Super fabulous homemade pizza

I realize that most people love their Saturdays. Well, honestly, I don't. I pretty much dread them. The explanation is that Chris works all but one Saturday a month. (Before you go pitying me, he does have Mondays off which is so nice.) The hours that he is gone (8:30 a.m. to 6:45 p.m.) on that day of the week seem like an eternity. I guess that this is a pretty normal work day for most, but we love his weekday schedule of either 8-4 or 2-10, which leaves us a nice chunk of the day together as a family either in the morning or the evening.

So when Saturday rolls around we are left with very little time together as a fam as Chris makes his appearance during bathtime which is just prior to bedtime. This translates into ME being at my wits end by day's end & the last thing I have time and patience for on top of a crazy day is making some great dinner with little munchkins whining and screaming at my feet. So lately I've been trying to find ways to simplify,(not an easy task for my complicated little brain) and this I did by finding the perfect solution for dinners on my dreaded Saturdays...and a tradition Parker looks forward to.

Well, a few months back after a little research, I found the greatest homemade pizza recipes. Not just kinda good -- REALLY GOOD! So I started the Saturday ritual of giving the kiddos early baths and then having homemade pizzas ready to pop into the oven just as Chris is getting home. The kids absolutely love decorating their own pizzas, they love eating the pizzas, and they love the little bit of time they get to spend with their Dad on Saturday nights just before going to bed.

I love that I don't have to think about what I am making for dinner that day, LOVE that they are SUPER EASY, super cheap, & I love that they are all homemade. & don't tell anyone but I especially love that I don't have to deal with any raw meat... you could say it's definitely NOT one of my favorite pasttimes.... ughh. But that's another story...

And did I mention that I. LOVE. THIS PIZZA!?

This is some of the tastiest homemade pizza I've ever had. Seriously - SO YUMMY! I love it so much that I wanted to share these great discoveries with the three people who may be lucky enough to have made it this far into my post without falling asleep.

Really - these recipes are worth the boring post - I promise!

Here they are:

(super duper easy!)

PIZZA DOUGH

(courtesy of Martha's website, but Wolfgang Puck's recipe)

One 1/4-ounce active dry yeast

1 tsp honey

1 cup warm water

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp coarse salt

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and honey in 1/4 cup warm water; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour and salt. Add oil, yeast mixture, and remaining 3/4 cup warm water; mix on low speed until dough pulls away from the sides fo the bowl and clusters around the dough hook, about 5 minutes.

2. Turn dough out onto a clean work surface, and knead by hand until dough is smooth and firm, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer dough to a large bowl, and cover witha clean, damp kitchen towel. Place bowl in a warm spot, and let rise for 30 minutes.

3. Divide dough into four balls, about 6 ounces each. Work each ball by pulling down the sides and tucking under the bottom of each ball; repeat 4 or 5 times. On a clean, unfloured surface, roll the ball under the palm of your hand until the dough is smooth and firm, about 1 minute. Repeat with remaining balls; cover witha damp towel and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Prepare as needed and arrange desired toppings; balls can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

(Makes four 8-inch pizzas - or one large)

*Note: I like to bake the rolled out dough for 4 or 5 minutes before I put any sauce or toppings on - then cook with toppings for additional 10 minutes or so at 400 degrees. But then again, we like crispy crust around here...

MOVING ON TO THE SAUCE....

The super fabulous sauce recipe is from one of my favorite food blogs - Our Best Bites. Click here to never ever want to use the jar marinara sauce ever again. Who ever liked that stuff anyways?! This is super easy and super tasty! I love it.

Don't be intimidated by the fact that one of it's ingredients is some of their homemade garlic bread seasoning. Yes, you'll have to make that too to make the recipe work but trust me it is fast and easy... the only strange ingredient are the marjoram leaves (well at least to me that is) but I found them with no problem in the seasoning isle at Smith's and they were even under $2.

Here I go rambling - what else is new??...

Just try out these recipes! You'll love 'em! Er you can call me crazy. :)

HAPPY PIZZA MAKING!!!