Pizza Night is a Highlight of Our Week
Usually I spend late Friday afternoons assembling the makings of homemade pizza which I bake in the oven. We enjoy it with Ranch dressing and veggies or a ChiChi’s Italian Salad. Then after kitchen clean-up (or not), we watch a movie and enter into the weekend.
When I first tried my hand at homemade pizza, it was a terrible failure. I gave it a few tries and then gave up. But, my friend Jessika always served great homemade pizza that it inspired me to try it again. Twelve years later, it’s a regular on our menu.
Most of the crew prefers simple pepperoni pizza while the more mature ones in our family opt for The Jalapeno Burn. Still others go for the cheese pizza.
At first glance, cheese pizza can seem kind of boring. But, with a mix of cheeses — we like mozzarella and monterey jack — and a homemade sauce, even the humble cheese pizza can be something special.
Make Your Own Sauce Ahead of Time
I usually have several pints or quarts of my crockpot red sauce ready to go in the freezer. It’s a multi-purpose sauce that works for pizza, lasagna, and pasta. But, when I want to make things a little extra special, I mix up a bulk batch of this pizza sauce. Freeze what you don’t use for next time.
Pizza Sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
28 ounce can diced tomatoes OR 7 roma tomatoes, cored and diced
1 Tablespoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 ounce can tomato paste
In stock pot, heat olive oil until shimmering. Stir in garlic and cook until just lightly browned. Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, and red pepper flakes. Simmer until juices have started to evaporate slightly, about 10 minutes. Blend in tomato paste and cook 3 minutes more. Cool slightly before using on pizza.
Can be made ahead. Cool, cover, and refrigerate or freeze for longer storage.
Easy Cheese Pizza
one batch basic dough = makes four medium sized pizzas or three large
1/2 batch pizza sauce (above)
1/2 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 pound shredded monterey jack cheese
Preheat oven to 475°. Prepare dough according to recipe directions. Grease baking pans. Divide dough into three or four portions and stretch to fit into pan. (Yes, a video is coming.) Spread 1/2 to 2/3 cup of sauce onto each pizza round. Top with cheese. Bake 10 – 12 minutes or until crust is crisp and cheese is gooey and golden.
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I actually prefer cheese pizza over anything else. Toppings just get in the way!
But I have to admit, I love to cook, but I'm not much of a baker. Making dough scares me to death. I never have any luck rolling out dough and everything! I use pillsbury pizza dough…
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yum. I’m going to have to do this soon. If you sprinkle some oregano on top of the cheese pizza it really brings out the flavor, just don’t get too much
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we love homemade pizza. it took me years to perfect the crust but finally, i have it. my girls say it tastes like it came from a pizzeria — my sign of success.
like the new header/layout. happy 4th!
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I need to try this. My homemade pizzas leave much to be desired!
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shelah Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
I’m slowly getting this one together.
I made the pizza sauce tonight. Just from the spoon….awesome. I haven’t even put it on a pizza yet.
I want to get to the dough this week.
Everyone here is leery of my pizzas so it may take some convincing when it lands on their plates. My 5yr old even asks, “Is this from a restaurant?”
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Wildcat Reply:
July 24th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
I feel y’all’s pain. My kids actually look in the trash can to see if there is a box.
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We love pizza too, but in the summer it is often too hot to turn on the oven- so we use whole wheat pitas as our crust and make little individual pizzas. Then I can have my spinach white pizza and my husband can have his pepperoni!
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Last night I made your jalapeno burn pizza (minus the chicken). It will be a regular on our meal plan.
So yummy!
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Thanks for posting the pizza sauce recipe! I’ve been looking for a cheap easy one and this looks right up my alley! I have a couple pizza casserole dishes and I bet it would be delish in them!
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Oh Jessica, where should I begin. I have been following your blogs forever now and wish my food came out as good as yours. Forever now I have been trying my hand at homemade pizza dough. I do not own a kitchen aid mixer, bread machine, or anything else. I make dough as instructed and knead it myself. I must be doing something wrong b/c the dough doesn’t rise(I add yeast lol!!!) and its not stretchy (i knead for about 10-15 minutes)
Any suggestions? I also don’t own a pizza stone so my pizza is not crispy.
I’m moving in the next couple weeks and then I hope to purchase a bread machine.
Thanks!
-Alison
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Jessica Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 7:23 am
Well, Alison, I feel your pain. I have struggled with pizza dough in the past. And in the early years, I didn’t have any machines to help me. Have you ever read up on the science of bread? That helped me. Try this recipe for no-rise crust from Amy’s Finer Things. I tried it one night when I was short on time and it worked really well and was easy to form. And then report back.
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I tried this last week and it was so good! We have Friday pizza nights at our house too, and I had been making my pizza using other recipes, but not anymore. This is the only recipe I will use; the combination of the dough and pizza sauce is excellent. Even my husband, who is not a big fan of “just cheese” pizza thought this was wonderful, and that’s saying something in my house!
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Jessica Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Awww… thank you!
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Just tried your pizza sauce this afternoon, and it is delicious. I’ve had a pizza handicap forever, but FINALLY can make a good one. Thanks for posting these recipes. My family eats pizza like a horde of starving lumberjacks and we are looking forward to dinner tonight.
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I’m new to cooking for a family so maybe this is a stupid question, but I could use any help…
I have the pizza sauce simmering on the stove right now, but I’m wondering if I used the right tomatoes? I bought a can of diced, as instructed, but these chunks seem kind of big and weird for pizza sauce. Did I do something wrong?
Thanks for the recipes and the guidance!
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Jessica Reply:
September 26th, 2011 at 6:17 pm
No, you’re good. There are chunks. They should cook down some. But, you can always blend it in a food processor or blender or with a stick blender if you prefer a smoother sauce. Either way.
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Im planning on using the diced tomatoes instead. Do I need to cook the sauce for a lot longer or is it the same process? How will my sauce be different than making it with the canned tomatoes? Can I just leave out the tomatoes all together and just use the tomato sauce? Thanks!
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Jessica Reply:
November 27th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
It’s really not going to be a lot different. And yes, you could use sauce if you prefer. It’s a very forgiving sauce.
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Stephanie Reply:
November 27th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
@Jessica, Awesome! Thank you so much!! My sister made this earlier this afternoon and was raving about how she loved it
. I’m looking forward to trying it too!!
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Stephanie Reply:
November 27th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
@Stephanie, I mean tomato paste. Sorry!!
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Jessica Reply:
November 27th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
@Stephanie, I think it will be too thick if you just use paste.
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