Pizza

I make a lot of great pizzas which easily each feed two hungry adults.  Use the bread dough recipe I posted earlier, which makes 3 pizza crusts and keeps well in the fridge for two weeks (I am sure it freezes for longer, but I have never done that). A plain cheese pizza costs about $1.75 and has about 1060 calories ($0.88 and 530 calories per person).

Dough - $0.45; 533 cal
4 oz Mozzarella, shredded - @ $4/lb = $1, 320 cal
1 tbsp olive oil - @ $10/101floz = $0.05, 100 cal
1 tbsp ketchup (Heinz) -  @ $3/32oz = ~$0.05, 15 cal
3 tbsp corn meal - @ $3/75tbsp tube = $0.12, 90 cal
1/2 tsp garlic powder - ~$0.03
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes - ~$0.03
pinch of black pepper

I don't have a pizza peel, so I just use one of those flexible smooth plastic cutting boards that come in a pack.  I recommend the ones from Bed Bath and Beyond way over Walmart.  The extra thickness and durability is worth the additional couple of dollars per pack.  I have not tried others.  Dust your surface with flour, plop on your dough, flour the top of the dough and roll it out.  I use a wine bottle because I won't pay for a rolling pin.  My pizzas are constrained to the 11" width of my cutting board, but I don't make perfect circles, so they're often longer ovals.  When it's all rolled out, I put the whole thing with the cutting board into my freezer.  I never time it, but about 8 minutes in the freezer is probably good.  Set your oven to the highest non-broiler temperature setting (e.g.: 550 F) with your pizza pan or stone inside.

When you take your crust out of the freezer, it should be a bit stiff.  This helps you lift it up off of the cutting board without deforming it so you can spread corn meal underneath the crust.  The corn meal acts as ball bearings so the pizza will slide easily off of the cutting board.  Spread olive oil over the surface of the crust.  The oil prevents water from the ketchup and topings from making the crust mushy.  Sprinkle the spices on top of the oil.

The ketchup is next.  I am sure some of you may be appalled that I would use ketchup instead of tomato sauce or paste.  I did buy some tomato sauce once when the smallest cans were on sale.  I found, though, that even the smallest can had enough sauce for 4 pizzas, and the sauce would not keep well enough for the amount of time it would take me to put that many pizzas on our menu.  Ketchup is cheaper, keeps nearly forever, and works well enough at the small quantities used.  Spread the ketchup over the crust, but leave the edge bare for a half-inch to an inch.  I firmly state that Heinz is the best brand of ketchup, and is worth the extra pennies over the competition.  Heinz does not pay me.

Put on your toppings.  Sprinkle the mozzarella on top, and avoid the outer edge.  Any cheese on the outer edge will burn, and a clear edge makes a good place to grip slices for eating.

Now your pizza is getting softer.  Shake your cutting board or peel gently to make sure that the pizza slides smoothly on it.  If it sticks anywhere, try to carefully lift that area and put corn meal under it.  When your oven is preheated, slide your pizza on to the pan or stone.  Your pizza will be done when the cheese on top starts to turn brown in a few spots.  This may take 8-10 minutes, depending on what toppings you used.  Keep an eye on your pizza to make sure you don't burn too much cheese, especially if you are just making a cheese pizza.

I recommend letting the pizza cool for a bit, then transferring it to a plate or cutting board to slice.