PIZZA Night!!

“Believe it or not, Americans eat 75 acres of pizza a day.”
~ Boyd Matson

Friday is pizza night at our house. I make it myself - it's much better than frozen or or delivery. It isn't a long and involved process, I use a pre-mixed crust and a jar of pizza sauce, but I know all the ingredients are fresh, and it is not greasy like delivery pizza. I use fairly high quality mozzarella cheese and fresh grated parmesan, and that makes a real difference. (When I downgrade the cheese, everyone still likes the pizza, but they don't rave about it.)

The Recipe (makes 2 12" pizzas)

Ingredients:
3 boxes of Jiffy pizza crust mix
1 1/2 cups hot water
Olive oil
1 jar of pizza sauce
1/3 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
3-4 cups grated mozzarella
3/4 cups grated cheddar
Toppings (I usually make one pepperoni and one cheese pizza)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425
Mix the crust mix and water and let "rise" for 7 minutes
Grease 2 12" pizza pans with olive oil
Knead the dough about 15-20 times and divide in half
Press the halves evenly into the pizza pans (I pour a little olive oil on so the dough doesn't stick to my hands, plus the olive oil on the crust prevents the sauce from making the crust soggy)
Sprinkle crust with parmesan cheese
Put in the oven for about 5 minutes
Take out the crusts one at a time
Use 1/2 of the sauce, and cheese on each one, and add any of your other favorite pizza toppings
Return to 425 oven for about 12-15 minutes until cheese is melted and lightly browned

Ratings:
***** Everyone loves pizza night!

My notes: You will get spoiled if you start making your own pizza at home instead of ordering out - it really is better. Plus, it's not really that much effort if you use the shortcuts that I use. Special Plus - EASY CLEAN UP!