Frozen Pizza

Yeah, I know, I know. I haven't been around because I got slammed with a surprise international move & have now landed myself in temporary quarters for a few more weeks.

But, I don't want BlogSpot to take me down for ignoring my food blog.

Sooooo, we had frozen pizza for dinner tonight. Tombstone. Cheese.

Exciting, huh?

Homemade Pizza

Food Category: PG
Difficulty: Easy-Moderate, depending on how you feel about making dough

The Crust

I make my dough in the bread machine on the dough cycle. This pizza crust recipe is very similar to the one I make BUT her method for cooking the pizza is the only way to go. Place a cold stone in a cold oven & preheat both at the same time to 425-450F. Assemble the crust on parchment paper & transfer the pizza/paper to the hot stone with a pizza peel. The link above has more detail.

• 1 1/4 cups warm water (around 110F)
• 3 T yeast
• 1 T sugar
• 1-2 t salt
• 2 T olive oil
• 4 cups of flour (can be 50/50 white & whole wheat)

This recipe will make two 14-15" pizzas.

The Sauce

• 1/2 of a large can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 clove crushed garlic + 2 t evoo (microwave for about 30 seconds)
• 1-2 t each oregano & basil

Our pizzas were topped with Canadian bacon, mozzarella & cheddar.

This is just how small my oven is.
The pizza is on my 15" baking stone & filling most of it.

The adult pizza also had red onions & pineapple.

Serve with a side of the sauce. Lots of good lycopene & the crust is just begging for something!

As good as this is, I'm still perfecting my crust. I'll get back with you on perfection later.

Leftover potential: We reheat our pizza in the toaster oven on 400 until heated through.

Pizza Dip

Food Category: PG-13 with Food Porn tendencies

Difficulty: Easy

My pizza dip is a slightly pimped out version of the Pampered Chef recipe that was super-popular back in the mid-late 90's. It's a great potluck, party & snack dish. I make my dip in a 9X13 stoneware dish because it will stay hot for quite a while out of the oven.

Pizza Dip

Soften one package of cream cheese (full fat or not) in the microwave on the lowest setting. You want a consistency that is easy to stir & spread.

To the cream cheese add:

• ½ teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon basil
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (either powders or shredded)
• 2 large crushed cloves of garlic

Mix well and spread into the bottom of a baking dish.

Pour one large can (26 oz) of spaghetti sauce on top of the cream cheese.

Sprinkle the sauce with precooked & well drained Italian sausage (2-3 links, casing removed).

Top with 2-4 cups of mozzarella cheese & a sprinkling of more Parmesan.

Top the cheese with other favorite toppings. I used sauteed onions & tri-color peppers. Mushrooms & black olives would have been great, too. I left the onions & peppers off the kid-friendly side.

Bake in a 400F until heated through & the cheese is bubbly and golden brown.

Serve with crusty French bread, either toasted or not. And, a salad.

Leftover potential: I don't know from experience, but I think this would keep well in the fridge for a few days. Reheat in either the microwave or oven.

Pizza

Heat & Eat pepperoni pizza & side salads.

This was only one step above frozen pizza because it was the refrigerated kind from the commissary.

Yes, I actually made a commissary run yesterday & that's precisely why I didn't have time to cook. 2+ hours of total driving time, 2 hours of shopping, 2 shopping carts full . . . $618! Which is my new official record.

What that means for us? My freezers, fridge and pantry are stocked full & I will be cooking lots of exciting meals.

Starting tomorrow.

In true HausFrau spirit, we did have homemade croutons on our salads:

I make croutons out of odds & ends pieces of bread that I collect in a Ziploc freezer bag for a few months. I save all the dried out & stale bread ends from whole wheat, worthless white, hamburger buns, etc, until I have enough to make it worth my while. Or until we run out of croutons in between commissary trips.

To make the croutons:

• lightly butter both sides of bread, I used I Can't Believe it's Not Butter, Mediterranean Blend
• sprinkle with your favorite flavors: garlic & onion powder, seasoned salt, Parmesan cheese
• cut into bite sized cubes
• lightly coat a baking pan with evoo
• place bread cubes on the baking pan, single or double layer
  
• bake at 200F for about 2 hours, turning occasionally

You want to dehydrate the bread, not make toast, so bake the croutons low & slow. Whole wheat and other dense breads take longer to bake.

Sometimes, these croutons actually find their way onto a salad. Most often, they are immediately consumed right out of the oven.

Wicked Witch Hats

Food Category: G-Rated
Difficulty: Easy

Unroll reduced fat refrigerated crescent rolls and shape into triangles.
Top with pizza sauce, basil & mozzarella as shown below:

Roll bottom part of triangle up to resemble the brim of the hat.

Bake at 400F for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Garnish with freshly snipped basil.

Pita Pizza

Food Category: G-Rated, Bum Lovin'

Difficulty: Easy

It's just the girls and I for a few nights, so simple it is. Tonight we built our pizzas on whole wheat pita bread, topped with Contadina bottled pizza sauce, grated mozzarella, a sprinkle of basil-garlic seasoning, leftover chicken meatballs (chopped w/o the buffalo sauce) and snipets of fresh basil.

Here's the link to my Pita Pizza Debut for cooking method.

Pita Pizza

Food Category: PG, Bum Lovin', High-5
Difficulty: Easy

This one is dedicated to all the working mamas who are too darned tired to cook after work. Have the kinder assemble their own pizzas & serve on paperplates.

Pita Bread Pizza

whole wheat pita bread

topped with:

• crushed tomatoes, seasoned with oregano, basil, garlic
• mozzarella & parmesean
• ham
• fresh snipped basil (toss on when pizza comes out of the oven)

Side Salad

• lettuce
• shredded carrots
• cucumbers
• tomatoes (for Man only!)
• Newman's Own Light Balsalmic Vinaigrette

Preheat oven & baking stone to 400F. Assemble pizza & place onto hot stone (the stone keeps the bottom crust from being undercooked & soggy). Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is golden & bubbly.

The pizzas can also be cooked in a preheated toaster oven.

I've also made these with various kinds of whole wheat flat bread with great results.

This meal is totally diet friendly & healthy. Enjoy!

Leftover potential: I never have any because I make "just enough". Should you have leftover pizza, encourage kinder to eat it cold out of the fridge, it's way less effort on your part.