Pizza In My Tummy Makes Me Happy

Last night, I made homemade pizza from scratch... from the crust on up. The only thing I used that was purchased and used as-is was the turkey pepperoni.  Okay, I didn't make the cheese (yet) but I did grate it!  LOL  Freshly grated mozzarella is so much nicer than the preshredded stuff...I had no idea what a difference it would actually make!  (I do have more to say about preshredded cheese but I will keep that to myself. :)  If you are really curious, just do a search on Google about preshredded cheese.)

Here are my 'zas:

For both, I made yeast-free pizza crust.  It was a little bitter but I've since figured out that it was because my flour is old.  The one on the left has my homemade pizza sauce, turkey pepperoni and cheese.  The one on the right has homemade BBQ sauce, leftover roasted chicken from Sunday, onions, and cheese.

Here are the recipes I used for the sauces and crust:


Sashi's Pizza Sauce

Ingredients

• 12 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 29 oz can tomato sauce
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 14.5 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes with garlic
• 2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp dried basil
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley
• 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

In a large saucepan, saute garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until sauce reaches desired thickness. The longer you cook it, the thicker it will get.

Sauce may be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks or frozen for a month. Thaw for a day or 2 before use. Yield: 5 cups

  

Sashi's BBQ Sauce
(adapted from this recipe*)

Ingredients

• 28oz can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1/2 c balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 c blue agave (or brown sugar)
• 1/4 c Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp onion powder
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp yellow mustard
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne

Directions

In a medium saucepan, whisk it all together and heat on med-high until it boils, stirring frequently.  Lower to med-low and let simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then bottle and store in your fridge.

*Her recipe called for a couple dashes of liquid smoke.  I can't have nitrites so I had to keep it out of mine.  It would probably taste amazing, though!



Yeast Free Pizza Crust
(I adapted this slightly this from easypizzacrusts.com)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup water (more if needed)
• 1 Tbsp cooking oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare pizza pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray. Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add liquids and mix with hands to incorporate dry ingredients. Add more water, a tablespoon at a time, until it is well mixed and doughy.  It should not stick to your hands.  Knead dough by hand 6-8 times inside the bowl. Pressed by hand on the prepared pizza pan until it is the desired thickness.  (Alternatively, you could roll out on a floured surface first then move it to the pizza pan but I am lazy.  LOL)   Add favorite sauce and toppings. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, depending on crust thickness.