Frugal Feasting Friday

As well as saving money in the kitchen, I also like to save time whenever possible. If you've read my previous post you know that we have begun prepping for our family Christmas celebration. Since I cook most of our meals from scratch, cooking large specialty meals on the few occasions when everyone's home is a time consuming task. Through the years as I've searched for time saving techniques that work for me, I've found the freezer to be one of the best.
As mentioned in previous posts, our family often enjoys homemade pizza on Friday evenings. Well, this week instead of preparing one spinach alfredo pizza for the littles and me, I prepared two. I baked one for our supper tonight and I placed the other in the freezer for our planned pizza buffet night the week following Christmas ( remember, I've made a meal plan for the week everyone's home ). Of course, one pizza will not be enough to feed my crew of 8 (I have two who can inhale an entire pizza on their own), but over the next two weeks I will triple our pizza recipes and freeze the extras. On pizza night, instead of standing in the kitchen making pizza pies one after the other, I'll just pop the made ahead frozen ones in the oven, toss up a nice garden salad and in 30 short minutes I'll have a favorite and frugal meal on the buffet counter for my gang.

Spinach Alfredo Pizza

Dough:
(the following measurements are for one pizza - this recipe doubles and triples well)
1 tbsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar or honey
1 c. warm (115 degrees F) water
2 tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. flour, all-purpose whole wheat or a combination of both

Toppings:
(if making 2 or 3 pizzas, double or triple the following quantities)
7 oz. store bought alfredo sauce (approx. 1/2 jar)
1/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated
3 c. fresh baby spinach, chopped
2 c. mozzarella cheese, grated

In a medium bowl combine yeast, sugar or honey and warm water. Set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in oil and salt. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface (I prefer to use my pastry cloth) and kneed slightly. Shape into a disk and roll out into a 15" disk. Place dough onto a well oiled baking sheet. Roll edges to form pie shape. Spread alfredo sauce evenly over dough using the back of a large spoon. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over sauce followed by chopped fresh spinach. Evenly sprinkle mozzarella cheese over spinach. Bake in a pre-heated 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.
Makes one 14" pizza /8 slices.

To Prepare Spinach Alfredo Pizza for the Freezer:
Follow above directions for preparing pizza dough. Before spreading dough with alfredo sauce, combine fresh spinach and sauce in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for approximately 2 minutes, remove, stir. Sauce will have turned green. Spread spinach & sauce mixture over dough and sprinkle with parmesan cheese followed by mozzarella cheese. Allow to freeze in the freezer for 3-4 hours before wrapping securely in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil.
To Bake:
Remove wrap from pizza and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melty and gooey & edges of crust are browned to your preference.
Makes 8 slices

Here is a photo of a frozen spinach alfredo pizza:

Cost Breakdown:

homemade dough $0.74

store bought alfredo suace $1.15

baby spinach $1.00

parmesan cheese $0.60

mozzarella cheese $1.75

Total: $5.24 per pizza OR $0.66 per slice