly more than $1--tons cheaper than Bobolis or other store-bought crusts. Not to mention healthier.) and use them as our personal-sized crusts. It works great for us, since we can't finish a whole regular-sized pizza by ourselves anyway! I keep the pitas in the freezer and pull them out as we need them. Just a couple minutes in the oven while it's heating and I'm preparing the other ingredients thaws them nicely.
Optional: Brush pita crusts lightly with olive oil.
Sauce: I used to use Ragu spaghetti sauce, but recently I've been making my own and really enjoying it! Here's my recipe:
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes, well-drained
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 (8oz) can tomato paste
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. each: garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil and freshly-ground pepper
Mix well. Taste, to see if seasonings are to your liking. Last time I made this, we topped four pita pizzas and I had two batches-worth left over to put in the freezer.
Toppings:
Cheese: We put a little bit of shredded mozzarella right on top of the sauce, add the rest of the toppings, then add more cheese on top of those.
Pepperoni tip: We love it, even though it's not the healthiest! If you're like us, consider doing this to cut down on the fat: Put a couple paper towels on a plate, and lay your pepperoni slices out on the paper towels. Stick in the microwave for 30-60 seconds, depending on how crispy you like them (We like them crispy!). The fat will soak into the paper towels, and you will be glad that you're not eating it when you see how much it is! (ugh)
Other: If we have the ingredients, we'll often saute things like mushrooms, onions, peppers, etc. with a clove of garlic and a bit of olive oil to add to our toppings. Try purple onions as a great alternative to the common white...they come out with an almost-sweet flavor. Mmm.
For something different, try making a sauceless pizza with sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach sauted with olive oil and garlic and feta cheese (Careful...feta will burn easily so you might have to cover it, or add it at the end). Experiment and come up with your own personal combinations!
If you have favorite toppings, please share! (I will try almost anything except for sardines:o)
posted by Erin | 9:47 AM
5 Comments:
We are big pizza fans too. We like Canadian Bacon and Pineapple Tidbits. Also provolone cheese is good. I like black or green olives too, but my husband doesn't so I usually leave them off.
I made a sauce-less pizza before---I chopped Roma tomatoes and chopped fresh basil with mozzerella. It was delicious. I also make homemade whole wheat crusts in my mixer and then partially bake them and put in the freezer. They stay really nice. I hope to get that recipe posted on our cooking blog.
And lastly, our favorite pizza joint has Spinach Alfredo and a Baked Potato Pizza. So good!!
Kathryn, mmm...that sauceless pizza with the basil, tomatoes and mozzarella sounds good!
What is a Baked Potato Pizza? Sounds interesting!
I made a potato pizza a couple of weeks ago. Basically, it was the crust, a layer of mashed potatoes, then sprinkle on onions, bacon, and cheese. I added some sour cream to the potatoes and also chives. I followed a recipe and made the mashed potatoes from scratch plus the crust, so it was actually very time consuming. Next time, I will use instant potaoes or leftovers. I like your idea for the pitas. I have a really hard time making pizza crust from scratch. While I want to master it at some point, I don't think it's a salvation issue or anything if I use a shortcut.:-) LOL I used some flatbread pitas for pizza today and they turned out great! My sister(Kathryn) informed me the other week that you had linked to me, so I have started coming. I had no idea before.:-) You will have to comment on my blog sometime.:-)
The potato pizza we had had slices of taters and a cheesy, sour cream sauce....yours sounds good.
Mmm...I like potatoes! Mary Ann...I'm really bad about commenting on other peoples blogs sometimes! But I do enjoy reading yours! I'll try to say "hi" next time I pop over!
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