Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Homeade pizza

Homemade pizza.

Yum.

It's ridiculously easy. Don't be fooled. And don't be intimidated. And by making it yourself, you can make sure it's healthy! (So you can serve it to your family with confidence, not feeling guilty for settling for "pizza".)

Now some of you out there are probably thinking, "Why on earth would I make pizza if I could just order it and have it delivered in no time?" Well, my friends, this gal doesn't have the luxury of getting delivered pizza that often. We do have a pizza delivery place here, but it's not that fast. It's all the way across town. So, if we want pizza, most of the time we's gots ta make it ourselves :)

Here's how to make homemade pizza. Feel free to add your own creativity and spice! (Haha, get it? Spice? Cooking? Ok, no one's laughing...)

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 kilo tomatoes (cored and cut into halves)
  • 1 big onion (peeled and cut into halves)
  • 1/2 tomato paste
  • Italian seasonings
  • Salt
  • Garlic
  • Cornflour (to dust the pan)
  • Ground beef, or chicken, and/or ham
  • Shredded cheese of your choice
  • Desired toppings such as: pepperoni, peppers, black olives, pineapple, etc...

For the pizza crust you will need:

* 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
* 1 teaspoon white sugar
* 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 2 1/2 cups flour
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 teaspoon salt

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
  2. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.
  3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll it flat. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan dusted with cornflour. (I had to mold the dough to fit the shape of the pan afterward.)
  4. To make the pizza sauce, blend up tomatoes and onions in a food processor. Pour into a large pan on the stove and add Italian seasonings, salt, garlic, and tomato paste. Bring sauce to a boil then let simmer for about 20 minutes.  
  5. For the meat you can either cook ground beef or chicken on the stove and season with desired spices. Make sure the meat is cooked all the way through.
  6. Spread the crust with pizza sauce, cheese, meat, and desired toppings.
  7. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving. 
Happy pizza eating and enjoy!




4 comments:

  1. Now I want to make pizza! Guess I'll have to go to the import store this weekend to get some cheese. :)

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  2. yum! I learned to cook stuff like this from scratch when living overseas - it makes a better cook out of you!!
    Looks delicious Casey!
    -b

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  3. I love making homemade pizza too! You can use honey instead of sugar for the crust to make it healthier, and I like to also add minced garlic to the crust:)

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