Homemade pizza is a savory dish with a yeasty crust and bubbling cheese that will delight anyone on a winter day. Not only is pizza one of the most popular foods in the world, but making homemade pizza is a great indoor activity to do with family and friends. It’s a Valentine’s Day tradition in our house to make homemade heart-shaped pizzas with the kids for their Valentine’s Day dinner, and the adults have a later (more romantic) dinner after the kids are in bed.
If you aren’t already making homemade pizza in your dinner rotation, here are a few good reasons why it’s better than pre-made pizza:
- It’s less expensive.
- You can make it suit-to-taste exactly as you wish, from the sauce to the toppings.
- It’s healthier (less sodium, less sugar, no preservatives, no artificial anything).
- Making the pizza is a fun activity for all ages.
- Fresh toppings and a bubbly crust straight out of the oven make it delicious!
Personalized Pizza Recipe
- Pizza Dough – Fleischmann’s Pizza Crust Yeast has been a game-changer for me. This yeast does not take any time to rise, therefore making homemade pizza dough ready in about 10 minutes (instead of an hour or more for the yeast to rise). I make the dough in my mixer so that I don’t even have to take the time to hand knead it. You can use half whole wheat flour and half white for a more savory crust. This recipe makes one large, or two personal-sized, pizzas.
- Marinara Sauce – this sauce is very easy and doesn’t take much more work than putting all the ingredients in the pan and stirring it occasionally.
- Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
Toppings of choice:
- Basil
- Bell Peppers, sliced or diced
- Mushrooms, sliced
- Sweet Onions, thinly sliced
- Garlic, minced
- Sausage, crumbled or sliced
- Spinach
- Tomatoes, sliced
- Zucchini, sliced
1. Shape pizza dough into personal sized pizza on a baking sheet or pizza stone. 2. Spread marinara sauce on pizza to cover almost to edge. 3. Sprinkle generous amount of mozzarella cheese to cover marinara. 4. Top with toppings of choice. Bake in 400-425 degree oven until cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown (5-10 minutes). Slice and enjoy!
Speedy version:
- Use jarred marinara sauce instead of homemade (look for a sauce without corn syrup or preservatives. If you don’t recognize all the ingredients on the label, skip the sauce).
- Buy pre-shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Get pre-made pizza dough in the refrigerator or freezer section (Whole Foods carries whole wheat and white pizza dough in the refrigerator section).
- Select just the amount of pre-sliced toppings that you want from the salad bar section of the market.
Be delicious!
