Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Pizza Night

The other day Dave told me he was going to have his scouts over our house so they could do some planning. And he wanted me to make pizza for everyone. At first I though, "Oh, pizza?" But then I thought, "Oooo, pizza!" When I first started making my own pizza I would make just pepperoni because that is the only thing the kids would eat. Then, I realized that I needed to make what I wanted too. It's okay to do things for ourselves every now and then. We don't always have to do things just for our kids. So I started making a delicious "grown-up" pizza. It have the normal sauce and pepperoni and cheese but I like to add onions, mushrooms and green peppers as well (and olives but I forgot to buy them). But I don't just throw the stuff on and then bake the pizza. Those things taste way better if they are cooked first. I heard on a cooking show once that when you have brown on your food it makes it taste better. Well that is so true! I like to saute my veggies in olive oil and butter and make them soft and a little brown. Makes it so much better. Way more tasty then just throwing raw veggies on a pizza.For tonight I'll be making three pizzas: pepperoni, BBQ chicken (use BBQ sauce instead of pizza sauce, then add sliced chicken, pineapple, red onions and of course cheese) and the one I like to call Supreme. I hope we have enough for everyone. I've been known to eat quite a few pieces just on my own. Here is the recipe so you can have pizza night this week and make one for your kids and one with what you want on it.

Quick and Easy Pizza Crust (from Cooking Light cookbook)
2 cups flour (I use half white and half wheat)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 package quick rise yeast
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
3/4 cup warm water
Throw it all in a bowl and mix it up. I've mixed this by hand before (see, it's so easy!) but I usually just throw it in the Kitchen Aid. Mix it up until it forms a ball of dough. Place it in a
greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about an hour. Then top with your favorite
toppings and bake at 450 for about 12-15 minutes. I have recently discovered that if I put the pizza on the bottom rack in the oven the crust gets crispy, but if you like a softer crust put it on
the top rack.
The veggies for my Supreme pizza all chopped up.

In the pan with salt and pepper. Salt and pepper just make everything taste better.
All cooked up. Notice the brown. Makes it so yummy. I could just eat this by itself right now.

1 comment:

Sia said...

Sounds like a great idea for a GNO-homemade pizza and fun! :)