Recipe: Easy At-Home Pizza

I love pizza... I mean is there anyone who doesn't like it?! I typically order from my favorite pizza spots in Pittsburgh (ahem, Mineo's) but I've really been trying to cook at home during the weekdays. Because of this, I have been experimenting with the best and easiest way to make a pizza! I have finally perfected it and I wanted to share it with all of you! 

What You'll Need:

- Fresh Dough: I find fresh to be so much better than frozen! Trader Joe's makes a great dough and it's usually always available. If I have time, I go to the Strip District (if you are in Pittsburgh) and buy the dough fresh from Mancini's! 

- Mozzarella: Again, TJ's always has this but if I can get to the Strip District, I get freshly shredded mozzarella from Penn Mac, it's worlds better. I also get Burrata from Trader Joe's. This is not at all healthy but SO good and takes the pizza to the next level. 

- Meat: I don't love meat on my pizza, but my finacé does, so whenever he comes over for pizza, I grab salami or pepperoni. Again, Penn Mac in the Strip District has the best soppressata and I highly recommend it!

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for crust)

- Italian seasonings (for crust)

- Sauce: Don Pepino is the BEST canned sauce in the entire world. I promise that it will make all of the difference in your pizza. It tastes so fresh. It has no added sugar and very few ingredients. I have tried the Trader Joe's jarred pizza sauce and if you compare the two, you'd be amazed. I don't think I would ever make pizza at home without Don Pepino. 

Directions:

- Let the dough sit out until it reaches room temperature (this step is important!!)
 - Preheat oven to 450
- While that is preheating, roll out the dough into the desired shape. I make it on a sheet pan!
- Once the oven is preheated, pop the rolled out dough into the oven for 8-12 minutes. You don't want it to look cooked!
- While the dough is baking, mix up this oil and herb mixture:

You'll also need herbs and spices. I swear by making an olive oil rubbed crust and within the olive oil, I add in garlic powder, basil, rosemary, oregano, parsley, and thyme. You can totally make this up yourself, too, if you prefer one flavor over the next, add more or less. This is just an easy Italian seasoning. You could just use Italian seasoning, too! 

- I totally eyeball how much I put in the olive oil, but you want it to look like this. Then, take a silicone brush and brush it over the crust area of the half-baked dough. 

- Top with sauce, cheese, meat, etc. 

- Pop into the oven for 10-15 minutes. You want to see a little bit of golden brown! 

My mom makes her pizza without the herb crust and she tops the raw dough with everything and bakes it. I think that adding in the herb crust and baking the dough a little on its own first really help to make it take like take out pizza! 

If you want to make it healthier, which I sometimes do, get a wholewheat crust (or Trader Joe's frozen cauliflower crust), skip the herbed crust, skip the burrata (sad, I know) and get low-fat mozzarella cheese. I also like to add in veggies like roasted red peppers, onions, etc.