Pizza Pizzazz!

Delicious meals by the slice

Who needs to pick up the phone to order pizza when you can make one at home? Whether you use store-bought crust or homemade, pizza is one meal nearly everyone enjoys helping create.
Why not make pizza prep a family affair? Gather up the sauce, veggies, meat and seasonings and see who can come up with the most delicious pie. Who knows — you may create a combo to rival your favorite pizza parlor.

Homemade Pizza Dough

(no photo)

1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 to 2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Extra flour as needed

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Grease 12- to 14-inch pizza pan or large jelly roll pan and set aside.
Put warm water (105 to 110 degrees) into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and yeast and gently stir to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes or until mixture becomes frothy and bubbles form. Add olive oil and gently stir to combine. Add 2 cups of flour and salt and mix until a ball begins to form (dough will still be slightly sticky). Add more flour as needed to form a dough ball and let rise.
Transfer dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, adding up to 1/2 cup extra flour at a time as needed. Roll dough into desired shape and transfer to prepared pan. To make sure the dough doesn’t form air pockets, use a fork to prick the dough (careful not to poke holes through the entire crust).
Bake on the lower rack of oven for 5 minutes and set aside. If air bubbles begin forming, poke them with a fork to let the air out. Add sauce and toppings of choice. Bake on the lower rack of your oven for around 15 to 20 minutes until the crust looks crispy and lightly browned or bake as recipe directs.

Supreme Pizza

1 tube (13.8 ounces) refrigerated pizza crust or homemade pizza crust
1 1/2 cups pizza sauce
3 ounces Canadian bacon slices, quartered
1 ounce pepperoni slices, whole
1 small red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 small yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 small red onion, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
2 1/4-ounce can sliced black olives, drained
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Roll dough out into a 14-inch circle on a lightly floured work surface, then transfer to a 12- to 14-inch pizza pan.
Spread pizza sauce over dough, stopping within an inch of the dough edge. Top dough with Canadian bacon, pepperoni, red and yellow bell peppers, red onion, black olives and mozzarella.
Bake until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned, 14 to 16 minutes. Top with Parmesan and fresh basil.

 

Quick Pizza Cups

1 tube (13.8 ounces) refrigerated pizza crust, cut into 6 equal square pieces
Salt and pepper
2 1/2 cups pizza sauce
1 cup mozzarella, shredded
1 large tomato, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
3 ounces Canadian bacon, diced
1 ounce pepperoni, diced

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spray 6 standard muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough and cut into 6 equal squares. Fill each muffin cup with square of dough, gently pressing dough into bottom and up the sides of muffin cup. Season dough lightly with salt and pepper to taste.
Into each dough cup add 1 tablespoon each of pizza sauce, cheese and tomato.
Add other desired toppings to fill cup 2/3 full, then top with another tablespoon each of pizza sauce, cheese and tomato. Bake until dough is golden brown and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve with any remaining sauce.

 

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

1 tube (13.8 ounces) refrigerated pizza crust or homemade pizza crust
1 1/2 cups Buffalo sauce, divided
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
3 tablespoons butter
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 green onions, cut into small pieces
Blue cheese dressing on the side
Celery sticks, optional
Extra blue cheese dressing to drizzle over pizza, optional

Unroll pizza crust onto a lightly greased 15-by-10-inch baking pan; flatten dough and build up edges slightly. Bake at 400 for 7 minutes. Brush dough with 4 tablespoons Buffalo sauce. Combine cheddar and mozzarella cheeses; sprinkle a third over the crust. Set aside.
In a large skillet, melt butter; then add chicken, garlic salt, pepper and chili powder and cook until chicken is no longer pink. Add the remaining Buffalo sauce and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring about halfway through cooking time.
Spoon chicken mixture over pizza crust. Sprinkle top with green onions and remaining cheese. Bake until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted, 16 to 18 minutes. Serve with celery and blue cheese dressing on the side.

 

Peanut Butter S'mores Pizza

1 tube (13.8 ounces) refrigerated pizza crust or homemade pizza crust
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
8 ounces milk chocolate bar broken into small squares
4 cups miniature marshmallows
3 whole graham crackers broken into tiny pieces
11/2 cup chocolate chips, melted

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Pat dough with floured hands to fill pizza pan or roll homemade dough on a floured surface. Place onto a greased pizza pan.
Spread peanut butter over crust then top evenly with the chocolate bars. Bake for 8 minutes, then remove from the oven and top with miniature marshmallows. Bake for another 5 minutes until marshmallows are puffed and golden.
Remove and top with broken pieces of graham cracker and drizzle with melted chocolate chips. Serve while warm.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This