Cooking 101: Student-friendly Pizza

My good friend Justin gave us the great idea to share recipes that are college student friendly.  *Read: easy.  I think it's a great idea, especially since eating out can quickly add up.  Without further ado, here's the first lesson in Cooking 101.

I love pizza, as does probably every college student in the world.  When you're physically and mentally beat after studying (or trying to get into studying, let's be honest here) pizza is the way to go.  However, ordering pizza can get really expensive and the selection of frozen pizzas don't always hit the spot.  My mother came up with this genius way to make fast and extremely easy crispy crusted pizza, completely customizable to anyone's preference.  If my 12-year old brother can do it y'all, I'm pretty sure you can too.

Tools:

• Oven
• Cookie sheet
• Aluminum foil, preferably non-stick
• Spoon
• Pizza cutter or knife, either will work

The Main Ingredients:

• 1 bag of soft flour tortilla/burrito wraps (Size is your personal preference, I use the large standard ones.  I guess you could also do whole grain if you're into that but shoot, we ain't got tiiiiime for that! Aha.) 
• 1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese 
• 1 bottle of tomato-based pasta sauce. (Get as fancy with it as you like. I highly recommend the garlic-based sauces in general.  Prego and Ragu make awesome ones.)

Optional Add-ons:

• Pepperoni 
• Italian sausage 
• Garlic
• Vegetables
• Black pepper
• Pepper flakes
• Oregano
• Basil
• Basically, anything you want to top your pizza other than cheese

LET'S COOK!

Step 1:

• Preheat oven to the highest setting it can possibly go.  This is usually called BROIL on HIGH.  If not, preheating to 450 should do it.  
• Line your cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place as many flour tortillas on it that will fit comfortably.  I can usually fit two on mine.  

Step 2:

• When your oven is hot, stick in the tortillas in the oven to heat up and crisp up.  There really isn't a set time for this because all ovens heat differently.  
• You can tell when it's ready when your tortilla is slightly golden brown. It may also puff up so simply pop it with something sharp like a knife or chopstick.  
• Flip over the tortilla and brown and crisp up the other side. 

Step 3:

• Pull out the tortillas from the oven.  
• Spoon on some of the pasta sauce and spread a thin layer evenly over the tortillas.  Try not to overdo it on the sauce.  Too much will make it soggy and no one wants soggy pizza.  A little definitely goes a long way. 
• If you have spices and herbs like black pepper, garlic, oregano, or basil sprinkle it on over the sauce. 
• Add a even layer of mozzarella cheese to your pizza.  Go crazy.  
• If you plan on adding other ingredients, layer them over the cheese. 

Step 4:

• Put pizza back in the oven for about 10 minutes.  Be sure to check it at the 6-7 minute mark because your oven may heat faster than you think.  
• Your pizza should be done when the cheese has a golden crust and well, looks pretty melted and done.

Step 5:

• Remove pizza, cut, and enjoy!