What's for Dinner - Pizza

I love cooking.

Everything about it (well, everything but the clean up). There is just something about creating a delicious meal that you can share with your family at the dinner table. I grew up eating dinner together as a family. It was a time to catch up on what the day held, laugh and just spend time together in the midst of the busyness of life.

Now that I have my own family, we have committed to sharing a meal around the table together as often as possible. I like that we are already teaching Grayson the importance of family time.

I have decided to start a series called "What's for Dinner" where I can document some of my favorite meals as we make them. I do love to cook, but quite honestly, I have been in a cooking slump lately. I am hoping that doing this series will hold me accountable for trying some new recipes, bringing back some old staples and just bringing the fun back into cooking again.

So here goes...I'm starting off the series with pizza. It is pretty hard to go wrong with pizza! This was actually the first time that Grayson had pizza, and of course it was a huge hit!

Usually I make my own pizza dough. It is really easy to make, but it does take time (you have to account for the rising time of the yeast). I have included the recipe I follow for pizza dough at the bottom of the post. Unfortunately I can't remember where it originally came from.

This weekend we used Trader Joe's pizza dough. It comes in a bag, so all you have to do is roll it out. It was also pretty inexpensive at around $1.50/bag. Whole wheat was our favorite, but they also have plain and garlic/herb.

Anyone who is serious about making pizza should invest in a pizza stone. Mine is from Pampered Chef, and I adore it! Usually I sprinkle the stone with cornmeal, but I didn't have any so I just used olive oil and it worked just fine.

Follow the instructions for the dough and top with your favorite toppings. We had one pie with pepperoni and cheese (mozzarella and a little cheddar), and another with bell peppers, zucchini, summer squash and cheese. I used marinara sauce on each although I usually don't use sauce at all.

Here is my typical recipe for Pizza:

-Prepare dough, make indentations all over dough with fingers (once on the cooking stone)and sprinkle with olive oil.

-Sprinkle Parmesan and mozzarella cheese leaving a 1 inch border.

-Distribute basil and sliced tomatoes.

-Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Bake in a 500 degree oven for about 8 minutes.

Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe:

Yield: 2 pies

One package yeast

1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)

3/4 to 1 - 1/4 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 cups flour

3 Tb olive oil

-Mix in warm mixing bowl, yeast and warm water. Let rest about 5 minutes.

-Add flour and olive oil and mix until you can knead with hands (I use my Kitchenaid for this step).

-Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about 8-10 minutes.

-Once smooth, place in oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours

Tip: Place the covered bowl in a turned off oven with the light on for the perfect rising temperature.

-Punch down after 1 hour and let rise another hour.

-Cover in plastic wrap and put into fridge overnight. Return to room temperature before serving.