Spent a long weekend on the road to and from Harrisonville, North Carolina.  (Only a few miles from where a most wanted bomber nut, on the loose for five years, was collared by a small town rookie cop.) Of course, the night before departure was all about packing clothes for the trip and the wedding to be attended.  Time for preparing dinner?  Zilch. 

Solution?  Order a pizza for $18 with tip, or pull one out of the freezer.  Go freezer!  We favor the DiGiorno Four Cheese Pizza.  If dressed up  with fresh slices of pepperoni (a must always), garnished with suitable leftovers--this time  cooked asparagus and a handful of sautéed shallots, and topped with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, you have, for about $8, a very very good pizza ready for the oven (photo).  Bake at 375F in a pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown. 

Pepperoni is air-dried sausage and will last in the fridge for months.  So too will Parmigiano-Reggiano, especially if vacuum wrapped.  Frozen pizzas are also vacuum wrapped.  So all the fixins can be right at home, waiting and ready.  We order one out now and then, but prefer the $8 option.

If you decide that this is the way to go, I recommend that you buy a "pizza baking stone,"  to fit your oven (about $30).  The hot stone does a better job than a baking sheet in producing a crisp pizza crust. Of course, the stone will pay for itself after only three homemade pizzas! Right?