Mama's Homemade Pizza

I realized today that I have been internalizing a lot of stress lately instead of processing it. I figure it must have something to do with my huge life altering move coming up and all. Why are we tougher on ourselves than anyone else? If it was any one of my friends, I would totally understand if they needed to cry, relax, or just vent. But I realize that I subconsciously expect myself to hold it all together.

So tonight when I was on my way home I realized I was thinking of getting my stress out in some unhealthy bad habits. So I called my sweet sister. She talked me through it and I settled on pampering myself a bit. I unashamedly rented Eclipse, bought a copy of US Weekly, poured a glass of Merlot, and made my Mom's homemade pizza. Sometimes you just need a little comfort to help you get through the ebb and flow of life.

So out of this evening you get Mama's pizza recipe. I don't know why it is so. amazingly. good. There isn't anything especially different about the ingredients and it's not even vital you use particular brands, but the combo of these just equal homemade goodness to my taste buds. Well, and there is one secret ingredient (see below). Whenever my sister, brother-in-law, Rachel (my sister's best friend) or I have a birthday it is typically what we request. It's so good that we often have it for our Christmas dinner. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

-A pizza crust big enough to feed your crew (you can make one from scratch or use frozen pizza dough. (If you are GF and don't feel like making one, UDIs or KinnikKinnick both make a good one).

-Marinara Sauce (your favorite)

-1 lb raw ground breakfast sausage

-1/2 a package of Hormel Pepperoni (not turkey- get the real stuff)

-Shredded Mozzarella

-1 onion sliced into thin strips

-Sliced mushrooms

-1 green pepper, sliced thin

-1 jar of sliced black olives

-Caraway Seed... the secret ingredient... (The Kroger Brand in the spice section and not expensive, about $2.50)

Here we go...

1. Get your dough ready to go per instructions

2. Cook and crumble the sausage.

3. After the sausage is cooked, put it on a paper plate to drain.

4. Get rid of most of the sausage grease, but leave 1 T or so in the pan. Lower heat and add veggies. If you don't want to use the grease you can use a little oil or butter. Saute until they are soft enough for you. I like mine a little more al dente.

5. Assemble on the crust in this order... Spread sauce over dough, and sprinkle liberally with caraway seed (about 2 Tbsp for a medium sized pizza). Next add the sausage. Place pepperoni on top of sausage. Place half of the veggies over the meat. Cover with your cheese. Sprinkle remaining veggies over cheese. Sprinkle olives on top.

6. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so if the crust is precooked. Follow the directions if you are using an uncooked crust.