Pizza Margherita

Do you cook the same 5 to 7 meals all the time? I try to avoid that, but then I also think that trying to have too much variety leads to eating out all the time...because I don't plan well. If we just ate chicken 3 times a week, it would definitely simplify my life AND save us money!

However, it is summer and I have more time on my hands to do a better job planning. Last night we had Pizza Margherita based on the recipes I found in my Working Parent's Cookbook (again). I made the homemade crust and pizza sauce from the book. Both were so easy that I can remember them without looking.

Crust
1 pkg of yeast
1/2 cup high gluten flour
2 cups unbleached flour
2 T olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup warm water

Mix 1 cup of water with yeast, then stir in high gluten flour. After that's mixed together, add in the rest of the flour, olive oil, and salt. Add remaining 1/4 cup water. Here's the interesting part: you are supposed to knead the dough at this time. I think the recipe is wrong, though, because I had to add AT LEAST one more cup of flour to the dough in order to even consider kneading it -- it was a sticky, gooey mess. But, once you get through that part, you place the ball of dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 2 hours. I did not wait quite that long.

Basic Pizza Sauce
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
oregano, thyme, salt, fresh ground pepper

Can you say yum? It is so tasty. Just saute the onions and garlic in olive oil, then add everything else. Simmer for about 10 minutes so all the flavors blend. It's nice and thick, not watery at all.

Process
Form your crusts. I'm not an expert in this department. What I ended up with could be considered somewhat round, but I don't care, there were no holes in the middle and that's what counts.

Top crust with ~1 cup of sauce. Add fresh mozarella to top. Bake at 500 degrees for about 7 minutes. Pull out of oven, add tomatoes (I sliced mine really thin and drizzled them with olive oil) and basil (chopped, fresh), bake again for about 5 minutes.

Can I get a Do Over?
I wish that I had baked the crust FIRST. It was basically dough in the middle still because the toppings were really juicy. It still tasted good, though, and I can tell from the parts that were cooked that the crust is super awesome. Next time I will bake the crust, then add sauce and cheese, bake, add tomatoes and basil, bake, and eat!