Favorite Haws Family Pizza

We love pizza. However, takeout gets old, and this recipe tastes much better than some $5 hot-n-ready deal! What even makes this easier is that we make the dough in the bread machine, so you don't have to deal with kneading and rising! SO easy! This dough recipe actually came with our bread machine, and the sauce is another amazing miracle from "our best bites!" (you'll never resort to using bottled marinara sauce on pizza EVER again)!

DOUGH VARIATIONS:

1 Lb. recipe (Makes 1 thick or 2 thin crusts):

3/4 cup warm water
1 Tablespoon oil
1 Tablespoon sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon dry milk powder
2-1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon active dry yeast

2 Lb. recipe (Makes 2 thick or 4 thin crusts):

1-2/3 cups warm water
2 Tablespoons oil
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons dry milk powder
4-1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons active dry yeast


1 lb Whole Wheat Recipe (makes 2 thin crusts):

1 cup warm water
2 Tablespoons oil
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon active dry yeast

Place all ingredients in bread machine in order listed, then select "pizza dough" cycle and loaf size if you have that feature. (If you don't have pizza dough cycle, just use "dough" cycle). Depending on your climate and elevation, check dough after 5 minutes of mixing. If dough looks dry and crumbly, add a tablespoon or two of water. If it looks too wet and sticky, add a tablespoon or two of flour).

When dough cycle is complete, turn out on a lightly floured surface. Divide and press onto a 12 inch pizza pan, raising edges. Top with sauce (Below):

PIZZA SAUCE:

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
6 ounces water (just use empty tomato paste can)
3 Tablespoons Garlic Bread Seasoning (see next post below)
1 Tablespoon sugar or honey
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Empty tomato paste into a bowl and add water a few tablespoons at a time, stirring constantly until combined. Add remaining ingredients, stir to combine, and allow to stand until ready to use. (Covers two average-sized pizzas.)

Finish pizza with mozzarella cheese and desired toppings and bake at 425 for 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown around edges.

Garlic Bread Seasoning

So, how many times have you caught yourself buying expensive garlic bread seasonings in the store? (It's OK, you can raise your hand, nobody's watching!) We found another great "our best bites" find for this stuff from ingredients you likely already have on hand, and we pledged will NEVER buy it again! We just shake it together in a jar and keep it in the fridge, and use it ALL the time. It'll keep for 3 months refrigerated. (You also use it for the pizza sauce recipe in the previous post).

1/2 cup powdered Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 Tablespoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons basil
2 teaspoons marjoram
2 teaspoons parsley

Shake ingredients together in an airtight container and store in fridge. THAT'S IT! :-)

Overnight Caramel Sticky Buns

So, Heather is out of town for a few days, and I have the girls. I wanted to make something fun for breakfast instead of their Lame-o cereal and toast, and I wanted to make something more interesting than the same old pancakes, waffles, or french toast. So, I opened our trusty "Our Best Bites" cookbook, and these rolls jumped out. (I have seen several variations of this recipe before, but i've never really attempted to make them). The best part about this is that they are TOTALLY dad-friendly! 10 minutes to throw together the night before? Seriously? Oh man, they were good. Lilly devoured like half the pan, which is saying something, because that girl is PICKY! (She and Molly even did a little happy dance for me around the table singing a "dad's sticky buns are the best!" song). Enjoy!

18 Rhodes frozen dinner rolls
1 (4.6 ounce size) box cook-and-serve pudding mix in either butterscotch or vanilla flavor
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans, optional
1/3 cup melted butter

Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place the frozen rolls evenly around pan. Sprinkle dry pudding mix, brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the top of rolls. Sprinkle with pecans, if desired. Pour melted butter evenly over everything. Cover with a clean dry towel and leave at room temperature overnight.

In the morning, preheat the oven to 350. Bake the rolls for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes and then invert onto a serving platter.