'Tis the Season (Almost)

The holidays are quickly approaching like it or not... me, I like it!  The hustle and bustle of gatherings, shopping, and cooking.  I truely love it but last year was a complete blur.  This year I vowed I would be more prepared for everything.  I started a holiday planning notebook to keep track of gifts, parties and food.  I've cleaned out closets and organized things like my spice cabinet so I'm completely prepared for cooking and baking.  I have also decided to stock my freezer with "go to" dinners and I intend on using these mostly for November and December...possibly January if things don't slow down by then.  The winter my son was born we stocked the freezer and it was a life saver, so this year I'm doing the same and I'll be sharing all the tips and recipes I find.

My first item to go in the freezer... Pizza dough.  We eat pizza in our house about once a week and I have a hard time spending over $5 on a frozen pizza in the store.  My solution we just make them and until now I've bought the ready made pizza crusts.  Here's what I did:

Pizza Dough

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 ½ c. very warm water
18oz. (4c.) flour
1tsp. Salt
2 tbsp. olive oil

Dissolve yeast in the warm water and set aside. Meanwhile, put the flour and salt in the food processor and process briefly to mix. With the machine running, add the water-yeast mixture in a steady stream. Turn the processor off and add the oil. Pulse a few times to mix in the oil.
Turn out onto a floured surface and with lightly floured hands knead dough until smooth adding in a little more flour. Cut dough into sections and place in freezer bags. Lasts for 1 month in the freezer.
To make immediately, cover dough with a dishtowel and let rise until almost double in size, about 45 min.
To make tomorrow, line a baking sheet with a floured dish towel, place dough balls on it, and cover them with plastic wrap and let them rise in the refrigerator overnight. To use dough that has been refrigerated overnight, simply pull it out of the refrigerator about 15 min. before shaping the dough into a pizza.


*This recipe makes 2 regular size pizzas or 4 personal size.