Homemade Personal Pizzas & Pizza Sauce
Pizza is always a FAVORITE, from kids to adults, and making pizza at home can be intimidating but that doesn’t have to be the case. When I was a kid, my mom would let us eat out but ordering pizza for 3 kids who all wanted different topping can get annoying; this is when my mom invented HOTDOG personal pizzas. I know the idea of hotdogs on your pizza sounds crazy but they are just kid-friendly sausages if you think about it. This recipe includes my mom’s hotdog pizza reciple but also a simple, light, TASTY PIZZA SAUCE and a starting off point to make your own PERSONAL PIZZA for a WEEKNIGHT MEAL. Hope you enjoy this as much as my family and I still do!
PREP TIME: 10 minutes l COOK TIME: 10minutes l TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes
Ingredients
4 nine inch (9”) flat breads or pocket-less pitas
2 cups low moisture mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 chicken hot dogs
you can use your favorite hotdogs of this if you wish but I feel the chicken ones typically work the best.
½ bell pepper, sliced thin
Pizza Sauce
2 cups crushed tomatoes
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
½ teaspoon salt
¼ ground black pepper
½ teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Directions
Makes: 4 personal pizzas
Serving size: 1 pizza
1) In a medium sized jar, combine all of the ingredients for the pizza sauce and set aside. This can be made in advance and store in the fridge up to 2 weeks.
2) In a sauce pan, boil the hot dogs as directed on packaging. Once the hotdogs have been cooked thoroughly, drain water and place back into saucepan on medium heat with 1 teaspoon of neutral oil.
3) Crisp the outside of the hotdogs, turning them as you go to provide an even cook.
4) Once crisp, move the hotdogs to a cutting board and slice into thin, even, diagonal slices. Set these aside as you prep other ingredients.
The next steps can be done in an oven or a toaster oven (f you are only making 1 at a time); set to bake for 350 degrees.
5) Toast the flat bread/pita upside down until very lightly browned. This will allow for the base to hold up the all toppings and the pizza will be evenly cooked in the end.
6) Assemble each individual pizza in the following order:
a) 2 tablespoons pizza sauce
b) 1/8 cup sliced bell pepper
c) 1 sliced hot dog
d) ½ cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
You can also customize the toppings to your liking. There is no right or wrong way when it comes to your own pizza!
7) Bake at 350 degrees in an oven or toaster oven until the cheese is evenly melted; this will take 5-10 minutes depending on your oven so keep an eye on this.
Top with fresh cut basil and serve hot!