You know what’s expensive? Pizza. Around here, one pizza goes for a minimum of $10.00 – and that’s a special price run Monday-Wednesday.
When I used to order pizza, it would take about 20 minutes to figure out what I wanted, another 5 minutes on the phone to place the order, and yet another 45 minutes to actually get it!
So the solution is to make your own pizza. It’s fast and easy too!!!
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Step 1 – how to make awesome pizza at home
Fast and easy
The absolute easiest way is to start with pre-made crusts. If going with pre-made crusts, I use the packages of thin pizza crusts from ALDI (personal size pizza) which come a package of 3 crusts. They sell for a little under $3.00, and come with small packets of sauce.
These are great to have on hand when you are in a hurry and need a quick meal.
DIY pizza crust
Normally, I’ll make my own pizza dough in the bread machine. I use a recipe for 2 lbs. of dough – adding oregano, basil and garlic powder right into the ingredients.
Once the dough is made, I’ll roll it out into 5-6 personal size pizzas and partially bake them for about 20 minutes. Once the crusts are cool, I stack them all in a gallon-size freezer bag and pop the bag into the freezer.
When I’m in the mood for pizza, a frozen crust takes only a few minutes to thaw out while I am getting the rest of the ingredients together.
Step 2 – add sauce
Add some sauce to the crust and spread it around with the back of a spoon. I don’t use any special pizza sauce – just my own homemade sauce or from the jar of sauce bought on sale.
Step 3 – add cheese
Next, add shredded mozzarella, or your choice of cheese. I happen to like a LOT of cheese on my pizza!
I get the huge 5 lb. bags of shredded mozzarella at ALDI and keep it in the freezer. When I need some, I just break off a hunk, and crumble it over the crust and sauce.
Herbs and spices
If you want, you can add basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, garlic or garlic powder, or something like the mix pictured below that comes in a little glass grinder.
Step 4 – add toppings
Now comes the fun part! Once you have the base of sauce and cheese, it’s time to customize your pizza!
Made to order
This time, I added sliced pepperoni and a little bit of diced onion. I buy the 5 ounce bags of 100 slices of pepperoni for about $2.99, and it goes a long way. Occasionally, I’ll add a sprinkle of diced green bell peppers, which I keep in the freezer.
TIP – when bell peppers are on sale or on the reduced produce rack, dice them up and keep them in a gallon sized freezer bag. This makes it super easy and you will always have them on hand.
Now don’t say “ewwww”, but once in a while, I’ll make an anchovy pizza.
Or bacon and onion.
If I have fresh mushrooms that I need to use up, I saute them in butter, and add some diced onion. I keep small containers of this in the freezer to use on pizza.
The possibilities are endless!
Step 5 – bake for about 10 minutes
Now take your creation, and place the rack in the center of the toaster oven.
Cook at 400-450 degrees for 10 minutes.
The toaster oven takes less power to use than the oven, and why waste money heating up a big oven for just one pizza?
You can use a stone or put the crust directly on the rack of the toaster oven.
Check your creation around 7 minutes
Keep an eye on it around the 7 minute mark to make sure it doesn’t over-cook. Your toaster oven may run a little hotter or cooler than mine.
Slice and enjoy!
One the pizza is done to you liking, remove it from the oven and put it on a cutting board. A pizza wheel is nice to have for cutting – but a long-blade knife works too.
A personal size pizza makes about 4 small slices.
All this takes 20 minutes from start to finish (yes, I timed it) and far less than what the take-out place charges!
Making your own pizza at home is not only fun but also a great way to customize your toppings and create a delicious meal for yourself or your family. With just a few simple steps, you can enjoy a homemade pizza that is fresh, delicious, and inexpensive.
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