Secret Family Recipes: It's Pizza Night!

There is nothing better than a cheesy, delicious pizza pie!  This recipe is neither too time consuming, or difficult, so you can make any night pizza night.  We love this recipe so much, we have to share it with you even though it's a secret family recipe. Shh... don't tell my family. 

This sauce can be made a day in advance, or the day of.

Sauce ingredients:

 1 tablespoon dried minced onion 

1 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes 

2 6 ounce cans of tomato paste

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 tablespoon salt

1/2 tablespoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Steps to makes sauce:

Pour all of the ingredients into a high powered blender and blend at top speed until smooth.  However, if you prefer the diced tomatoes, this step is unnecessary.  I like to make my sauce nice and smooth.

Simmer over medium low heat for 2 hours.

This sauce can be stored in the fridge for 2 weeks, or it can be frozen until needed.

Crust Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast 
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Pizza Ingredients:

• pizza sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella and provolone cheese mix
• pizza toppings of your choice

Steps:

Pour the warm water into a small bowl, and add the sugar and yeast.

Let the mixture sit until foamy.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

After the yeast mixture is ready, mix with flour, olive oil, Italian seasoning and salt.

Combine well.  This can be done with a wooden spoon, however I chose to use my hands.  If mixture is looking too sticky, add a little bit of flour.

When everything is mixed well, knead the dough for 5 minutes.  The dough will be wet, but that is how you want it.

Cover dough with a warm, damp towel, and let rest for 20 minutes.

Grease pizza pan (I would suggest a pan that has large holes in the bottom, this makes the crust crispier) by brushing it with olive oil.  Generously sprinkle greased pan with cornmeal.

After dough has rested, use your fingers to spread dough onto the greased pizza pan.

Bake the dough in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Let crust cool completely (20-30 minutes).

Spread pizza sauce onto the baked crust.  Be sure to use a good amount of sauce.

Sprinkle cheese onto sauce, and top with your favorite toppings.

Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

                      Enjoy!

~ Chef Megs