PIzza, homemade everything!

My kids come home from camp STARVING!  Generally, I bring some sort of snack for the ride home.  But, when they get home, they want a full on meal.  I am trying to come up with healthy alternatives ( avoiding hot dogs, mac n cheese, ice cream, etc) and pizza is a really good choice.  Especially when one makes their own pizza dough and their own sauce.

I keep my freezer stocked with dough and usually make a double recipe of pizza sauce.  The left over sauce, I place in ice cube trays. Once frozen I store in baggies.  An ice cube equals about 2 tablespoons of sauce which makes defrosting fast and easy.  I started making my own sauce when I read what was on the label of a store bought pizza sauce.  I was somewhat disgusted.  After researching pizza sauce there was no question in my mind that I was now going to be making my own.  Not only is free of preservatives and junk, but it is so ridiculously economical.  Once one realizes that it is just as easy to make most of this stuff ( pizza sauce, salad dressing, marinades, BBQ sauce, rubs, etc ) at home, not only will you save money at the super market but you will be filling your family up with healthy, clean ingredients.

Eli likes his pizza with arugula, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella and caramelized onions, Isaac likes his with cheese and pepperoni and Levi likes "just cheese".

Homemade Pizza Sauce
yield: 1.5 quarts

ingredients:
3 Tbls. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 (28-oz) cans tomato puree
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper, fresh ground

iinstructions:
• heat oil in a saucepan over medium high heat.  add all the ingredients and bring to a boil.  lower heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
• unused sauce can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
adapted from David Lieberman, Ten Things you need to Eat
yield: 4 individual pizzas

ingredients:
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbls. active dry yeast
2 tsp. sugar
1 cup warm water (110*)
2 Tbls. olive oil

instructions:
• whisk flour + salt together in a large bowl
• in a bowl combine yeast, sugar, and warm water and let stand until all the yeast has been dissolved and the mixture starts to foam.  add olive oil and pour yeast mixture into the flour.  using a fork, combine the mixture until a loose dough forms.
• transfer the dough to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook and knead the dough for 10 minutes.  place the dough into a well oiled bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for 1 hour.
• preheat oven to 400*
• place a large sheet pan or two in the oven to preheat.
• place dough onto a well floured work surface and divide into 4 equal parts.  roll each disc into an 8" circle (the unused dough can be frozen and saved for another day).  i like to roll my pizza doughs onto parchment.  this makes it easy to transfer to the hot-preheated cookie sheet.
• top the pizza dough with favorite toppings.
• bake for about 15 minutes or until the crust is crispy and cheese is bubbling.