Easy (But Tastes So Good) Homemade Pizza – $10 (or less) Meal

Prep Time : One Hour (includes dough rising time)

Serves : 4 for approx $6.49

 

I had never made homemade pizza dough before (unless you count the Chef Boyardee box pizza kit homemade!) so I wondered how cheaply and easily it could be made AND taste good. I found this recipe (for the pizza dough) posted by someone named A.G. Zahn who credits Reading Rainbow on PBS for it. I have now made it three times (in one week) and it has come out perfect each time. The sauce is easy and inexpensive too and you can play with the spices to make it taste exactly how you like it. The best thing about this recipe (in my opinion) is that once you know how to make the dough and sauce, you can add leftovers for the toppings and make it even cheaper than I’ve made it (or you could of course add more expensive ones if you want.)

PIZZA DOUGH (costs about 66 cents to make the crust)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 – 3 cups flour (I used 2 1/2 each time)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and knead for 2 minutes. Let the dough rise until double (optional-but I did). Spread dough on lightly greased pizza stone or cookie sheet (round or rectangle). Top with sauce, cheese and other favorite choices. Bake in preheated 500 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

PIZZA SAUCE (Costs about 59 cents)

This recipe makes enough sauce for 2 pizzas. I used dry spices in the sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together….you can add smaller amounts of the spices and taste as you mix until you get the flavor you want. Spread half of the sauce on one pizza and add ingredients of your choice for toppings.

PIZZA TOPPINGS (that I used for this recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 8 oz package sliced pepperoni
• 1/2 can black olives, sliced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
• 1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
• 4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Spread pizza sauce on pizza dough. Top with half the cheese, lay toppings on pizza and sprinkle the remainder of cheese over pizza. Bake 10 to 12 minutes in preheated 500 degree oven. Enjoy!

This is a great recipe to have the kids help with too!