The End of the Week

Fall Friday nights are some of my favorite times. After teaching and playing taxi for my kids all week, helping them with homework, and just being me,I'm exhausted. To some, coming home to cook may seem like a chore. Not to me. It's my unwinding time. I turn on my 'Harry Conick Jr.' style music, pour a glass of vino, and cook my heart out. I LOVE nights like this. They don't happen very often, but when they do, I take full advantage.

Our family enjoys reality TV shows. The kind that 'families' can watch. We like HGTV Design Star, Food Network Star, and Food Truck Race on Food Network, and our all time favorite is The Biggest Loser. Last week while watching the Food Truck Race the contestants had to make an original Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza. I was inspired! Yes! Something new to whip up on Friday night. So naturally I headed over to Pinterest and searched. I found several variations, but I have combined those into my variation. I cheated a little and used a refrigerated pizza crust. Some people like the taste of homemade. In my opinion,why bother! ;) 

Deep Dish Chicago Style Pizza

Ingredients:

1 Pillsbury refrigerated pizza crust

2 cups of shredded mozzarella

pizza toppings of your choice ( I used turkey pepperoni, chopped olives, and fresh mushrooms.)

Parmesan

homemade pizza sauce

Sauce ingredients:

2 tbsp. butter or margarine

1/4 chopped onion

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1 minced garlic clove

1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes

1/4 tsp. sugar

salt and pepper

2 tbsp. chopped, fresh basil

Place pizza crust in a deep dish. I used a large cast iron skillet. Pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese on top of the crust. 

Make sauce by heating the butter in a pan. Add onion and oregano. Cook onion until moisture is drawn out and onion turns a golden brown. Add garlic clove, crushed tomatoes and sugar. Bring to a simmer, and reduce down for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add salt, pepper, and basil. 

Add half of the sauce on top of the mozzarella. Put on your desired toppings. Cover with the rest of the sauce and sprinkle with remaining half cup of mozzarella. Sprinkle liberally with Parmesan. Bake for 25 minutes at 400. Halfway through, it's a good idea to top with foil to prevent over-browning of the crust. Let it cool for 10 minutes after you take it out of the oven. Slice into big ole' pieces and enjoy!