Pizza!

I love pizza. I love pizza for dinner, I love it cold for breakfast the next morning. If I'm not mistaken, I am not alone among college students in this adoration for dough baked with cheese and other toppings. Many of us turn to bad, overpriced, and overcaloried delivery in the middle of a semester or after a long day at work.

There's a much better alternative that takes less than 5 minutes of your time and is ready in less time than it takes to get your delivery. No, I'm not talking about those gross frozen pizzas or even using one of those pre-bake crusts. Those are always too chewy or too much like cardboard, and worse, they tend to be terribly high in calories and sodium. Their ingredients lists also tend to read like a growing list from a chemist's lab rather than anything resembling bread.

No, when I want pizza, I start in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Near where you can find those prepackaged deli meats, guacamole, and the like, or perhaps near the bakery section, you will find pre-made refrigerated pizza dough. It's a little ball of dough, enough for a pie, and it never costs more than $2 (my favorite from Shaw's costs anywhere between 1.29 and 1.99). Buy it, take it home, roll it out on a pizza pan, and add your favorite toppings. Preheat the oven to 425, bake it for about 12 to 15 minutes, and just watch it until the crust is golden.

Above is a slice from my favorite combo of toppings (cold the morning after for breakfast), which comes to less than .81/slice (including the dough).

1-2 teaspoons of pesto, spread over dough in place of tomato sauce.

1 small red bell pepper, sliced very thinly, spread next over the pesto.

1-2 slices of prosciutto or other cured meat of choice; chopped up and spread over the peppers.

1-2 cups of reduced fat local mozzarella or other italian blend cheese. For a fancier version, shred fontina instead (this brings the cost up to about $1/slice.

It's DELICIOUS.

But don't take my word for it. Go get some pizza dough, and enjoy!