Pizza: so easy even kids can make it

I was really sick yesterday - high fever, sore throat, headache, body aches, etc. I basically didn't get off the couch all day b/c every time I did I got light-headed. Tyler and Dallin offered to make dinner for me. I told them I was planning on making pizza, and they got all excited. I didn't know if they'd be able to, but they did an awesome job. They got this recipe from Dallin's kid cookbook, and they brought it to me on the couch for each step to make sure they were doing it right. The only things I did was pour the oil, since it was too full for them, show them how to knead the dough, and take the finished pizza out of the oven. I was so impressed! When I asked Tyler what he learned from the whole process (which took them over 2 hours), he said dinner is much faster when I do it. Probably most of you already have a pizza dough recipe you like to use, but a friend asked me for mine.

1 1/2 tsp yeast
3 tbsp warm water
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp oil, plus more for greasing the pan
pizza sauce
mozzarella cheese
various toppings

1. Mix the yeast with 3 tbsp warm water. Set aside for 10 minutes or until it is frothy.
2. Sift the flour with sugar and salt using a wire whisk. Make a well in the center.
3. Pour the yeast mixture, water and oil into the well. Mix together with wooden spoon.
4. Sprinkle flour on a clean work surface. Knead the dough for 8 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic.
5. Oil a large bowl, add the dough and cover with a towel. Leave in a warm place and let rise for 20 minutes. Punch down with your fists.
6. While the dough is rising, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
7. Spread oil on extra large cookie sheet. Add dough and roll out to fill pan. Poke holes with fork.
8. Bake for 10 minutes.
9. Spread pizza sauce on crust. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and any other toppings you like.

Greek Pizza

Here is a yummy Greek Pizza from Rachael Ray with a crust recipe from Allrecipes.com.

Pizza Dough
3 cups flour
1 pkg yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup warm water

Combine flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and water. Spread in a large pizza pan and top as desired. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes. You can let it rise for a few minutes before putting it in the oven but it's not necessary. This recipe also makes really good bread sticks. To jazz it up for breadsticks, mixing in herbs or topping with cheese is really good. For the Greek Pizza below, I used one cup whole wheat flour (it was all I had left) and two cups regular white flour.

Spinach Feta Greek Pizza
I recipe wheat pizza dough
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves grated garlic
1 onion chopped
2 bunches spinach
salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste
1 cup feta cheese crumbles
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
fresh oregano, chopped

Preheat oven to 450. Press dough into pan and put in the oven for a few minutes. In a large skillet, saute the garlic and onion in oil. Add the spinach and wilt. Season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Top the lightly cooked dough with hte spinach mixture then top with feta and mozzarella. Put the pizza back in the oven until the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. When the pizza comes out of the oven, top with tomatoes and oregano.