We're in Pizza Heaven

If there's one thing I love to eat, it's pizza. I like breakfast pizza, pizza for lunch, pizza for dinner, and cold pizza again for breakfast. My favorite is plain cheese, but I'm not opposed to toppings. I am just not really a fan of pepperoni, sausage, bacon or ham. I tend to like my pizza meat-free unless we are talking buffalo chicken pizza or cheesesteak pizza. Oh, and one time I made a Reuben pizza that was delicious. And sausage is okay on breakfast pizza. I just made a liar out of myself...

I wouldn't consider myself a great traveler, but I have visited quite a few of our lovely states. I even decided to live in the Midwest for a few years (ok, 2). One thing I missed living out there was pizza. And I don't mean, drive down to the local Pizza Hut pizza. I mean good pizza shop pizza. Sure, there are pizza restaurants out there, but nothing I experienced out there even compares remotely to East Coast pizza shops. I suppose I can't speak for the south, but I imagine pizza isn't their strong suit unless it's deep fried. And from what I've seen of the West Coast, pizza isn't the same there either.

Almost as much as eating pizza, I like to look at all the different pizzas lined up and ready to be eaten. There is something special about browsing 15 different kinds of pizza at once...cheese, veggie, sausage, Hawaiian, cheesesteak, vodka penne, margherita, white, cheeseburger, taco, Italian, buffalo chicken...oh and stuffed pizza...My stomach is totally full from the huge steak salad I made for dinner and all this pizza talk makes me want a slice. And I want a spare slice for breakfast because cold pizza is so yummy at 7 a.m.

Oh, and cheesesteaks. Totally an East Coast thing, too. Specifically, this region of the country. People out there don't even know what a cheesesteak is. No, it is not a steak sandwich. So sad, these people who don't get good pizza and who have never eaten a cheesesteak.

So, if you're currently living in my "neck of the woods", enjoy all the pizza and cheesesteaks (and Yuengling) that you can! And, if you're living somewhere else, if you ever make it over here (or at least to NYC), take my advice and EAT PIZZA. You won't be sorry.

Where's your favorite place to grab a slice? I'm always open to try new pizza.

Sauce Saving Tip

Here's a quick tip for saving sauces that I usually find comes in handy when I'm making pizza. Pizza sauce comes in a 14 oz. jar or can, but I rarely use the entire jar making a pizza, especially if it's a personal sized pizza. Sometimes I like to buy the 2 packs of Boboli pizza crusts for a quick dinner where my boyfriend and I can personalize our pizzas (he likes pepperoni and bacon and I like vegetables). But back to the sauce. If you have leftover sauce from making pizza, chances are you won't use the rest in the same week. Sure it refrigerates for a few days, but freezing is best for longevity. The only problem is that saving the sauce in a ziplock can force you to use all your leftover sauce at once AND it takes quite a while to defrost.

I freeze my sauce in ice cube trays. Then once frozen, I pop each cube out and store them in a ziplock freezer bag until next time. That way, I can thaw out only as many cubes of sauce as I will need. They don't take long to thaw, and you get to choose how much sauce you have to use. So maybe one night I decide I want some sauce to dip a side in, or another night I want to make a pizza. I just pull out as many cubes as I think I'll need! Nothing goes to waste!

P.S. This is also a great way for someone cooking for one to preserve spaghetti sauce. You can always boil up some fresh pasta and defrost a few cubes of sauce for a quick dinner. I especially like this idea because I hate spaghetti leftovers.