Pizza, pizza

We are always on the look out for new recipes that are easy and delicious! My kitchen counter is littered right now with the pages I tear out of Parents and Family Fun magazines looking for fun foods Ellie will like. It can be hard sometimes because they have to be egg, nut, and seafood free. And if they're going to be made during the week, they also have to have little prep time or something that can be made ahead. We really love the Crock Pot!

I recently found a great pizza dough recipe that we adapted a little to fit our preferences. It is delicious and everything I needed was already in the house.

Basic pizza dough

3 cups flour

1 package active dry yeast

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbs sugar

1 cup warm water

2 tbs olive oil

Mix 1 1/4 cups flour with yeast, salt, and sugar; add warm water and oil. Beat with a whisk for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in another 1 1/4 cups flour (or enough so the mixture holds together). Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead in another 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour until the dough is lump free. This amount is intended to make 8 mini crusts so at this point wrap in plastic and refrigerate/freeze what you won't be using this day. Cover the remainder and let sit for 10 minutes.

Heat oven to 425. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into the number of mini crusts you want to make and roll each into a 6-inch circle. Put onto a greased baking sheet. Build up the edges slightly and use a fork to prick the bottom of the crusts. Bake on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes. Take out and add the sauce and toppings then cook again for another 10 minutes. We do this last 10 minutes directly on the rack because it is much crispier this way.

Our favorite sauce and toppings....

Sweet pepper sauce

Combine a 12-oz jar of roasted sweet red peppers packed in water, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tbs honey, salt, and black pepper in blender and blend until smooth.

Toppings

Slice an onion into thin rings and cook with a small amount of olive oil until caramelized. Place onion and crumbled goat cheese on top of sweet pepper sauce.

I'm hungry just thinking about it! Delicious!