Saturday, September 18, 2010

Dinner: Possible!

While at lunch yesterday, Broccoli mentioned dinner possibilities for our date night tonight.  He was thinking we could stay in, watch movies and make homemade pizzas.  As soon as I heard that, the wheels in my head started spinning, nearly out of control, but I contained myself before it got too crazy!
I have been wanting to try to make flat breads for a while now, but never found the courage to buy and use yeast.  This was the perfect opportunity!  I even went so far to tell him that I would try to make my own pizza sauce.  He was a bit hesitant for me to do all that work, especially since I had told him I was always nervous when trying out completely homemade dishes that I've previously thrown together using store-bought semi-homemade ingredients, but he humored me.

This was a great learning experience for me because usually I try to find quick ways to make a healthy and yummy meal but with this I had to take my time and not take as many shortcuts as I normally do.  I followed the instructions for the packet of Fleischmann's yeast and was extremely patient with my dough.  I threw together my tomato paste, stewed tomatoes and numerous herbs and spices for my sauce and let it simmer for a good length of time.  I also shredded my own mozzarella cheese, cut up numerous veggies and cooked up pork sausage, which incidentally I was able to turn into Italian pork sausage with little effort.

And the result -- SUCCESS!  We had the best pizzas either of us could have asked for!  The crust was perfect, the sauce was hearty and our toppings completed the masterpieces.
Broccoli made a traditional pepperoni and sausage pizza with provolone and mozzarella cheese and I went for the healthy veggie alternative with peppers, onions, tomatoes, zucchini and crushed red pepper.

Because apparently I was thinking more about eating and less about my camera, I didn't get pictures before we cut into them, I do however have pics of the leftovers --

The "Broccoli"
The "Lindsay"
Delish!!!

Like my Dad told me a few weeks ago when I made homemade blueberry muffins, you never realize what you're missing using store-bought ready made ingredients until you go back to homemade items and then there is no comparison.   Now I'm wondering how many other dishes have I cooked over time that I can go back and make my own.  It will have to be an ongoing weekend project, but I just may take on this mission.

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