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Thursday, May 2, 2013

Pizza in 5!! 5 steps, 5 minutes




This is the easiest (and possibly least expensive) pizza you may ever make at home. But to qualify, this isn't pizzeria-style pizza. This is have a snack, go with soup for dinner, make quickly in the morning for breakfast, feed the kids lunch type of pizza. It's what my kids will make for themselves after school, in the morning, and late at night. We call them pizza sandwiches. They are oven-toasted, open-faced sandwiches.

The crust -- sliced bread, any will do. I've used the super cheap stuff, bread machine bread and thick slices of French bread. (This one is whole-wheat bread machine bread).

The sauce -- pasta or pizza sauce. You can even make "instant" pizza sauce in the microwave from canned tomato paste. Here's my recipe:

"Instant" Pizza Sauce
In a microwaveable measuring cup or bowl, stir together 1/2 cup tomato paste, 1 minced clove of garlic, 2 tablespoons minced onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano and basil, and 1/2 cup of water. Microwave for 40-60 seconds. You can sub onion (1/4 teaspoon) and garlic powder (1/8 teaspoon) for the fresh, and this is even more "instant".

Cheese -- mozza, cheddar, Parmesan, whatever we have in the fridge.

Toppings -- after Thanksgiving, we like to make turkey-pizza sandwiches. These are thin slices of turkey breast, lightly salted and peppered, and layered between the sauce and cheese (between, so the turkey doesn't dry out). Any cooked meat can be added here. Other "regular" pizza toppings for on top of the cheese an be used. I like olives and green pepper slices.

The Method


STEP 1
Lightly toast the slice of bread in your toaster, just until firm, but not browned.



STEP 2
Spread the toasted bread with pizza or pasta sauce. You can use jarred sauce, "instant"sauce, leftover spaghetti sauce. I keep homemade pizza/pasta sauce in the freezer. I do big batch cooking, and it's ready when I want it.


STEP 3
Sprinkle with cheese -- mozzarella, Parmesan, feta, cheddar, whatever you have in your fridge.

STEP 4
Add toppings -- olives, sliced veggies, pepperoni, mushrooms, cooked sausage/ground beef -- the sky's the limit!




STEP 5
Broil in your oven until the cheese is melty and golden. And you're done. Pizza is served!! Pizza in 5: 5 steps, 5 minutes.


16 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Hi Cheapchick,
      Thanks! They're one of my favorite breakfasts when I'm eating carbs in the morning.

      Delete
  2. These are also good for a toaster oven.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi live and learn,
      they'd be perfect for a toaster oven -- less electricity used, and wouldn't heat the kitchen as much in summer!

      Delete
  3. Good idea! I may have a new quick lunch to add to my repertoire!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kris,
      Thanks! And the bonus is, if you're trying to get kids or yourself to eat just tad more veggies, there's the tomato sauce in between the bread and cheese. Lot's of lycopene!

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. Hi Sharon,
      Oh, bagels would be yummy, all chewy and dense. When I have a surplus of English muffins (rare, those usually get polished off by me), toaster pizza on English muffins is also tasty. And my kids always loved the circle shape of the English muffins, it would be the same for a bagel, as I would slice the mini pizzas up into tiny slices. They thought that was great fun pretending to be giants eating a pizza!

      Delete
  5. After all of The Frugal Girl's pizza posts, I've been on a pizza kick lately. Since I can't have yeast, I generally make either tortillas or flatbread (like a thick tortilla that you bake in the oven.) I've discovered that the flatbread makes decent pizza dough... especially if you pre-cook it so it gets a chance to rise.

    But I've been too lazy to make actual pizza sauce. I generally just spread some olive oil on it and sprinkle generously with garlic powder, basil and oregano. Then I add thinly sliced fresh tomatoes & onions on top of the cheese along with a few other toppings and it seems to give it pretty much the same pizza flavor.

    But... I think there is a stray can of tomato paste lurking around somewhere in my kitchen, and since this is pantry clean out month... I think I see more pizza in my future!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Cat,
      great suggestion for the tortilla or flatbread, for those who don't do yeast! That must be trying, at times, to duplicate things you once could have but now can not. And pre-baking it sounds like a good idea.

      Continued good wishes for your pantry clean-out!

      Delete
  6. We used to use rolls to make this kind of pizza when I was a kid - we thought we'd invented it :)

    For a gluten free version I've used corn tortillas - they get a bit crispy but they're still tasty :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Economies,
      Mmm, corn tortillas sound like an interesting substitution for the crust. Have you ever tried rice cake pizzas? Those are also tasty (and gluten-free!). It seems like just about any grain-based "crust" is good with pizza sauce, cheese and toppings.

      Delete
  7. Thank you so much for visiting me on Heart for Home-making - especially as I have now found your lovely blog! I also make my own pizzas using tomato paste (in the UK we call it tomato puree) Delicious, quick and cheap as chips : )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lesley,
      Thank you for stopping by. I enjoyed your blog this morning, and will be popping round regularly.

      Pizza must be that universally-loved food. I can't recall ever meeting someone who didn't care for it. And there are so many ways to make it easily.

      We also have a product called tomato puree in the US, only it is thinner than paste. My mom used to use it in homemade soups. Perhaps not the same as your tomato puree. (Our tomato paste is thick enough to stand a knife in it.)

      Delete
  8. I thank you so much for all your help because I used your recipes and tips today in making a homemade pizza in a new york minute, and it was frugal!

    I started by throwing together a sourdough crust which only needed a 20 minute rise before it was ready to be topped and put in the oven. I used your ingenious 2 minute recipe for pizza sauce. And thanks to your wisdom, I just used the cheese I had on hand, pepper jack. I also followed your direction and used the toppings I had on hand, a pound of bulk breakfast sausage, and a sauteed red bell pepper. To season the pizza sauce, I had some oregano from outside in the garden. I also chopped a little fresh rosemary and put it in the crust.

    At the Superbowl party this year, I also made pizzas. I purchased fresh mozzeralla, regular mozzarella, and all sorts of toppings. I spent a lot more time and money than I did today making pizza. I never would have thought just to use the cheese I had on hand. At least by the Superbowl party, I had your pizza sauce recipe, so I didn't buy pizza sauce. Your little 1 minute microwave pizza sauce is delicious and better than store bought in my opinion.

    I've been reading your posts for over a year now and I've learned creative and very useful ideas from you. I feel so good about what I'm able to accomplish, and I'm saving time and money while doing it. Sincerely, thank you for your generosity.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words, knitter4years. I do appreciate them.
      Your pizza sounds delicious.
      Have a lovely evening!

      Delete

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