Menu Plan Ideas: Make Personal Pizzas

Get your family together and let everyone help make individual pizza for dinner. Allow your spouse to prepare the crust, while you make the sauce. Let the kids get out a variety of toppings and place them in to bowls. Making homemade pizza is a great way to spend a Friday or Saturday night with your family without spending a bunch of money.

Homemade Crust

1 package of yeast (2 - 1 /4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water (approximately 110 degrees)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 /4 teaspoon salt
2 - 1 /2 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix the yeast in to the water until dissolved. Set it aside until it becomes creamy and foamy. Incorporate the oil, sugar and salt. Add the flour and combine the mixture with an electric mixer until a firm dough appears. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and cover with a clean dishtowel. Allow the dough to rise for about 10 minutes and then roll it in to individual pizza crusts. Let the family join in and create their own unique pizza shapes. Place the crusts on to large pizza pans or cookie sheets and bake for approximately 12 minutes.

** Use a bread machine to mix the ingredients and save time. Place the above ingredients in the bread machine pan as follows:

Water
Olive oil
Sugar
Salt
Flour
Yeast

Create a gourmet pizza crust by adding additional ingredients such as shredded cheese, herbs and spices. Add these extras while rolling the dough to incorporate them into the crust.

Pizza Sauce

1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Mix the above ingredients together and place a medium saucepan. Heat on the stove for about 30 minutes or until the sauce becomes thick and creamy. Use a small soup ladle to spoon one scoop of sauce on to each individual pizza.

Instead of standard pizza sauce, consider using the following ingredients to top your pizza...

Salsa
Pesto
Oil
Nacho cheese
Ranch salad dressing

Cheese

There is no need to stick with only mozzarella. You can use any kind of cheese you like on your personal pizzas. Here are a few ideas to try...

Ricotta
Cheddar
American
Gouda
Goat cheese
Provolone
Parmesan
Romano
Fontina
Monterey jack

Mix and match the cheeses or use just one to find your favorite.

Toppings

Everyone knows about the usual pizza toppings like sausage and pepperoni, but quite honestly, you can put any thing you want on to a pizza crust. Pizza chefs around the world have added virtually every food you eat including fish, meat, vegetables, fruits and even fungus (mushrooms, of course). Try adding some of these toppings and combinations before you cook your pizza for new flavor ideas...

Pineapple/ham
Bacon/garlic
Sprouts
Shrimp
Salami
Capers
Cream cheese/chives
Shallots
Shredded carrots
Squash
Artichokes
Chicken nuggets/French fries
Taco meat
Cheeseburgers

As I said above, you can put anything you like on pizza, but you should always remember to pair complimentary ingredients...you never know what you could come up with.