Mmm...sauce

We are trying to eat healthy around here.  But when you want pizza, you just have to have pizza.  And, since our only pizza options here are Pizza Hut (pricey), Leonard Paul's (flavorless), Little Ceasar's (um, have you tasted their pizza?), or frozen (ie, cardboard crust), I make a lot of homemade pizza.  I have a recipe for pizza dough that, although not my absolute favorite in taste and texture, only takes a few minutes to make, and it doesn't necessarily need time to rise.  Which is awesome, because I am the queen of last-minute meals.

Pizza is also a great opportunity to use up leftovers.  Leftover grilled chicken?  Time for BBQ chicken pizza (don't forget the cilantro).  Sliced ham lunch meat that's nearing it's expiration date?  Hawaiian pizza night.  Oh, and since we eat some kind of tacos or burritos once a week, the leftover seasoned meat makes for delicious taco pizza.  I've had other taco pizzas, but mine is the best. 

And it's because of the sauce.

Here it is: the best taco pizza sauce you'll ever taste.  (I might even try using it as an enchilada sauce...)

Combine in a small sauce pan:

• 1 small (8oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp dried cilantro (not absolutely necessary, but DO NOT omit the fresh cilantro on the pizza)
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp lemon juice

Simmer.  Done.  And it costs just pennies.

So the 2 lbs of taco meat I made last week?  We had taco salad that first night, burritos the second night, and taco pizza to finish it off.  I used a Mexican cheese blend, but I didn't have to use a lot, so, um, that made the pizza healthy.  And we had zucchini from the garden.  So, super healthy.

Just want a "regular" pizza?  No problem.  I have a sauce for that too.  I also use it as pasta sauce; I just quadruple the recipe, and it makes enough sauce for one package of noodles.  (We had a friend over for spaghetti dinner a few weeks ago, and when he commented on the sauce, I said it was homemade.  He said "I couldn't tell!" which, he was quick to explain, was a compliment.  Apparently, at his house, homemade is code for not-as-good-as-store-bought.)

• 1 small (8oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp lemon juice

No more jars of Prego around here.  No sir.  And I swear I'll never go back.