The Cheapest, Easiest and Fastest Way to Satisfy Your Pizza Craving

Your kids are tugging at your pant legs, the dog needs to go out, you have phone calls to return and it's suppertime. Sound familiar?

You offer them a desperate bribe of pizza, but then realize you lack the money for take out. Well pinch those pennies, here is a quick and easy recipe for homemade pizza that is sure to please the most finicky of eaters, made with ingredients you most likely already have hanging around the cupboards.

For the crust, combine 4 cups flour, 1-tablespoon sugar, 1 packet (or 3 teaspoons) yeast, and 2 teaspoons salt in a large bowl. Mix it up with a fork or spoon. Add ¼ cup oil and 1 1/3 cup warm (not hot) water and mix it with spoon until it starts to form soft dough. Pull out the spoon and get ready to dig in with your hands and knead. Don't worry; you only have to knead for about 2 minutes, as opposed to the 10+ with bread! When the dough is smooth and well formed, set it aside to rest for about 20 minutes.

As you're waiting for your dough, it's a great time to start your sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons dry onion and ½ teaspoon garlic powder. Stir it around for about 30 seconds. Add a 12-ounce can of tomato paste (check this carefully, the most common size for tomato paste is 6 ounces) Use the tomato paste can to add two cans of water, and continue to stir until sauce is smooth and thick. You can add seasonings now, 1-teaspoon basil, ¼ teaspoon oregano, 1-tablespoon sugar and 1-teaspoon salt. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.

By now, your dough should be ready, divide it into two balls to press into your pans. This amount of dough can cover 2 9x13 rectangular pans. This is the hardest part, because I get the oddest shapes in dough, and can never seem to get it to look "normal." Preheat the oven and cook at 425 degrees for about 8 minutes, pull out, top with sauce and any other toppings you'd like.

This pizza is so good that even my picky eaters love it and ask for me to make more. The cheese is the most expensive thing, and around here I can get it for about $3. It's an excellent, cheap and easy meal that takes little to no time to prepare. It's always a convenient back up for when I haven't made it to the grocery store, or I'm waiting for my paycheck to come in!