Pizza Night and a Superior Crust Recipe

I made three triple batches of pizza crust yesterday for the pizza/movie night. There were three stacks of crusts this size, and I decided to make two dessert pizzas at the last minute. They were pretty good and would've been even better had I remembered to set the timer on the oven! (They were baking while everybody was here.) Fortunately I had kitchen helpers for rolling out all that dough!
Last night was a total blast - kids were laughing and running around in the yard, on the trampoline, on the front porch, down the street, in and out of the house, and in every room - just the way I like it! The moms had a great time too getting a chance to visit amid the utter chaos. Having no agenda, most of the kids preferred to just hang out, while a handful opted to watch Night at the Museum. The worst part about the night was that it ended way too soon!
I promised to share the amazing recipe I found - with my adjustments. You can make a triple batch of the dough in a large kitchen mixer. The original of this recipe called for 3 ounces of oil per personal pizza crust - and after trying only half that amount, I just could NOT feed that greasy mess to my family - so I reduced it significantly. You can get a feel for how much you prefer.

Mock Pizza Hut Pan Pizza Crust

1 1/3 cup warm water (105 F)
1/4 cup non-fat dry milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 pkg dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
4 cups flour
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (for dough)

For preparation:
2 - 3 Tbsp vegetable oil per pan (experiment with this and pour off excess)
2 Tbsp melted butter

Directions:
Put yeast, sugar, salt, and dry milk in a large bowl. Add water and stir to mix well. Allow to sit for two minutes. Add oil and stir again. Add flour and stir until dough forms and flour is absorbed. Turn out on to a flat surface and knead for about 10 minutes by hand - or 3-5 minutes in a large kitchen mixer with a dough hook. Divide dough into three balls. In three 9" cake pans, put 2 - 3 Tbsp. of oil in each making sure it is spread evenly. Using a rolling pin (I used my hands!), roll out each dough ball to about a 9" circle. Place in cake pans. Brush the outer edge of dough with melted butter. Cover with a plate. Place in warm area and allow to rise for 1 - 1 1/2 hours.
(To make pre-baked shells I baked them at about 450 for 7-10 minutes - then they were ready to be topped again and baked for about 10 more minutes.)

Pan Pizza Sauce

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tsp dry oregano
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp garlic salt

To bake each 9" pizza:

1. Preheat oven to 475 F
2. Spoon 1/3 cup sauce on dough and spread to within 1" of edge
3. Distribute 1 1/2 ounce shredded mozzarella cheese on sauce
4. Place toppings of your choice in this order: Pepperoni or ham, vegetables, meats
   
5. Top with 3 oz. mozzarella cheese
6. Cook until cheese is bubbling and outer crust is brown
   

Some of the gang on a Friday night!

Catch-all Post

Nine hours after the first kitten was born, more finally started to appear. This morning I woke up to six baby kittens in my closet. They are beautiful, just like her last litter. We are going to definitely make an appointment to get her fixed this go-round. I am not sure she can handle any more pregnancies, nor can I. I hate to admit it - but I am totally in love with this cat, and if something happened to her, I would be beside myself as apparent in how I reacted to the sight of something unexpected yesterday morning. The poor nurse at the vet's office talked to me three times yesterday! Lord help me when I actually become a grandmother to human babies!
I have 24 personal pan pizza crusts to make today - and thankfully, I found a pizza crust recipe that is really good. It is a Pizza Hut mock pan pizza recipe. I will share it here later when I have a minute to type it up. We are hosting a youth pizza / movie night at our house for the local homeschool group. It ought to be fun!
Yes, Hurricane Humberto did aim straight for our area. There were power outages and flooding all over the area just south of us where Travis works, but we never really even got much rain. It was the most bizarre thing - a hurricane forms one morning over the Gulf of Mexico and makes landfall that night. Very unusual indeed. Fortunately based on the where it developed, it did not have a chance to gain strength. I saw on the news last night where one house with an elderly couple were sleeping had the roof sheared off and the entire house was moved 7 feet off of its slab.
I really don't like these catch all posts - but really none of these things in and of itself make much to post about. Besides I was trying to dump it all out of my head so I can get on with my busy day! Hope you're having a great Friday!