Homemade Pizza Dough

I've been using this pizza recipe for years and always tell myself that today is the day I will post the recipe on my own blog, especially because I always make a few modifications from the original anyway. This is hands down my favorite homemade pizza dough recipe. 






MY FAVORITE HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH
Source: Janssen Bradshaw from Everyday Reading
Servings 2 14-inch pizzas
Prep time: 3 hours

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
3 cup all-purpose flour (can sub out half wheat flour or white wheat flour, but I never do)

Instructions
In a stand mixer, add water, honey, sugar, and yeast for 5-10 minutes until the yeast is frothy. Add in all remaining ingredients and let mix for 5 minutes (or 10 minutes if you're doing it by hand). Resist the urge to add more flour. 
Spray a bowl with cooking spray, scrape your dough into the bowl and cover. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Two to three hours before you're ready to make your pizza, take it out and let it come to room temperature and rise on the counter. (If you freeze half the dough, put it on the counter about 3-5 hours before you're ready to cook). *If I am in a hurry - I just let this raise for an hour on my counter and it still turns out great.* 

When ready to form crusts: 
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll out dough and transfer to greased cookie sheet or baking sheet (Or pizza stone). Poke with fork several times around crust so it won't get puffy and par-bake in oven. You want it to be cooked through but not starting to brown. 

Remove from oven, flip over, add toppings, and return to oven to finish baking. 

Pizza crusts can be made ahead and even frozen for quick dinner prep. 

Meatballs

My Mom makes the BEST meatballs (Sweet and Sour Meatballs - Found here) but for whatever reason, they never quite turn out when I make them. I finally found this recipe and really liked the flavor and feel that they turned out really well. The recipe calls for beef and pork, but I only had ground beef on hand so that's what I used and it was still really flavorful. I also used Kraft parmesan cheese instead of grated parmesan and that worked, too. I would like to try it with the pork and grated parmesan, though, so I'm leaving the recipe with that included. The author says "This classic baked meatball recipe is easy to make, full of great flavor, and totally versatile. Pair it with your favorite Italian marinara sauce, BBQ sauce, Swedish cream sauce…and beyond!"

Meatballs

Source: Adapted from Ali at Gimme Some Oven

prep time: 35 MINS
cook time: 10 MINS
total time: 45 MINS
yield: 24-30 MEATBALLS 1X


Ingredients:1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/3 cup milk
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 eggs
1 cup (1 1/2 ounces) finely-grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup finely-chopped fresh Italian herbs, or 2 T dried Italian herbs (I used a Garlic Italian Parmersan Spice, but regular Italian seasoning or basil and oregano would be great)
1/4 cup grated yellow onion
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

INSTRUCTIONS


Make the panade. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the panko and milk until combined. Set the mixture aside to soak for 5 to 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
Combine remaining ingredients. Add the ground beef, ground pork, garlic, eggs, Parmesan, fresh herbs, onion and Worcestershire sauce to the (same) mixing bowl. Sprinkle the oregano, salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes evenly on top. Use your hands to mix the ingredients until evenly combined, being careful not to over-mix the ingredients.
Chill (optional step). To make the meatballs easier to form, I recommend covering and chilling the mixture in the refrigerator for 1 hour. But if you’re pressed for time, you can skip this step.
Prep oven and baking sheet. Heat the oven to 425°F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Form the meatballs. Using a medium cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop and roll the mixture into 2-tablespoon balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet. (I recommend greasing your hands with a bit of olive oil to prevent the mixture from sticking.)
Bake. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer measures the internal temperature of the meatballs to be 160°F. Remove pan and transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Serve. Serve meatballs immediately and enjoy!

Also from "Gimme Some Oven" 

WAYS TO SERVE MEATBALLS:

This baked meatballs recipe is incredibly versatile and can be served a number of ways! You could use it to make…

Spaghetti and meatballs: Pair the meatballs with a 1-pound package of spaghetti (cooked until al dente) and a batch of my favorite marinara sauce recipe to make Italian meatballs.

Swedish meatballs: Pair with your favorite Swedish cream sauce recipe to make Swedish meatballs.

Alfredo meatballs: Pair with a batch of my favorite Alfredo sauce recipe to make Alfredo meatballs.

BBQ meatballs: Pair with a batch of my favorite homemade BBQ sauce recipe to make BBQ meatballs.

Grape jelly meatballs: Pair with a grape jelly sauce (just simmer together 1.5 cups ketchup and 1 cup grape jelly) to make retro grape jelly meatballs.