Homemade Pizza

Ok, I thought Chris was crazy when he told me 4 years ago that he wanted to make pizza.  Make pizza?? That was odd to me because I think of pizza as the ultimate "I don't want to do dishes nor spend a lot of money on dinner" idea.  But, as usual, homemade is completely different, and I admit, better.  You can put as much or as little of anything and everything, which is nice because I don't like a lot of sauce.  And the crust!  Yum yum!  I honestly doesn't take that much time, but you do tend to make a bit of a mess, and you probably spend as much money as ordering it (depending of course on where you buy) because cheese isn't cheap.  So here's how you do it:

Sauce:
1/2 c. tomato paste
1 can petite diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp chopped onion
1/8 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin

Stir everything in small saucepan over low heat. Let simmer until ready to use.

Dough:
1 pkg yeast
1 c water, warm
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp oil
2 1/2 c flour

Dissolve yeast in water.  Stir in remaining ingredients. Work into a dough ball and set for 5 minutes before rolling.

Topping Suggestions:
cheese
onion
bell pepper
Italian sausage
ham
mushrooms
basically anything

**Note: This dough recipe makes 2 pizzas in about a 9x11 sheet.  Of course, you can make your pizzas any shape or size.  The sauce makes much more.  I can usually get 4-6 pizzas out of it.  Whatever I don't need the first time around I just freeze for the next time.

Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes.

Celebrating Summer...Porkchop style

Mmmm.  I love it when Chris grills.  I get a night off in the kitchen (or at least I don't have to prepare the main dish) and we get to enjoy the weather.  I also enjoy eating something a little different from time to time, which is what grilling usually allows!  Tonight Chris grilled porkchops; I made steamed broccoli and new potatoes that Dad dug from the garden for me while I was home on Sunday for Mother's Day.  I especially love new potatoes.  I could eat them like candy.  Dinner was very simple: Rub garlic powder, rosemary, paprika, curry powder, salt and pepper (all to taste) into chops and grill for approximately 8 minutes.  I put my potatoes in a large pot and brought to a boil; about 12 minutes into the boiling process, I dropped my steamer basket full of broccoli into the same pot for the final 5 minutes.  That's it!