Easy Dinner on a College Budget

We all know cooking or eating out on a college budget can be extremely difficult. Pizza is often the alternative to eating out or cooking because it’s generally cheap, and can be delivered right to your door. Do you know what’s even cheaper? Making your own pizza.

Everything is better homemade, right? Since mom and dad aren’t around to cook your homemade meal, you can do it on your own now. Pizza is as simple as a trip to the grocery store and very minimal effort.

The pizza making process starts with that trip to the grocery store. All you will need is already made pizza dough, pizza sauce, and cheese (I personally recommend mozzarella). If you’re lucky, sometimes grocery stores have pizza dough premade, and rolled out to the perfect thickness. Depending on what grocery store you go to, usually you can gather all of these ingredients for under $10. 

After gathering all the goods, it’s time to prepare the pizza. This starts with setting the dough out to warm up for roughly 30 minutes to one hour. Once the dough is ready, heat the oven to 450°F and roll out your dough to your preferred size. 

Now it’s time to lay on the sauce, cheese, and whatever else your heart desires. Proceed to put it in the oven for roughly 10 minutes, until golden brown. Keep in mind, if your dough is thicker, you may want to cook it longer, and if it’s thinner, don’t cook it for so long. Consistently check on it every few minutes, otherwise you might end up with a rock instead. 

According to Carl Hanson’s recipe, “How to Make Pizza at Home That’s Better Than Takeout,” it’s important to frequently check on the pizza to make sure it’s cooking evenly. Every oven is different, so turn it multiple times if it’s not cooking evenly. 

You have now pulled your pizza out of the oven and it’s ready to eat. Be careful, it’s going to be extremely hot. Don’t wait too long though, you’ll want your cheese super melty. 

Not only is this pizza a good choice on any day of the week, but it’s a good choice for any occasion. Have yourself a movie night, date night, or wine night. You could even wrap that pizza in foil and take it on a picnic. The options are endless. 

Nick Perna, University of Tampa freshman says, “I love pizza. There’s no better way to eat it than homemade.” 

Perna also mentioned he’s had it on multiple occasions with his friends. Not only does he like eating it, but he enjoys making it with his friends. It provides them with an activity and food. What’s better than that?

The options are endless when it comes to homemade pizza. There are even alternatives to those that may have allergies preventing them from eating regular pizza. Many grocery stores have gluten free dough and lactose free cheese to accommodate some allergens. 

Save yourself the money of going out to dinner or ordering a pizza, and try making your own. I bet you won’t regret it!