Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Homemade Pizza

You know those meals where you're chewing, and every few seconds you just can't keep yourself from shutting your eyes and letting out a little groan of pleasure -- kind of like a purr?

That's what happened when we ate this pizza.

Me: I think this might be one of the best pieces of pizza I've ever eaten.

Kahuna: This is definitely the best piece of pizza I've ever eaten.

Me (eyes shut): Mmmmmm.


This recipe comes from a fine little cookbook I'd highly recommend: 15-Minute Cooking (28 Days of Game Plans) by Rhonda Barfield, a busy homeschooling mom of four. The idea behind the book is that in just a couple of 15-minute sessions a day -- one in the morning, one in the evening -- you can put together a homemade meal, complete with main dish, bread, side dish and dessert.

I wondered if I could really put together this pizza that fast, especially with the homemade crust. So I timed it. Mixing up the crust in the morning took exactly nine minutes, including digging out the dirty measuring spoons from the dishwasher and washing them, and refilling the flour canister.
In the afternoon, rolling out the dough and prepping the pan took four minutes. I let the dough "rest" for a few minutes, then rolled it out a second time and put it onto the pan: two more minutes.

Rhonda, I'm a believer.

Note that this recipe makes TWO crusts. I cut it in half because I didn't want to be stuck with an extra one in case we didn't like it. Needless to say, next time I will make both pizzas and freeze one if we don't have enough hungry mouths around to eat them both.

EASY PEASY PIZZA CRUST (makes two)

1 c. very hot water

2 t. (or one package) yeast

4 c. flour

1/4 c. sugar

2 T. vegetable oil (I used canola)

1 1/2 t. salt

1 egg

In the morning: Combine water and yeast in small mixing bowl, and do not stir. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, oil, salt, and egg. Mix well.

Stir yeast into water until thoroughly dissolved. Then stir yeast mixture into flour mixture. Stir until blended; knead by hand one minute, adding a bit of flour or water as needed so the mixture won't stick to your hands. Cover dough completely, lightly, with plastic wrap. Cover bowl tightly with foil and refrigerate.

Here Rhonda suggests making pizza sauce in a slow cooker (or you could always buy the pizza sauce). I just made it on the stovetop. This makes double the amount you'll need for the pizzas, as Rhonda uses the extra on spaghetti, so plan accordingly:

PIZZA SAUCE (makes enough for two pizzas AND one batch spaghetti)

3 15-oz. cans tomato sauce

1 1/2 c. ketchup

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 T. Italian seasoning (I didn't have this, so mixed up my own according to this fine set of directions from http://www.recipezaar.com/)

Mix all this together in a saucepan over medium heat until you think it's well blended.

At this point, Rhonda and I diverge, as she added a ground beef mixture to the sauce and I did not.

When you're ready to assemble pizzas to bake, remove dough from fridge, cover clean counter top or cutting board with flour, divide dough into two if you've made the full recipe, quickly roll out each part with floured rolling pin to about 6- or 8-inch circles, and let rest for a few minutes.

PIZZA TOPPINGS

Prepare your toppings. We used about:

2 c. grated mozzarella cheese (per pizza)

1/3 package regular Jimmy Dean pork sausage, cooked, crumbled, and drained (per pizza)

a couple regular old tomatoes, sliced about 1/4-inch thick (per pizza)

Now coat two pizza pans (or large cookie sheets) with non-stick cooking spray. Cover lightly with flour, roll out dough into sizes that fit well onto your pans (either thick or thin crust works), put dough onto pans and layer on your pizza sauce (about 1/4 of the total amount for each pizza), cheese, and toppings. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.

Prepare to purr.

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21 Comments:

Blogger Lori said...

Wowsy, I am so glad you posted this!!! I am going to check out this book.
And PS - You always without fail make me chuckle, or giggle, or laugh out loud...every single time I come to your blog. :) Thanks for that, too!

May 5, 2009 at 7:44 PM  
Blogger Lynn said...

We love home made pizza!

May 5, 2009 at 7:54 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

What a yummy recipe! Thanks for sharing.

May 5, 2009 at 9:10 PM  
Blogger Loretta said...

Hi Lynn,
Thank you for visiting my site! Stuffed artichokes are delicious and are a meal in themselves. Your pizza recipe looks delicious although I am diabetic and can't have the ketchup or bq sauce. I will use my own recipe for sauce. The easy crust is something I will definately make. I wonder if it can it be made with whole wheat flour too. I wll have to try that. Blessings, Loretta

May 6, 2009 at 3:46 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks for visiting me on my blog. You, too, have a wonderful blog. And all of those yummy recipes, I am definitely going to have try some of those.
Teresa

May 6, 2009 at 5:50 AM  
Blogger Heather S-G said...

Homemade pizza is the best! This looks so delicious.... about the hot chocolate, I usually just heat up some milk in a pan and add my fave chocolate of the moment once hot (just stir it in). Or use mexican chocolate and blend it in with an immersion blender. It gets thick and frothy and amazing!! Let me know how it turns out :)

May 6, 2009 at 6:30 AM  
Blogger Sherri Murphy said...

I'm sold. I'm making this one!

May 6, 2009 at 8:09 AM  
Blogger Lynn said...

Loretta, thanks for coming to visit me, too. You mentioned the possibility of using whole wheat flour in the pizza crust recipe. The author of the book suggests you can use 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour plus 2 1/2 c. white flour if you want to make it more healthy. I haven't tried that yet, but I may.

May 6, 2009 at 9:57 AM  
Blogger Berji's domain said...

we love homemade pizza at our house! I will try the dough recipe. (We like to make a pesto base/sauce with homemade pizza.)

May 6, 2009 at 12:02 PM  
Blogger Lynn said...

Mmmm, pesto sauce as a base sounds yummy, Berji's domain. And girlichef, thanks for the hot chocolate advice. I've been experimenting over here ;)

May 6, 2009 at 12:37 PM  
Blogger DarcyLee said...

Lynn,
We haven't had homemade pizza in awhile and I really want to make some now that I've seen your recipe. Our favorite around here is sausage pizza with vegetables so I know they will like this. I always find something good to eat here.

May 6, 2009 at 1:24 PM  
Anonymous MoneyFunk said...

You no toss your pizzas? ;)

This looks great! I think I may just try. Didn't realize it could be so darn easy!

May 6, 2009 at 3:28 PM  
Blogger Tiffany said...

That does sound good. The sauce would be pretty sweet but I bet that's part of what causes the purr while eating. Sounds yum!

May 6, 2009 at 6:30 PM  
Blogger Berji's domain said...

The blue cheese idea in the cheesecake was inspired by your hunk, by the way. :)
When we lived in AZ we had a fabulous basil and parsley garden, so the pesto was easy and cheap to make. We're coaxing our plants now...here's our fav. pesto recipe:
In a food processor combine:
1 c. fresh basil
1/2 c. parsley
1/2 c. parmesan
1/4 c. nuts (pine or walnuts are our favs. )
1 large clove garlic
1/4 t. salt
whiz, add 1/4 c. olive oil while whizzing.
Enjoy!

May 7, 2009 at 7:04 AM  
Blogger Lynn said...

Thanks, everyone, for coming by to chat about food. Berji's domain, can't wait to try your pesto recipe :) Thanks.

May 7, 2009 at 12:58 PM  
Blogger Jenners said...

What a great concept ... and we are pizza lovers here so I'm into it! I'm bookmarking this for future use!

And thanks for you comment re: the Trillin book ... I think I'll check out the one you mentioned!

May 7, 2009 at 1:21 PM  
Blogger Chris said...

Hi! Thanks for stopping by my blog. Looks like you have some great recipes here; I'll be back!

I love the title of your book! Even though I love to cook, I am very familiar with the "Just Plain Tired Homemaker" category.

May 9, 2009 at 6:56 AM  
Blogger Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooks said...

I just "found" your recipe blog!

I did a Google search after seeing a review on another blog.

I'm not sure if you'll remember me but I wrote a review of your book long ago. It's still one of my favorites (although I sent my copy to my daughter near Boston and it has been there ever since). :)

May 10, 2009 at 6:09 AM  
Blogger Lynn said...

Hi Brenda,
Of COURSE I remember you! Thanks for reviewing Queen of the Castle back when I was just figuring out what a blog was! I still enjoy stopping by your blog to see what you're reading and baking. In fact, I think I'll come on by now :)

May 10, 2009 at 5:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This looks wonderful!

May 11, 2009 at 6:50 AM  
Anonymous beautyredefined said...

That looks delicious. Maybe it's even something I could make too!

May 13, 2009 at 6:57 PM  

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