The Ice Cometh

Carrie at Sommer Designs is having a 5 Night Dinner Challenge, to make dinner each night this week and then post a pic and the recipe. I love it.

So last night, I make pizza. This is hardly going to set the world on fire as unique or gourmet, but it's a fave around our house and I have some INSANELY picky eaters to work around. But, things sometimes don't go as planned.

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4:30pm. Run to post office, only to realize that it is MLK day and they are not open. Repeatedly shove a $5 bill into the slot in the postage machine, as it repeatedly spits it back out. The Gods of Automation finally take pity on me and the machine takes the five. Get back change in Presidential series gold-ish dollars.

4:45pm. On the way home, remember Carrie's dinner challenge and decide on pizza. Pat myself on the back for being so on-the-ball.

4:50pm. Start the pizza sauce (recipe below). I like to start this ahead of time. The longer it cooks, the better, and if it can sit for a while, the flavors get an additional chance to blend.

6:30pm. Call hubs and see what time he thinks he will be home. He's on his way back from a meeting and seems to be behind some sort of accident or something, the traffic isn't moving. Oh, well, it should clear soon.

6:35pm. Start the pizza dough (recipe below). After all, it takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, and he should be home by then.

7:00pm. Hubs calls. He's still stuck. And now the traffic coming from the other direction is sporadic, and moving at about 30 mph on an interstate highway. Hmmmm.

7:30pm. He is at a standstill on a bridge. That is now frozen. Sand and salt trucks have been driving by them on the shoulder. I call the highway department and they are reporting no road problems due to weather at this time.

7:45pm. Hubs is still stuck. And he needs to pee. I am starving and decide to make a small pizza for myself, and I will make another one for him when he comes home.

8:00pm. Watch Deal or No Deal with daugher and enjoy my pizza. Scream at the man playing to just take the deal already, you only have one large amount left on the board, are you crazy?

8:15pm. Still stuck. In the exact same place. Still needs to pee. I call the Highway Department again and they are reporting no road problems due to weather at this time.

8:30pm. Finally find a news report. The road has been CLOSED due to icing and a kajillion accidents.

9:00pm. Still stuck.

10:00pm. Still stuck.

11:00pm. Moving! But slowly. Like, 10mph.

12:00pm. Hubs finally gets home! He pees and then inhales a PB&J.

He left at 4:30, so it took him 7 1/2 hours to drive what normally would be an hour.

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So, I have no picture for my pizza, but here's the recipe.

Pizza Sauce

1 Large can of Pureed or Crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 tbsp. italian seasoning
A few shakes of crushed red pepper
salt
pepper

Let simmer on med-low for at least 15 minutes, longer if you have time. Remove from heat, and add in about 1 Tbsp. of sugar (reduces the acidity). The extra will keep in the fridge for at least a week and is great for bagel or french bread pizzas.


Pizza Dough

(I make this in a bread machine on the manual setting, but I'm sure that you could make this by hand.)

1/2 Tbsp. yeast
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water

Makes enough for two pizzas. Bake pizzas at 450 degrees on the bottom rack of your oven for 12-15 minutes, or until cheese is golden. You can also use this dough for calzones.