Pizza!

Many grocery stores sell pre-made pizza crust dough, which makes homemade pizzas super easy. Plus, making pizza at home provides CONTROL of toppings without the per-ingredient cost. Who doesn't want that power?

Taking a page from my favorite Chicago deep -dish pizza, I like to scatter corn meal in the pizza pan before adding the crust. The corn meal adds depth of flavor and a little crunch. Plus, it makes it easier to get the pizza out of the pan.

This pizza has sausage, pepperoni, and mushrooms on half. The mushrooms are on top so we can see them. The meat is hiding underneath.

Olive oil for oiling pizza pan

Corn meal for dusting pizza pan

1 store-bought freshly made crust (or crust of your choice)

1 can or jar pizza sauce

Mozzarella cheese to cover crust

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Suggested toppings:

pepperoni, turkey or otherwise

sausage crumbles

black olives

sliced mushrooms

caramelized onions

artichoke hearts

roasted red pepper

green olives

Canadian bacon

ground beef

basil

spinach

pesto

pineapple

ham

green pepper

goat cheese

oregano

red pepper flakes

Follow the directions on your purchased crust. If none are provided, this should work:

Preheat oven to 450F degrees.

Lightly oil pizza pan (or cake pan or baking sheet--actual pizza pan is not required). Sprinkle corn meal around pan.

Stretch or roll pizza dough to fit the oiled pan. Top with pizza sauce to within a half inch of the edge of the dough. Distribute chosen toppings over the sauce. Mozzarella may be added, first, last, or somewhere in the middle. Sprinkle Parmesan on top of the pizza.

Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate pizza in the oven to ensure even browning (at least in our oven). Bake an additional 8-10 minutes until cheese melts and crust browns.