pizza recipe

I have discovered what my pizza sauce was missing and how to make my sauce taste as fresh and light as the wonderful New York style pizza that I get delivered. Here is my recipe:

Ingredients:

1 14.5 oz. can whole, peeled tomatoes (I like Hunt’s®.)

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves

1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. Lawry’s® seasoned pepper (or ground black pepper)

1/4 tsp. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/8 tsp. McCormick® crushed red pepper

Instructions:

Mince the garlic. In a bowl, blend the garlic, the tomatoes and all other ingredients and crush the tomatoes by hand. Or, mince the garlic in a food processor and add the tomatoes and all other ingredients and process until tomatoes are crushed (but not pureed). Spread evenly on pizza dough and add your cheese, pepperoni, etc. This will make enough sauce for two 12” pizzas.

Are looking for the quickest pizza recipe, the easiest pizza recipe, and the best tasting pizza recipe? Look no further then last night's leftovers.

That's right. Those containers of recently munched on Chinese food, that uneaten slab of beef those leftover stir fry veggies or the vodka sauce from last night's pasta can all help you harness the power of the pizza gods and bestow upon you a terrific tasting, one of a kind pizza.

Not sold on using leftovers to make pizza? An added bonus of making "leftovers" pizza is that it simplifies the pizza making process; allowing pizza to take its rightful place as the mid-week, after work, after grad-school, after the gym dinner that it was intended to be.

Before you go all willy-nilly-mad-scientist on your pizza, you might consider the following:

• Don't overtop your pizza

Imagine, if you will, what the bottom of your oven will look like caked with pizza toppings. Or worse, how your pants or shirt will look stained with pizza sauce. Despite my personal beliefs, pizza stained clothes never impress or so I am told. So be sure to use an appropriate amount of toppings. And that goes for calzones too, which tend to leak if overstuffed.

• Don't mix flavors that taste bad together

Braunsweiger and peanut butter or how about sweet and sour chicken and refried beans? Unless you are under attack by mid-pregnancy flavor cravings,it's better to stick with the flavor pairings that you already know and love.

• Avoid wet soggy leftovers if possible

While this may seem like a no brainer, cold items can fool you. Even a mildly moist item may leak fluid when heated.

• Experimenting with pizza toppings is always fun

It is always fun to experiment with pizza toppings to create new pizza recipes. Try changing your cheese combinations; who is up for an asiago/fontina blend over beef and broccoli leftovers? Maybe add a little cheddar, brie, or chabichou du poitou to your mozzarella topping to spice things up a bit.

Using leftovers on pizza can be a fun, fast, easy way to enjoy the original meal a second time, not to mention that it will free up room in the fridge. Who knows when you will create the ultimate pizza recipe that will transform pizza forever. Or most likely, you will just have a terrific pizza dinner and a wonderful pizza recipe