Nothing Like Homemade Pizza

Fridays around here have been Pizza Fridays for a long time (well, okay, they were around for a while, then they weren't and now they are back again). And for us that means homemade pizza! To me, you just can't beat the taste of a lovingly handmade pizza hot from your own oven. I haven't found a frozen pizza that doesn't taste like cardboard and ordering in? Well, I am not too fond of the places we have close by. So, a couple of years ago, I made a search online for some pizza recipes that I could try. I found these and haven't turned back since!

If you are looking for a tender and chewy crust that rises oh-so nicely, this is the recipe to try! I honestly have no idea where I got this from but it is not my original recipe.

PIZZA HUT'S PIZZA DOUGH

1 1/3 cup (scant) warm-hot water

2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons cornmeal

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

Place water, sugar, salt, yeast and olive oil in bowl of mixer and dissolve sugar, salt and yeast. Stir in remaining ingredients and knead with dough hook to form a soft but not-too-sticky dough, about 8 minutes. Remove from machine and allow to rest, covered with a tea towel, about 45 minutes. Prepare pizza as desired and bake in a 425F oven for 18-20 minutes.

*(though I know some will say "It is nothing like Pizza Hut's dough" - hey, that's the name that was on it when I got it and it tastes good so I don't care!)

** Sometimes, I will make a batch of dough to bake into breadsticks. Just take the dough, after it is done resting, roll into a jelly roll pan (I use stoneware), brush with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt, then bake. Cut into sticks and enjoy.

If you are looking for a great tasting sauce recipe, I love this one for the "regular" pizzas, like pepperoni, ham & pineapple, etc. It is also great warmed and used to dip breadsticks.

EXQUISITE PIZZA SAUCE

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

3/4 cup warm-hot water

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon honey

3/4 teaspooon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

salt to taste

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients; mix together, breaking up any clumps of cheese (also works great to blend it with the Magic Bullet). Sauce should sit for 30 minutes to blend flavors; spread over pizza dough and prepare pizza as desired.

My absolute favorite pizza, for its tastiness and ease of preparation, would be this one, featured in a Pampered Chef cookbook called Seasons Best Fall/Winter 2005. I make this pizza often and, though the combination of ingredients seems bizarre, it is just fantastic!

MOLE CHICKEN PIZZA

Mole Sauce

1/4 cup barbeque sauce***

2 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tsp creamy peanut butter

3/4 teaspoon chili powder

1 tsp lime juice

1 clove garlic, pressed

Pizza

1 plum tomato, sliced

8 oz cooked chicken, chopped (2 cups)

1 green pepper, diced (about 1 cup)

1/4 cup chopped onion *

1/4 cup pitted ripe olives, sliced *

1 pre-baked pizza crust (I use my regular pizza crust recipe, not pre-baked)

4 oz marble cheese, grated (1 cup)

1 tbsp snipped fresh cilantro *

*Due to personal taste, we omit these

**I love pizza sauce so I often double this recipe

***The barbeque sauce you choose will change the taste of this sauce. My favorite to use, which creates a zippy but tasty sauce, is President's Choice Smokin' Habenero! Oh so good!

Preheat oven to 425F. For mole sauce, combine barbecue sauce, chocolate chips, peanut butter, chili powder, lime juice and garlic. Microwave on high 30-60 seconds, stirring after 30 seconds, until melted and smooth; set aside. For pizza, slice tomato, chop chicken and green pepper; set aside. Chop onion. Slice olives. Combine chicken, green pepper, onion and olives in a bowl. Place pizza crust on pizza stone; spread mole sauce over crust to within 1/2 inch of edge.

Evenly spoon chicken mixture over pizza. Arrange tomato slices around edge of crust. Grate cheese over pizza. Slice cilantro; set aside. Bake 18-20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven; sprinkle with cilantro. Cut into wedges and serve.

Finally, this pizza I don't make very often, because I don't always have the ingredients on hand, but it tastes AMAZING!!! I love alfredo so this pizza just made sense. It comes from a cookbook called "Don't Panic - Dinner's In The Freezer."

CHICKEN ALFREDO PIZZA

Alfredo Sauce

1/4 cup butter

scant 1 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

Pizza

1 pizza crust

10 large fresh spinach leaves, rinsed and dried

6 green onions, sliced diagonally, including tops

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cooked and shredded

1/2 lb. bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, cooked until crisp

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated Swiss cheese

For sauce: Melt butter in large saucepan or skillet. Add cream and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Add Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat under pan.

For pizza: Roll out pizza dough to form crust. Spread alfredo sauce evenly over pizza crust. Arrange spinach leaves over sauce. Add green onions, shredded chicken, and bacon. Sprinkle cheeses over top. Preheat oven to 450F. Bake 15 minutes or until bubbly.

One thing I learned recently about pizza crusts - if it goes into the oven sticking, it will come out sticking. So add more flour to make sure the dough is not too sticky.

I love to use my Pampered Chef stoneware pan to make pizzas but just recently bought 4-7" pizza pans for the kids from Epicure. They are heavily perforated aluminum and make perfect personal pizzas. Now the kids can have whatever kind of pizza they want and so can we!

I am always interested in new pizza recipes so if you have any, send them my way! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you find at least one recipe you enjoy!