Amazing Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

This recipe was actually introduced (you can find here at AllRecipes)to me by my friend Ashley who is a contributer on this blog and I was waiting to post it till she had a chance but I don't think she's going to (sorry Ashley). So here it is!! We love this! If you have a bread machine you can totally disregard the directions and throw all of the ingredients in it and let the machine do it's work!! Don't forget to put them in the machine in the order that your manual suggests for best results!

This recipe made enough dough for 2 pizzas. We made one because we like thicker crust and we added strips of mozzarella around the edges for a 'stuffed' crust. Deelish!

INGREDIENTS

* 1 teaspoon white sugar
* 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups whole wheat flour
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.

2. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables.

5. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.

Veggie Pizza

Pizza Pasta

Ingredients:
8 oz. rotini pasta
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 (28 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce
4 ounces sliced pepperoni sausage
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef with onion until beef is brown. Drain. Combine beef mixture with spaghetti sauce, pepperoni and cooked pasta and pour into a 9X13 inch baking dish. Top with mozzarella.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and golden.

Fruit Pizza

Ingredients:
1 pkg. refrigerated sugar cookie dough
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup cool whip
1 can crushed pineapple
fresh fruit (whatever you like, i.e. kiwi, stawberries, bananas, etc.)
chopped pecans

Directions:
Slice cookie dough in 1/8 inch pieces. Place on pizza pan and pat out to form crust and bake at 350 until done and let cool.
Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and cool whip. Spread over cooled crust. Spread drained pineapple over cream cheese mixture. Layer sliced fruit and sprinkle with pecans.

Tip: To keep fruit from turning dark, mix 1/2 cup apricot preserves with a little water to thin and dip fruit before putting on pizza.