Pizza

The hubby and I were ranch-sitting for my mother-in-law this weekend, and when we’re at the homestead, we tend to make the more traditional recipes that we grew up with. This recipe has been in the hubby’s family for years and years; my mother-in-law received the recipe when she was younger, so it was a staple in their household, and is now a staple in ours.

The hubby first made this for me when we had just started dating, and it wasn’t at all what I expected when he said he was making pizza. (Although who isn’t impressed by a man who can make his own pizza dough? Huh? Huh?) It’s a thicker, bready crust with a mild tomato sauce, topped with hamburger and Colby cheese. This is also a great meal for kids. There’s nothing scary about it, it’s not too spicy, and seriously, what kid doesn’t like hamburger and cheese?

I have to admit that I was surprised to see the hubby put raw hamburger on this pizza when he first made it. I was worried that it wouldn’t cook through. But because the crust is thicker and takes a while to cook, the hamburger cooks through completely. I would recommend a leaner hamburger (we prefer 93% lean) to keep the top of the pizza from getting too greasy.

Longhorn Colby is the best option for this pizza, but regular Colby will do, too. We never buy preshredded Colby, because my only job is to shred the cheese while the hubby does everything else. (He says I’m great at cutting the cheese. I have NO idea what he’s talking about.)

Pizza
Serves 4

Crust:
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 c. warm water
2 packets quick-rise yeast
½ tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. shortening
3–3½ c. flour

1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 can condensed tomato soup
Onion salt
Garlic salt
Dried oregano
Dried parsley
1 lb. lean hamburger
16 oz. (4 c.) Colby cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine sugar and water. Add yeast and let sit 3 minutes. Add salt and shortening, and stir. Gradually add flour and knead it into the dough.

3. Cover and let rise at least an hour, or until dough has doubled.

This is how you know it’s done. There’s a thumbs-up next to it.

4. Grease an 11½” x 17” pan and spread dough out. (You might not need all the dough to cover the entire pan.)

5. Combine tomato sauce and condensed soup. Spread sauce onto crust. (Again, you might not need it all.) Sprinkle liberally with onion salt, garlic salt, oregano, and parsley.

6. Spread hamburger in a thin layer over the salt. (Keeping the layer flat will help it cook and brown more evenly.)

7. Top with cheese. You must use all the cheese. It's a rule.

Oh, and try to get the cheese as close to the edge as possible. That way it bubbles over the edge of the pan, falls onto the bottom of the oven, and smokes up the entire house. The hubby LOVES it when I do this.

8. Bake about 20-25 minutes, or until crust is baked and hamburger is cooked through. (You can lift the crust with a spatula to see if it’s sufficiently brown on the bottom.)