Quick Homemade Pizza: Margherita-Style

I love homemade pizza, and this recipe is the best and easiest I have tried. I found some fresh mozzarella on sale for a good price today, and I already had some fresh basil to use up. These ingredients just scream Pizza Margherita to me. I rounded out my pizza menu with some cute little on-the-vine Campari tomatoes and sliced crimini mushrooms. Although mushrooms are not found traditionally on Pizza Margarita, I have decided that I can break the mushroom rule and call it what I want. I know, I know...I am such a rebel!

Quick Homemade Pizza

Ingredients:

For Dough:
1 package of active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups of flour
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon of Italian Seasoning (optional)
1 Tablespoon of garlic powder (optional)

For Sauce:
½ can of diced tomatoes
½ can of tomato paste
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon of salt

My Favorite Topping Ideas:
Caramelized onions
Cheese
Sautéed mushrooms
Fresh tomatoes
Fresh basil leaves
Italian sausage
Prosciutto

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy (about 10 minutes).

2. Stir in flour, salt, & olive oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest 5 minutes.

3. While dough is resting, combine all sauce ingredients in a food processor, and blend until smooth.

4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan dusted with corn meal. Spread evenly with sauce. Cover with toppings in an even layer.

5. Bake 15-20 min. Let cool 5 minutes. Cut and serve!



The Result:
Fabulous! I used a lot of sauce, so the pizza was very saucy (great adjectives, huh???...sauce, saucy...let's see if I can pull out any other brain-busters). It was really good,only just a little too messy. The flavor was exactly what I had in mind; I ended up caramelizing the onions and mushrooms together for that extra 'umph'. It was totally satisfying and really, really yummy! I am jealous that the husband is taking the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.