Pizza Who??

      How many times in your life have you given Pizza Hut (Or other places) $15 or over for one pizza or even just $5 for a Hot and Ready at Little Caesars?  Why do we do this? I don't think I'm the only newlywed, or person for that matter, who likes to save a little bit of money here and there.  One of the biggest things I have dealt with during my married life is learning to budget.  You have to start realizing that money REALLY doesn't grow on trees.  You aren't only paying for one person anymore, and though there are two incomes (sometimes) you are taking on more bills.  Rent, Car Insurance, Phones, Groceries.... AH. Jumping into that is scary!! And thats not even all the bills! So, saving when you can is a MUST.  We willingly give fast food places up to a hundred dollars a week! So, Mr. Bloom and I are trying to cut out eating out to help with the budget.  That leaves me answering the ultimate question... What am I making for dinner?? 

    

The Answer: Pizza (Easy choice because Mr. Bloom had been asking for it!)

(This pizza will leave you saying, Pizza Who?)

• The first ingredient when I am cooking anything is music.  My choice for this night was John Legend.  I have a deep love for music, so it's pretty much playing all the time! 

• After googling a few recipes, I noticed this one... I mean, I could trust Paula Deen right?? If the pizza recipes that I saw had any bad reviews, I steered clear.  This recipe had no bad reviews and to my surprise looked really easy to make.  This was my first time making pizza from scratch.. EVER! 

THE RECIPE

THE DIRECTIONS

• Measure out 1 3/4 cups of warm water and sprinkle the yeast on top of the water.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes.  You don't have to stir it or anything like that...  Usually, when cooking you can do other things pertaining to the recipe, but you need the yeast right away.  So, find something else to do like picking up around the house, kitchen or even getting a load of laundry together.. Being doubly productive is a nice feeling! 

• This recipe calls to use a food processor , but I only have a mini one.  I used my Kitchenaid Mixer instead.  If you don't have one, a whisk and your hands/big spoon will do. So, this is the first attachment that I used.  But only for the dry items! A whisk and dough do not mix well! 
• Put the salt and 2 cups of the flour into the bowl and mix it together.

• After I mixed the dry items together, I switched my attachment to the dough hook.  I have never used this one and didn't even know if it was necessary.  Context clues led me to believe it was just what I needed to mix my dough! 
• Pour the yeast and water and mix thoroughly, then add the olive oil.  Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time, mixing and make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl.. that way you can be sure the mixture is mixed well.  

• As soon as the mixture is combined, dump it out onto a well-floured board and knead for 15 turns, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

• It should look a little like this.  Smoother than when you first dumped it out.  If it is still a little sticky, I would suggest putting a little more flour on the dough... putting it on your hands while you knead it helps also.  

• Place the dough in an olive oil greased bowl.  I poured some olive in the bowl and spread it around with my hands.  I didn't measure the amount out and I don't think you can really go wrong.  I want to say I probably used a few tablespoons worth.  Turn the dough in the bowl and make sure you coat all sides of it.

• Cover with plastic wrap.  Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.  Then pick your husband up from work.  This is important and you must not forget! Ok. Maybe everyone doesn't have to do that, but it was an important part of my recipe! 

• When I got back, my dough looked like this! It should be about double in size.  Punch the dough down and divide the dough in half.  I used a pizza cutter to make this happen.  Earlier that day I did see a dough cutter for about 3 bucks at target.  This makes about two pizzas.  I read that some people didn't need two pizzas, so instead they made bread sticks! Yum.  A great idea for next time! 

• Get your pizza pan out! We got this for our wedding! Along with a rolling pin and pizza wheel.

• Have you ever wondered what the stuff is on the bottom of your pizza?  The grainy stuff that you have to brush off onto your pants (or napkin, lol).   I have and I have never known what it is.  It's cornmeal! Dust the pizza pan with cornmeal before you roll your dough onto it.  Don't be afraid to stretch your dough to the edges of your pan, but don't stretch it so much that it breaks.  
• Roll up the edge slightly to create a ridge around the pizza.  I did this with my finger, pressing all around the pizza about half an inch into the dough.  Making an indentation.. I hope that makes sense! 

(Ingredients for the sauce: 1 Small can of tomato paste, 1 can of water, 1 teaspoon each of oregano, basil and garlic salt)

• Now you need sauce! I texted my mother in law who makes amazing pizza for the recipe.   I noticed that we got the paste with oregano, basil and garlic salt, so I wasn't sure if the recipe would still be the same! I had to do a trial and error kind of thing.  I sprinkled each of the spices into the pasta sauce.  I noticed in my spice rack I had a spice called "Pizza Seasoning", and it contains oregano, basil, granulated garlic salt and marjoram (which smells a little like oregano to me).  I sprinkled some of it right in the mix.  Taste. Add more. Taste. Give to Husband. He approves it.  Put it on your pizza!  

• Here is Mr. Bloom helping out.  When there is cheese around, there is no doubt in my mind that he will be in the kitchen.  "Checking" how it tastes.  I used the rest of the bag cheese that I had, then shredded some myself.  It is up to you how much sauce to put on your pizza and definitely your choice of how much cheese and which topping to put!  

We chose pepperoni's and jalapeno's! 

• Bake the pizza for about 16 to 18 minutes.  Until golden brown.

Almost Done!!                         

Mr. Bloom cutting the pizza!

He says. "Take my picture!!!"

Looks Delicious!!

The cornmeal dusted pan.

The second pizza.

Second Pizza complete!

     There you have it! My homemade pizza!  Before Mr. Bloom tried it he stated that he would like us to try a few other crusts.  After he tried it, he said that we should look no further! That is what a lot of the reviews said for Paula Deen's Pizza Crust.  The crust came out perfect.  Browned on the outside and soft on the inside.  The pizza sauce was perfect!  It was really easy and came out great.  We had a whole leftover pizza and we took it for lunch for a couple of days.  So, we saved money with that and not having to go out and buy dinner.  Budgeting never tasted so good!

I did learn a few things..

1. Pasta sauce in a white mixing bowl is a no-go.  I stained my poor little bowl!

2.  A Pizza Cutter was the easiest way cut the dough, I tried a knife at first and it didn't work very well.  Mr. Bloom suggested the pizza cutter.

3. At first when I was rolling the dough, I thought the pizza roller was my only tool.  The pizza wasn't spreading all the way to the edges.  Mr. Bloom used to work in fast food and had to prep the pizzas they served.  He showed me how to work the dough a little better.  Like in my post, Don't be afraid to stretch it with your hands..

With that, Enjoy! 

(The recipe directions have been paraphrased by me, but if you want to see the recipe along with directions, you can see it HERE!)