I hate to be a stereotype

But I have totally gained weight from our wedding. The biggest culprit is probably eating out for convienence sake. Well, I have been trying to make myself make and not buy the foods that are probably the worst for me. These would include: sweets, pizza, and bread. My reasoning is two fold - (1) If I have to make it, I won't eat it so often, and (2) If I make it, I can control the calorie content and portion.

So without further ado, I present to you my pizza recipe that is tried, tested, and true.

I make my dough in a bread machine - yes, I am lazy.

Pizza dough
Ingredients
3/4 C lukewarm water
2 C flour (bread or all purpose)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast (2 tsp for regular)

Instructions. Put all of the ingredidents in the bread machine in the order listed. Use the dough setting on your machine. Once finished, knead, by hand for 1 minute. Let rest, covered with a cloth in warm area for 20 minutes. Then form pizza, either by hand or rolling pin. Place in a pan sprayed with oil (I use my Misto with olive oil), and sprinkled with cornmeal. Let the formed dough, rised covered for another 25 minutes.


Pizza Sauce (adapted from Cooking Light)
Ingredients
7 tbs water
2 tbs chopped fresh basil - This is very important!
1 1/2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp dried oregano (or tsp fresh)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp minced garlic
1 (14.5-ounce) can petite-cut diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

Instructions. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk.


Pizza Instructions
Spoon sauce onto prepared dough. Make sure to not smother with sauce, as the pizza will become soggy. Place you favorite chopped toppings on top of sauce (bell pepper, onion, and fresh tomato are my favs), and cover with mozzarella cheese (part skim for me). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, if needed. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-25 minutes.

= happy husband