Pizza is a main food group in our house!
We always have a frozen pizza in the freezer. Not just pizza, but Hot Pockets, pizza rolls, or some other variation from the frozen pizza category.
Not only do we always have some type of frozen pizza, but nine times out of ten we also have everything we need to make a homemade pizza.
From shredded cheese to pepperonis or salami, there are always one or two jars of pizza sauce in the cabinet. Then we either have the supplies to make homemade dough, sliced bread for mini pizzas, or a bag of dough from the store.
Pizza is the master of the food groups because it has a little bit of everything in the food pyramid! Yes, the food pyramid, throw that “MyPlate” thing in the trash.
As much as I enjoy making pizza dough from scratch, it’s not always an option. Thankfully, Aldi or Whole Foods pre-made dough works just as well.
Once I discovered pre-made dough that doesn’t have a bunch of added junk, isn’t a pre-cooked crust, & actually fluffs up into good dough, that’s when I really started doing a simple pizza at home. You buy a bag, plop it onto a pizza stone or pizza sheet & you’re good to go.
One thing I like to do before I even put the dough down is sprinkle a little garlic salt, spray a bit of olive oil & sometimes add fresh Parmesan. That way, you get flavor on both sides of the crust.
Once that’s done, I spread out the dough, brush on some olive oil & then add the sauce. My pizza sauce of choice is Rao’s pizza sauce! Rao’s is hands down the best; especially their soups. I know the brand is a bit pricier because of the quality, which is why I recommend buying it at Costco or when it’s on sale. Whole Foods often does a 30% discount, and if you have Amazon Prime, you get an extra 10%, making it 40% off. That’s when I stock up on soups & sauces.
Once the sauce is down, it’s time for cheese. I like to go hard on the cheese & usually add a mix of different kinds: shredded mozzarella, gouda, goat cheese, fresh mozzarella slices or pearls, Parmesan, ricotta, feta; the list goes on.
Next up is the meat. I hate that most store-bought pizzas barely give you any meat. That’s why when we make pizza at home, I load it up with whatever we’re feeling: pepperoni, salami, prosciutto, bacon, Simek’s mini beef meatballs, pork belly… again, the list could go on.
Speaking of bacon on pizza, I love a good bacon jam for dipping. So delicious.
Every once in a while, when requested, we’ll make a stuffed crust pizza. I take mozzarella string cheese or a fresh mozzarella log cut into quarter pieces, place them around the edge of the pizza, then fold the dough over the cheese and tuck it in. I brush the crust with olive oil and minced garlic or garlic salt. When it’s sliced, you get those perfect, stringy stuffed-crust pieces.
Then comes one of my favorite parts; watching the pizza cook in the toaster oven. Seeing the meat start to crisp & the cheese turn that perfect golden brown is so satisfying.
I really miss my pizza stone. I had a Pampered Chef pizza stone that I bought back in 2009 at a party. It even had handles built into the stone. It was seasoned with years of flavors and had turned almost black; it made every pizza taste amazing. Sadly, it was one of many things we had to leave behind when we moved.
For now, I cook our pizza on parchment paper in the toaster oven, which honestly does a great job and cuts the cooking time almost in half. I absolutely hate the oven we have now. It’s a gas oven that cooks unevenly & my favorite part is that you can check on something & it’s nowhere near done, then two minutes later it’s completely burnt. The worst.
The toaster oven, though — Instant Pot® Omni® 7-in-1 Air Fryer Toaster Oven — is perfect for cooking pizza & re-heating pizza (if you’re into that).
Anyway, I wouldn’t call this a recipe post, but I would say this is your sign that tonight is the perfect night to make your own pizza at home 🍕
