Monday, February 18, 2008

Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!

We love pizza at our house! I make it at least once a month, sometimes more. We also keep a few frozen pizzas around just in case we want one for a quick lunch one day. And I take the boys out for lunch to Cici's Pizza once a month. That way they can eat some of their favorite varieties that I don't make at home. (Caleb loves Alfredo cheese pizza; Jacob loves pepperoni.)

When I make my own pizza, I make my own crust as well. My friend Amy gave me the recipe she uses, but I made a few changes.

Pizza Dough

4 c. flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
2/3 c. olive oil
1 1/3 c. water

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Measure oil and water into one large measuring cup; pour all at once into flour mixture. Stir to form a ball.

Divide dough in half and press or roll out each half to about 15 inches. (If dough is too sticky, add a little extra flour.) Prick crust with fork to prevent air pockets. Bake for 8 minutes.

Top pizza with desired toppings and bake additional 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Makes 2 15-inch pizzas.


Canadian bacon, mushroom, and black olive pizza

Our typical pizza has mushrooms, black olives, and onions. If I have some Canadian bacon or ham on hand, I'll add it, too. The boys like that pizza really well, but I don't put as many onions on theirs.


Garden Veggie Pizza

One of my favorite spring and summer pizzas is a Garden Veggie Pizza.

1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed
2 tsp. Italian seasoning

Mix well and spread over prebaked crust. Top with shredded mozzarella or Italian-blend cheese.

Next layer with your choice of garden-fresh vegetables. I use baby spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, black olives, Roma tomatoes (on my half), purple onion, and artichoke hearts. Sprinkle a little extra cheese on top, then bake until the crust is a golden brown. Grate a little Parmesan cheese on top; slice and serve.


Greek-style pizza

The most recent "different" pizza I made had a Greek flavor. I put olive oil, garlic, and basil on the crust, then topped it with crumbled feta cheese, grated Parmesan, sliced black and green olives, and diced tomatoes (on my half). It was good, but I prefer melted cheese on my pizzas. Feta just browns.

2 comments:

Jjlrdomom said...

Glad to know there are still others out there making homemade crust!! We have pizza night about once a week (usually on Friday, which is also our game night). I can get in serious trouble if the kids realize it's "Pizza Night" and I haven't made pizza. They mostly like pepperoni and mushroom, but I'm much more adventurous! A favorite of mine is veggie pizza with pineapple....lots of peppers, onions (probably roma tomatoes would work too) and then chunks of pineapple. Also crushed pineapple and canadian bacon makes a GREAT Hawaiian pizza! I make 4 pizzas for Pizza Night!

melissa said...

Your pictures look good, you're making me hungry for pizza! Lindsay & I a "Lost" marathon the other night and made pizzas on our new baking stones, it was fun! We used jiffy pizza crust though. I want to try to make yours sometime, I bet it'd be good! And i'm excited to make a personal garden veggie pizza on my stone!