PIZZA
We love to do “make your own pizza” nights at our house. Overall we prefer our own pizza to most restaurant pizza because we can control the ingredients and make it exactly to each person’s liking. I also think it is a lot healthier than restaurant pizza. Today my daughter and I made our own sauce (see Basic Tomato Sauce recipe), but we often buy commercially-made organic sauce. I do always buy the pizza dough. There is nothing I dislike more than kneading dough, I find it really tedious, so I buy Whole Foods fresh pre-made whole wheat dough and go from there. I think because we like to make out dough cracker-thin (except for my son) that probably any dough will do. The other thing about “make your own pizza” night is that we load our pizza with veggies, no restaurant will ever do that!
Ingredients:
These are really up to the cook. I will list the ingredients I used today (and most often), but use the items you like best. Think of the pizza crust as a “blank slate” and fill it however you like, whatever is in season or with whatever is sitting in your refrigerator. Serves 4
Basic Tomato Sauce
This is a very simple homemade tomato sauce that can be used on pizza or pasta. The sauce needs to simmer for a long time to allow the ingredients to meld and the tomatoes to break down. The leftovers freeze well so you have good healthy sauce on hand whenever you need it for a quick pasta or pizza dish.
INGREDIENTS:
• olive oil to cover pan
• 4 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano or 2+ tablespoons fresh chopped oregano (if using fresh, add at the end of the cooking time)
• 3 pounds diced fresh tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, agave nectar or sweetener of choice
• Black pepper and salt to taste
• 26 oz package of Pom strained tomatoes (I prefer this brand as they are Italian tomatoes with literally nothing added, but use what you prefer and can find easily)
• ½ cup chopped fresh basil
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, warm the olive oil.
2. Add the garlic and onions (and dried oregano if using — fresh you can add later) and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, or until fragrant and soft.
3. Increase the heat to medium. Add the tomatoes, sugar, black pepper, and salt. Stir well.
4. Leave over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until boiling. Reduce heat to low and gently simmer partially covered for at least 60 minutes. I simmer until I get my desired consistency, for me thicker is better, so if I have the time I may let it simmer for a couple of hours.
5. Stir in fresh oregano and fresh basil (sometimes I add some fresh thyme as well). Simmer for 10–15 minutes. Serve with your favorite pasta or use as pizza sauce. Enjoy!
Pizza Ingredients:
· 1 package of pre-made pizza dough such as Whole Foods whole wheat Pizza dough.
· Mozzarella cheese — amount varies per person.
· Basic tomato sauce (see recipe above)
· 1 spicy chicken sausage (to please my carnivorous husband), baked and chopped.
· 1 bag of spinach.
· 1 package of exotic mushrooms, sliced (plus some button mushrooms if you love mushrooms like I do!)
· 1 bell pepper, diced
· Optional: chopped jalapeños or dried red pepper flakes
cornmeal to cover baking sheet or pizza stone
Directions:
1) Let pizza dough rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
2) Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
3) Cook the chicken sausage in the oven. Time will vary depending on the type you use. Let cool and chop.
4) Put spinach in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30–60 seconds to wilt. Squeeze out excess liquid. Chop spinach and set aside.
5) Slice mushrooms and spread in a single layer on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Season with salt and pepper. Bake at 425 degrees for 10–15 minutes or until the mushrooms have dried some. Soak up remaining liquid if necessary.
6) Dice a bell pepper of your choice.
7) Chop a jalapeño if you desire a little spice (or dried red pepper flakes if that is more convenient).
8) Roll out pizza dough to desired thickness and desired sizes. We make 4 pizzas out of one package of Whole Foods pizza dough. Usually one is small and thick and the others are very thin and have a diameter of roughly 10”.
9) Pre-bake pizza dough on a baking sheet or pizza stone sprinkled with cornmeal for 5–7 minutes (depending on oven). Most of my family likes it crispy.
10) Spread sauce on cooked dough. Spread desired amount of cheese. Spread desired toppings.
11) Bake for 5–7 minutes, depending on oven.
12) Remove from oven, slice and enjoy!
