Montana School Lunch Pizza Recipe

As a fat guy, I love food.

I talk about food, I write about food, heck, I've even had dreams about food. One of the things that I love about living in Montana is no matter your culinary preference, you'll find something you love.

READ MORE: Is the best Pizza in Montana found in a tiny tourist town?

From some of the best burgers in the country, to world class bar-b-q, Big Sky Country has so many different things to choose from. However, one of the things that I can't seem to find is a childhood favorite.

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I'm a proud product of the public school system (I'm not sure they want my endorsement), and one of the best days ever was School Pizza Day. I know that I'm not the only one who remembers that delicious slice of rectangular heaven.

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It was the perfect combination of crust, cheese, some kind of meat, and grease.

It's been years since I've had a slice, but I can still taste it. I'm not the only Montanan who longs for a slice of that odd-shaped heaven. Whenever we talk about "school lunch" on the radio, several folks bring up fond memories of the old pizza days.

I was told that back when Michelle Obama was the First Lady, there was a movement to make school lunch healthy again, so the beloved rectangular pizza went to culinary heaven. Whether that is true or not, what is true is that folks say the "new school lunch pizza" is nowhere near as good as it once was.

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Well, you can imagine how excited I was when I came across a recipe that claims to be the "OG". I'll be honest, I have yet to make it, but if anyone out there does and you need someone to sample it for you, I'm available. The recipe is as follows:

Crust:

2-2/3 cup flour

2 T sugar

1 package quick-rise yeast

1 tsp salt

1-2/3 cup warm water (110-115)

2 T vegetable oil

Filling:

1/2 lb Italian sausage

1/2 lb ground chuck

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 (8oz) block mozzarella cheese

Sauce (I make the day before):

1 (6oz) can tomato paste

1 1/2 cups water

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t salt

1 tsp of pepper

1/2 T dried oregano

1/2 T dried basil

1/2 t dried rosemary

Steps Crust:

Preheat oven to 475.

Spray 18 x 13 sheet pan with PAM and lay parchment paper down.

Add flour, powered milk, sugar, yeast, and salt to a large bowl. Whisk to blend.

Add oil to warm water. Pour into flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until batter forms. Don’t worry about lumps - you just want no dry spots.

Spread dough onto sheet pan with fingertips until even. If the dough doesn’t want to cooperate then let it rest for 5 min and try again.

Bake just the crust for 8-10 min.

Remove from oven and set aside.

Filling:

Brown meat (add salt and pepper) until it resembles crumbles. Drain and set aside.

Get out sauce.

Spread sauce all over the crust.

Sprinkle meats.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 475 for 8-10 min. Until cheese starts to brown.

Let stand 5 min, cut into slices and serve.

I would love to credit where credit is due; however, there was no one to give credit to as the recipe was posted on social media.

Once again, if anyone out there decides to tackle this, let me know how it works out. Did it turn out as well as you had hoped? Was it as good as you remember? Let me know by sending me a message on the app.

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