Meal Planner Monday: Homemade Pizza

Well, I have learned that everyone has different preferences when it comes to pizza, so I am going to share the 3 recipes that I use (depending on how much time I have and what sounds good) and then all of you are welcome to share your recipes...

Easy Cheese Pizza (I make this one most often because it works so well for weeknights when I have only 30-60 minutes when I get home from work to have dinner ready for Mike.)

1 loaf frozen Rhodes bread dough

1 jar pizza sauce

2 cups cheese (mozzarella, pizza-blend, colby-jack...whatever you prefer)

Take the bread dough out of the freezer and place in greased pan covered with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 5-8 hours (I take it out in the morning before work). Then after work all I have to do is pre-heat the oven, spread the dough out on a greased pizza pan and spread the sauce on top. Top with the cheese halfway through baking. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. (You can add other toppings or sprinkle with seasonings, such as Italian seasoning.)

Mom's Pizza Dough (Mom, if this isn't right, correct me...)

1 package rapid rise yeast

1 cup very warm water

1 tsp sugar

Dissolve yeast in the above ingredients (about 10 minutes). Slowly stir in 2 Tbsp. oil, a sprinkle of salt and 3-3 1/3 cups flour (start with 1 cup at a time until you have a soft dough). Knead until smooth and elastic. Cover. Let rest 10 min. Lightly oil pizza pan. Add sauce, cheese, and toppings as you prefer. Bake 350 for 30 minutes.

Deep Dish Chicago Style (I really like this recipe but of the 3, it requires the most prep time and it is not "low-fat")

http://members.cox.net/jjschnebel/ddishpiz.html

Several months ago our neighbors had a fun party where they had lots of pizza dough mixed up and bowls of all kinds of different toppings: mini meatballs, herbs, ham, pineapple, sausage, pepperoni, onions, mushrooms, peppers, hot peppers, you name it. It was fun "creating" your own specialty pizza. I would like to try making a "gourmet" pizza sometime but Mike likes just the cheese pizza. So...what about you?