Cheesy Pizza

My husband's mother makes homemade pizza fairly often. In order to avoid lots of mixing and kneading of the dough, she uses Pillsbury Hot Roll mix as the base. Then adds sauce and the cheese. And voila, a tasty homemade pizza made before you know it.

I have made pizza this way many times over the last two years. I decided to make it special with my homemade mozzarella. I drained the cheese about an hour before using it, but it was still a bit soft in a few places when I went to shred the cheese on my box grater. It still worked, but it got a bit messy. Ah well...I can't be in the kitchen without making a mess of some sort!

Here's how I did it:

1 box Hot roll mix
15 ounce can tomato paste
salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano
homemade mozzarella, shredded

1. Prepare the mix using the pizza dough directions found on the side of the box (note that this preparation is slightly different from the roll directions found on the back). Knead slightly to make sure the dough comes together.
2. Preheat the oven to 400F. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
3. Rub butter on your hands and transfer the dough to the cookie sheet. Carefully spread the dough to the edges, making sure to press the dough up the sides of the cookie sheet to form a crust. Be patient, it may not seem like it will ever cover the cookie sheet, but trust me, it will. Periodically add more butter to your hands to keep the dough from sticking. Let the dough rise undisturbed for about 10-15 minutes.
4. Prepare the sauce: Combine the tomato sauce and seasonings to taste. I'll be honest, my husband mixes the sauce, so I am unsure as to the exact proportions of all the seasonings. You could also use the pre-seasoned cans of tomato sauce, if desired.
5. Pour some of the sauce over the pizza dough, spreading to the edges. Not all of the sauce will be needed. If you prefer less sauce, an 8 ounce can may be sufficient.
6. Sprinkle on the mozzarella. Not every spot needs to be covered, the cheese will spread to cover the entire pizza.
7. Bake in the oven until the edges are lightly golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 12-15 minutes.
8. Remove the pizza from the oven and allow it to cool slightly so that the cheese sets up enough for the pizza to be cut. Cut the pizza into 12 equal slices.