Thursday, August 4, 2011

Pizza For Lazy Cooks



Movie Night wouldn't be Movie Night without pita pizza.  It's easy to make and easy to clean up and tastes great...so that's perfect, right?

ingredients:
1 15oz can Tomato Sauce
2-3 Tbsp dried Oregano
1 Tbsp Basil
2 tsp Thyme
2 tsp Garlic Powder (more if you love garlic)
Salt and Pepper to taste (also, a little dried jalapeño can give the sauce a nice kick)
--The sauce you make at home will be tastier than the sauce you buy in the jar at the store; you can make it your own, add the herbs you like, as much or as little as you like.

Pita Bread –Any kind of pita will do, we use whole wheat. Rubbing olive oil around the edges of the pita will make a tasty edge (I like it that way!), but it isn’t necessary to do so. One pita makes a nice personal pizza size if you’re a self-disciplined SOB, which I’m not. For two people, we usually make 4 or 5 assorted pita pizzas, cut them in half, and have a mini-buffet.

Toppings?...there’s no end to the possibilities. Pita pizzas are a great way to experiment with topping ideas.

Instructions:
Pour tomato sauce into a bowl and add oregano, thyme, basil, and garlic powder (salt and pepper can be added if desired…but check can to see if tomato sauce is already salted). For sauce with a kick, add some dried jalapeño. Mix ingredients well.

Rub olive oil around the edges of your pita for a tasty crust (optional). Spread sauce over pitas and then add toppings. It’s usually a good idea to start with a little cheese on the bottom and end with more cheese on the top --what goes in between is up to you (leftovers in the fridge often make great pizza toppings! Ever have a meatloaf pizza?).

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes (this is a good cooking time if you like to pile on the toppings…for faster cooking, bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes…it’s quicker, but quicker isn’t always better)

PIZZA IDEAS:

Chef Buck loves:
Spinach (this topping should go on first, so it doesn’t dry out), Feta cheese, Tomato slices, Mozzarella cheese, and extra herb topping.

Camera Girl loves:
Mozzarella cheese, red peppers, artichokes, and fake sausage.

Artichoke is a great topping (just keep a can in the cabinet). Shrimp makes a nice change-up. And trying different cheeses is always a good idea. Havarti and Ricotta are two cheeses we use often—they can bring a fresh taste to the pepperoni blues.
Keep a jar of pizza sauce in the fridge and some pitas in the freezer and dinner is always only moments away.

Bon appétit!