Author Notes
I’m trying to get my kids more involved with dinner prep, primarily to peak their interest in food. And what better place to start than a quick & easy pizza? Here is a basic recipe that your kids could help prepare and you wouldn’t mind digging into either. It sports an all-natural premade crust and a delish homemade sauce, starting with a rich base of garlic, tomato paste, and oregano, and simmered low and slow with San Marzano tomatoes. Because if kids love anything about pizza, it’s a good sauce covered in cheese. Enjoy in two varieties – mozzarella & basil; and mozzarella & pepperoni. —Feed Me Dearly
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Ingredients
- For the pizza sauce
-
3 tablespoons
olive oil
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2
cloves garlic, minced
-
2 tablespoons
tomato paste
-
15 ounces
canned tomato sauce
-
28 ounces
canned crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
-
1 teaspoon
sugar
-
1 teaspoon
salt
-
1 tablespoon
oregano
-
Black pepper
- For the pizza
-
2
12-inch prepared pizza crusts (such as Rustic Crust)
-
4 tablespoons
olive oil, divided
-
3 cups
pizza sauce, divided
-
1
large ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced
-
10
fresh basil leaves, torn
-
12 ounces
shredded mozzarella
-
4 ounces
thin-sliced pepperoni
Directions
-
For the sauce:
Heat oil in a medium saucepan on med-high heat. When oil is warm, add the garlic and sauté, stirring frequently until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste, and sauté for another minute.
-
Add the cans of tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes along with the salt, sugar, oregano and a few grinds of black pepper. Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer for an hour to allow the sauce to concentrate and the flavors to marry.
-
For the pizzas:
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
-
Place pizza crusts on individual baking sheets.
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When your sauce is done, brush 2 tablespoons of olive oil on each crust. Next add 1.5 cups of sauce to each crust.
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On Pizza #1, add the sliced fresh mozzarella and scatter the basil leaves.
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On Pizza #2, add the shredded mozzarella, and top with the pepperoni. This makes a very cheesy pizza– if you’re not a fan of lots of cheese, you can easily get away with less.
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Turn your oven down to 425 degrees and pop both pizzas in the oven. Bake for 8-12 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.
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