Lovin' our homemade pizza...

A new favorite in our house... an old classic. I found this multi-grain crust at my local Albertsons. "Culinary Circle" is their upscale store brand name. And wow... they sure know how to make a good upscale store brand pre-baked pizza crusts.



And then we topped it with some really good pizza toppings to make a Manly Meaty Pizza... garlic-infused olive oil, marinara of choice, Gallo salame and pepperoni, mozzarella cheese... you know, your favorite pizza toppings, whatever those may be.

On the "girly" side of the pizza I used my pesto of choice and a vine-ripened tomato... and maybe a few slices of pepperoni slipped in there too.



Next, I drizzled some garlic-infused olive oil on the crust... and brushed it over the top of the whole crust.



And I will say here that I'm convinced that broiler pans bake pizza doughs just as good as pizza stones. The air circulates up under the crust and dries it out... so it gets nice and crispy and perfectly done!

How did I discover this? Well, we've been using pizza stones for at least 10 years now (for frozen pizzas). And recently our pizza stone dropped and cracked in half. I hadn't had a chance to replace it yet before I wanted to make another pizza. So, I gave the trusty broiler pan a whirl... and voila! Perfectly, crusty crust!



Now, on to the toppings... marinara sauce on His side, pesto on my side.



I sprinkled mozzarella cheese across the whole crust... then...

On His side I topped with meatballs (cut in half)
On my side I topped with sliced raw tomatoes

And then more mozzarella, and (oh yeah) also some crumbled bacon. Yes, bacon.





Next, salame... and some more mozzarella.



Last, a layer of pepperoni... followed by? What else... mozzarella.



TIP FROM LORI: If you like crispy pizza (and we do) then do what we do. If the instructions on the crust reads to bake the pizza at 400 degrees F, then we actually bake it at 425 degrees F for a slightly less amount of time.



So, it's time for the close up shot...



Above: the Manly Meaty Pizza...

Below: the Girly Pesto Pizza...




Both are equally scrumptious... and a little sinful.


We also usually shake some red pepper flakes on top of one of those layers and sometimes some garlic salt too. Tonight I forgot... but we didn't send the pizza back...




enjoy your time in the kitchen...