Tonight for dinner, I made pizza.  And when I say, “I made pizza”, I really mean I MADE pizza!  Well, really, I should say WE, because my hubby did help by making the crust.  He is the official bread making type person in this house!  Also, I made the sauce from scratch.  Not so much because I was feeling like being all domestic or anything, but I just didn’t have any spaghetti sauce, which is what I normally use.  So, I made due with what I had.  And what I had was a couple cases of tomato juice that we canned last year.

So, with the pepperoni and cheese I had in the fridge, we had a very yummy pizza!  Of course, we didn’t eat all junk food (a misnomer, in my humble opinion), because we had a lovely romaine and spinach salad to go with it!  I love spinach in salad, and romaine lettuce is actually good for you, as opposed to iceberg, which is mainly water.

I forgot to take a pic of our pizza while it was still hot, so here is a pic of some of whats left.  And I’ll post the recipes for you below.

Pizza Crust Recipe

Ingredients:

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 1/2 cups flour

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast in the water.  Add the rest of the ingredients in, and mix.  Dump onto a floured surface.  Knead into a smooth dough (five minutes or so).  Roll out and press down onto a greased pizza pan.  Add some pizza sauce and your toppings.  Bake at 450 degrees F for around 12 – 15 minutes untill the crust looks crispy and lightly browned.

Shannon’s Homemade Pizza Sauce

Ingredients:

2 quarts tomato juice (mine was some of  our homemade stuff, but you could use store bought, or use tomato sauce or puree)

1 tbsp dried oregano

3 small (or 2 large) bay leaves

1 tbsp dried basil

1 heaping tbsp garlic, minced

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp dried onion flakes

1/2 tsp celery seed

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

dash hot sauce

dash paprika

dash chili powder

1 tbsp sugar (near end of cooking time, so sauce will be less likely to scorch)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Throw everything but the sugar in a sauce pan, and simmer until it’s your preferred consistancy.  When it’s getting close to that, add the sugar.  You can add it directly to your pizza, or store it for later.  The flavors and spices get stronger as it sits.

I almost forgot to mention the movie part of Dinner and a Movie.  LOL  After dinner, I watched Penelope, with Christina Ricci, for the first time!  I really liked it!  Like Mommy always said, Pretty is as Pretty Does.  And she sure knew what she was talking about!

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On a separate note, I also started a small batch of “fodder beans” for Greg for tomorrow.  You have to soak them overnight.

To tell the truth, I just don’t get fodder beans.  It seems like a terrible thing to do to a green bean.  I suppose, though, that it was a necessary way to preserve beans for some people.  But drying a green bean makes it dry (go figure), mangled, and moldy looking.  Totally unappetizing, in my humble opinion.  But Greg’s Granny used to make them, his Mom still does, and he really likes them, so I’m cooking them for him.

Here’s what they look like right after they went into the water to soak.

I cooked them in fresh water, with a little ham and salt and pepper.  They simmered for several hours.  Here’s what they looked like when they were done.

I know… Not much difference, huh?  LOL

But don’t fear, Sammy and I didn’t starve on Sunday (the day the beans were cooked).  I made a nice roast on the stove, in my wrought iron skillet, no less!  I LOVE cooking with my wrought iron cookware!  I also put some cabbage in the pan with it, and it turned out pretty darn yummy, if I do say so!

Plus, we had mashed potatoes and gravy. I love mashed potatoes! Boiled potatoes. Baked potatoes….. scalloped, au gratin, fried…. oh my!!! LOL Sorry, I digressed. We also had hot, homemade hot rolls, thank you very much Greg!!!

Have I ever mentioned that Greg, yes my hubby, my hard workin’, truck drivin’ man is one heck of a baker???? I kid you not!! And he out did himself today! Not only did he make hot rolls for dinner (plus helping with other parts of dinner making), he also made pepperoni rolls…

And, two loaves of banana bread!!!

And they were all excellent!!!

Well folks, that’s all for now.  Two days of dinner blogging is enough to bore you to tears, so I won’t torment you any longer.  LOL  Thanks for stopping by!  Don’t forget to leave me a comment, so I’ll know someone has actually been here.  LOL