If you think that homemade pizza is too hard and too time consuming, I can reassure you that it is actually quite quick and so so yummy.  I save the cost of the pizza and gas to run out and get mediocre pizza.  You will love the taste of this.

I again was feeling a bit tired and almost caved but then I remembered how amazing homemade pizza tastes.

So here is my recipe for a variety of homemade pizzas.

Pizza Crust (this makes about 5 – 13 inch pizzas)

2 Cups Warm Water
2 Packages Yeast or about 4 1/2 teaspoons
Pinch of Sugar
2 1/2 t Salt
2 1/2 T Olive Oil
5 Cups Flour (May need more I add until I have a nice soft dough as I am kneading it)

Mix Yeast, Warm Water and Sugar and let sit for a bit it will start to be foamy, then stir in Salt and Olive Oil, put in the first four cups of flour stir until combined you should need another cup stir this in.  From here I knead in another 1/2 to 1 cup.  Today I was busy so I used my mixer to knead but I also find it good exercise to knead by hand, I am hoping it will help my flabby upper arms.

Okay from here I put it in a bowl greased with olive oil, cover with a bread cloth and let rise until double or over the top of the bowl by a nice amount, next time I will add a photo of what mine looks like when raised to where I like it.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

5 cloves Garlic
1 C Onions
1 C Celery
1 C Sweet Pepper
1 – 102 oz can of tomatoes (yes that is large but I made enough sauce to use for the week, you can even freeze for next weeks pizza)
Oregano
Basil
Thyme
Red Flaked Pepper
Rosemary
Salt
Pepper


Saute Garlic, Onions, Celery and Sweet Peppers in olive oil until browned, then pour in tomatoes and mash with masher (don’t worry when this is cooled we will be blending this in the blender so they don’t have to be fully mashed), I bring it to a boil then turn to low and I let this cook a good long while, hour or so stirring occasionally, then add seasonings listed and any other favorites you have and let simmer another hour.  


Wait until this is completely cooled and blend in the blender for a smooth sauce.


Here is the beginning of the sauce, forgot a final pic, I will do that next time.  Do you see the amazing color here, it just adds amazing flavor.

Some topping choices

Okay now for the toppings:

I like a variety since I have many tastes in our house.  Tonight I just made 3 styles.

Tip: Roll directly on parchment paper, top and put parchment right on baking stone in the oven, this will make a evenly cooked through pizza and a nice crispy crust.  I put  my stone in the oven and warm the oven to 450 then put parchment and all right on it to cook.

#1 – Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

I chopped up the extra 2 breasts of chicken from Weds, sauteed it with 2 cloves garlic and 1/4 cup or so of sliced onion until it was a nice caramel color, then I had some leftover barbecue sauce water with about 1/4 cup water.  Stirred and turned the heat off.  I rolled 1/5 of the dough to a thin crust, topped with the chicken mixture and a mix of cheese.  Baked at 450 for 10-12 minutes.

Pepperoni before the oven

#2 – Pepperoni Pizza

For this I prefer the pepperoni from Trader Joe’s and a fresh Mozzarella.  Layer the sauce then your pepperonis, then a layer of the fresh Mozzarella add freshly grated Parmesan and sprinkle with basil and oregano.  Cook on 450 for 10-12 minutes.

Pepperoni, onion and pepper pizza before the oven

#3 – Sweet Peppers, Onions and Pepperoni Pizza

Layer the same, roll the crust thin, spread about 1/4 – 1/3 sauce, layer peppers, onions and pepperoni, sprinkle mozzarella, then fresh grated Parmesan, sprinkle basil and oregano.  Cook 450 10-12 minutes.

So that was it for tonight.  Next time I will try some fresh Sausage.

Pepperoni, Onion and Pepper pizza fresh from the oven

These bake up so quickly and taste amazing you will never want to order out again.

Also be flexible with your sauce I change mine up all the time and add some of whatever I have, can be regular peppers, carrots,etc. remember you will be blending this so these add flavor only.