Recipes

Delicious Homemade Pizza (including Crust)

Ingredients
1 cup warm water
1 packet of dry yeast
3/4 tsp salt (or garlic salt)
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp garlic powder (or minced garlic)
1.5 tbsp basil
1.5 tbsp oregano
3.5 cups flour
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 to 2 bags mozzarella cheese
1 glass jar of red pasta sauce (don't be fooled into buying "pizza sauce" - buy the red pasta sauce and you will not be disappointed in the taste)
LOTS of veggies!

Directions
-Pour 1 cup warm water into large bowl.  Add packet of yeast, salt and sugar.  Stir till dissolved.
-Stir in garlic powder, basil and oregano.
-Add 3 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, and stir until homogeneous.  Mixture should be sticky but mostly solid.  If too sticky or still liquid-like, add more flour.
-Mix in 1 tbsp vegetable oil.  Add another 1/4 cup of flour to mixture, kneading the now solid dough.
-Knead the 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese in
-Set aside, covered or in a dark spot int he kitchen, and allow roughly 30 minutes for dough to rise.

While you wait, go ahead and cut up all those delicious veggies you'll be using at toppings.  I like to throw a WHOLE LOT of topping on my pizza, typically onions, green peppers, black olives, mushrooms, tomatoes, and whatever looks appetizing in our veggie drawer.  Be sure to cut them into small pieces.

Pre-heat oven to 375F

Now that the dough has risen, put the remaining flour on the counter to creating a nonstick surface.  Roll the dough out into a flat disk and, using a fork, gently tap little indentions into the surface.  This is done to allow air to release as the dough cooks and not cause bubbles in the crust.  Now put the dough on your cooking pan or stone.  Pour the desired amount of pasta sauce into the center of the disk and using a ladle, use concentric circular motions to move the sauce uniformly across the surface of your pizza.

Now that you've covered your 'za in sauce, add the cheese and veggies.  It should look incredibly delicious at this point.  Put it in the oven for roughly 25 minutes or until the crust is solid.  Enjoy!

Alternatives:  Instead of using red sauce, use olive olive!  To prepare the olive oil 'sauce,' saute a few cloves of garlic and some fresh onions/leeks in a pan of olive oil.  Turn off stovetop and add roughly 3 tbsps of more olive oil.  Mix it around and you have your sauce!

Roll up string cheese into the edge of the pizza for stuffed crust!

Before
...not everyone likes toppings :)

After