With my parents out of town for the week, it was just the boys and me for dinner. I got a sudden craving for homemade pizza this morning. The only problem is that I’ve never found an easy pizza crust recipe I love. It always turns out dry and crumbly. I’d rather stay away from complicated (or complicated-to-me) recipes, but I may have to bite the bullet one of these days and actually try one that uses yeast. We had Bisquick on hand, so I did a quick search and went with this recipe.
(Yep, the crust was dry and crumbly again…maybe if I brush it with egg white before baking?)
I always mean to try those great “fooled you!” recipes on the kids – you know, whirring up the veggies in the blender and hiding them in foods they love – but I never follow through. I’m quite lazy when it comes down to it. We’ve recently discovered, however, that Kalen actually likes fresh spinach. I prefer spinach as a salad green (don’t really like lettuce), and Nicky likes green salad of any kind. A-ha! Spinach pizza!
I made the sauce in the above link, with the additions of rosemary, oregano, and thyme, because it was so much cheaper to buy the generic crushed tomatoes, rather than the brand-name “Italian Style” can. Someday, I’m going to grow my own tomatoes and can Italian Style Crushed Tomatoes of my own for making tomato sauce. Heck, maybe I’ll just make the sauce and can that!
On top of the spinach leaves, we sprinkled oregano and garlic powder. Then came the cheese, a little black pepper, and the pepperoni slices. Yum!
Unfortunately, while the cheese was perfect, the edge of the crust was over-done (crumbly!), and the inside of it doughy. Mom’s pizza stone broke a few years ago. Once I’m back in my own kitchen, I’ll take the advice at the above link and heat my pizza stone in the oven beforehand.
Fortunately, the boys were thrilled with it! They handled the crumbling crust with grace and enjoyed every bite, even with the dreaded veggie layer. Nicky suggested that perhaps we should leave the spinach off next time, just to see how it is, and I suggested he get used to the spinach, since he likes having pizza without a veggie side dish! (Mean ol’ Mom!)
Kalen (my picky eater) said, “You were right, Mom! I didn’t even taste the spinach at ALL!”
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June 9, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Lauria
That looks SO tasty! Nom nom nom!
I like to use this yeast recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pizza-Dough-I/Detail.aspx
But, I DO let it rise. I find that the water is so warm that I can’t roll out the dough. So, I proof the yeast while getting all the other ingredients ready and then make the dough and let it rise for a half hour while doctoring cheap pizza suace with garlic and onions and “pizza seasoning”. Mmmm.
It came out super tasty both times I made it with no crumbling.
June 9, 2009 at 10:07 pm
aimeewrites
Thanks, Lauria! I have absolutely NO experience with yeast, so it makes me nervous…I’ll keep this one in mind for when I’m feeling adventurous and super-confident in myself. LOL