The Lean Green Bean: Pizza for Pennies

Since I already had the Breadman out, taking up counter space, I decided to try out the pizza dough recipe for dinner last night. Results? Good...but not quite perfect.

I love pizza(read LOVE LOVE LOVE)...i hate(read HATE HATE HATE) paying so much money for something that that I know costs so little to make. The solution...make your own pizzas, especially if you eat it often. You could save so much money! When Brett and I get a pizza, we usually get chicken, green pepper, onion and tomato. A large pizza with all those toppings costs $17 or so. Last night we made similar pizza, with chicken sausage, green pepper, onion and tomatoes and by my best estimation, it cost about $4.50. Say $1 for the chicken sausage, $0.25 for the pepper, $0.25 for the onion, $0 for the tomatoes (from the garden), $1.50 for the cheese, $0.50 for the sauce and $1 for the dough. So that's a savings of about $12. Say you order pizza once a week...even if your pizza of choice is only $15, you're spending $780 a year on pizza. Making your own pizza each week? $260. Save yourself over $500 a year. And it doesn't take any longer than waiting for it to be delivered...especially if you find a healthy pre-made dough or crust that you can keep in the freezer!

I hada frozen crust in the freezer, but like I said, I had the Breadman out so I thought I'd give it a whirl. It couldn't be easier. Just through everything in the pan, start the dough cycle, and an hour and a half later, out pops a ball of dough:

According to the directions, if you aren't going to use it right way, you should lightly coat a bowl with olive oil, cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you're ready to use it:

A note of caution: Don't leave the pan on the counter and go out on the deck to read your book. You may be greeted by this sight upon your return:

Here's the recipe for the dough:
1-1/8 c warm water
1- 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
3- 1/3 c flour
1- 1/2 tsp salt
1- 1/2 tsp sugar
1- 1/2 tsp yeast
*Add all the ingredients in the order given. Set the bread machine to dough-only. Makes a 15" circle.

Once you're ready to make the pizza, pull the dough out of the fridge, stretch it out:

Brush it with olive oil and pre-bake it for about 8 minutes (425 degrees) before you add the toppings:

Time for sauce and toppings:

Back into the oven for 10-15 more minutes:

And out pops:

Rate the dough:
This recipe gives you a very thick crust! The taste is good, but if you like thin crust, like me, stay tuned for another recipe! If I were to use this recipe again, I would spread the dough out right after it came out of the bread machine and pre-bake it. Then it would be ready to top whenever it was time for dinner. I think putting it in the fridge made it more difficult to stretch it out as thin as we would have liked it.

Anyone have a by-hand pizza dough recipe they like? Share it in the comments.

To sum it up, making your own pizza is easy and can save you money! And don't forget about pre-made crusts or frozen dough. We buy whole wheat crusts when they go on sale at the grocery store and keep them in the freezer so they're ready when the pizza craving strikes! Compare a few different brands and note the sodium and sugar contents. Here's another pizza we made a few weeks ago on a pre-bought crust, before we baked it: