One of the things being an only child of a cook in the US Air Force did--was allow me to learn so much from my Dad when it comes to cooking. Admittedly, there were a LOT of dishes he'd make when I was a kid growing up in Chicago that I'd turn my nose up at and wouldn't be very excited to try (things like spaghetti with all kinds of extras thrown into the sauce like *gasp*  mushrooms, onions, etc) or side dishes he'd serve like lima beans or peas... or heaven forbid asparagus!

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But as an adult, you learn to appreciate more things and not be such a fussy eater (OK--TO THIS DAY I still cannot do lima beans!!)... But things like my Grandma's recipe for bean soup with cornbread, or BBQ Chicken on the grill, or the one I'm about to share with you--the family homemade pizza recipe--you learn to love them! Especially in this particular case--when not only is the dough done from scratch but so is the sauce. I encourage you to try this at home and please let me know how you like it. Feel free to adjust to your own taste when it comes to the sauce. I'm a sweet sauce guy, some like it seasoned more, and some go for the bite of tangy taste. Either way here's the recipe for both dough and sauce...

UP FIRST: THE CRUST

flour falling in a bow from a sieve into a bowl on a wooden kitchen worktop at baking preparation, dark background with copy space
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Ingredients:

A quarter Ounce Active Dry Yeast

2 and a half cups of bread flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil (I use parmesan garlic olive oil but you can use virgin)

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup of warm water

DIRECTIONS:

(If you have a Kitchen Aide mixer--use the bowl--makes beating the dough so much easier). If not--find a bowl--dissolve the yeast and sugar together in the cup of warm water. let stand 10 minutes or until creamy. Stir in flour, salt, olive oil, and parmesan cheese and beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes. Roll out dough on a floured surface. pat or roll into a round. transfer to a lightly greased pizza pan and add your cheese (8oz Mozzarella) and whatever other toppings you like. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 450 degrees.

NOW: THE HOMEMADE SAUCE

Chef hand spreading tomato paste on pizza base
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in a sauce pan--start with a 6oz can of tomato paste. Add in 6oz of warm water, 3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic; 2 tablespoons of honey, 3/4 teaspoon of onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon oregano, 1/4 teaspoon of dried marjoram, 1/4 teaspoon of dried basil, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and salt to taste. stir over fire for 10 minutes and let sit for 30 min. Spread over the rolled-out dough before adding cheese and toppings.

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