turkey day eve and pizza

happy turkey day eve!

anyone else goofing off at work today?

i'm biding my time until i can go home and get on my sweats running clothes - i need to get a couple of miles in before tomorrow's turkey trot.

it's crazy how just a couple of months ago i was running 16 miles on the weekend and 30+ miles in one week.

but now

6 miles seems like labor.

per tradition i've ran the 6 miler, but i just haven't prepared to do that.  and i really don't want to walk 6 miles.

so i dropped down to the 2 miler - which means i can bring woodford with me!  he's going to need to get his ya-ya's out anyways since we'll be traveling and not home all day.

in other news

i made pizza again last night.

i didn't get to try any of my veggie pizza last weekend - it was gone when i sat down to eat, so i just had a mozzarella and tomato mini pizza i had made.

oh my goodness.

 this is some of the best pizza i've ever had.

seriously.

if you're a fan of papa murphey's then you have to make this - it's so easy and tastes even better than papa murphey's

if you would like to recreate this for when you're tired of turkey this week

make some dough

followed exactly - except i don't have the dough enhancer :( - my birthday is coming up....

even though the dough enhancer probably does make an even more delicious crust - it really isn't necessary.  also - i used 3 cups all purpose flour.

the dough says it will keep in the fridge for 3 days - and it's best to make this at least a day in advance anyways since the flavor will enhance as it sits in the fridge.

ok.  so the day after you make some dough...or maybe 6 hours after you make some dough.

deflate and divide into 2 balls.  (if you want really thick crust just leave as one ball - but half of the dough in a cake pan will rise and still make a "hand tossed" style crust)

since i am limited on pans - i made one thin crust and one hand tossed - if you have a fancy pizza stone you could use that as well.  i don't have a pizza stone.  but my birthday and christmas are right around the corner...

knead and press your dough into a 9*13 pan and gently stretch and toss your other dough ball into a circle-ish shape.  we're not going for perfection here.  just try and pinch any holes closed and do your best to form...a shape.

now preheat your oven to 450.  this will let your dough rest and rise some more while your oven heats up.

ideally you want your thicker crust to rise 30-60 minutes while your thinner crust only needs to rest 15-30 minutes..

if you forget this step - it's ok - everything will still turn out fine.

now.  i pop my thin crust in the oven to bake first so my thick crust can rise some more.

bake for 6-8 minutes and then remove.

add your toppings:

about a cup or so of good spaghetti sauce.  <-this is key.  you can beef up your own tomato sauce or buy pizza sauce - but i think buying the "fancy" flavored spaghetti sauce (preggo, newman's own, kroger private select)  is what made my pizza taste great

sprinkle a healthy dose of shredded mozzarella

top with diced green peppers and thin red onion strips.

you could of course create your own flavor combinations - but i'm pretty simple

then - this is also key

top with another healthy dose of mozzarella or a combination of mozz and cheddar

*while you're adding toppings to the first pizza, you could be baking the other one for 6-8 minutes and then switch them out when the time is up and add toppings to the second

now pop your 1st topped pizza back in the oven for an additional 8-12 minutes - until the cheese is bubbly and browning slightly.  your crust will get somewhat golden but not overly - unless you brush it with butter or olive oil.

repeat with the thick crust

and serve!  i dare you not to eat a whole pizza.

i hope you have a happy thanksgiving tomorrow!

please travel safely and not get in too big of a hurry on the interstate - we'll all get there when we get there!