Pizza is a popular meal choice when you are short on time and can pick one up on the run, but making one at home can also be a quick task with a few smart shortcuts and can be a fun family event as kids can assist with assembly.

For tips on making a pizza at home that far surpasses the taste of a frozen variety, we turned to some of the experts in the region who make them daily. Debbie Tremb, owner of the Zuni's Pizzeria locations in Dyer and Cedar Lake, also makes pizzas in her home kitchen for her family and had several hints for home preparation.

While all the crust in their restaurant is made from scratch, she said it is a long process and suggests using a pre-made refrigerated dough or making it even easier by using Boboli pizza crust, which comes right out of the package and onto the baking sheet.

And depending on how crunchy you like your crust, you might want to consider a different method than the cookie sheet. Some prefer to place a pizza directly on the rack, but it can get messy. Tremb said she has a Pampered Chef baking stone that she uses for her pizzas, which keeps the crust from getting soggy.

Derrick Stevens, executive chef and banquet manager at the Chesterton Popolano's location said that if you can find a metal pizza pan with holes in it, which he has seen at Bed, Bath and Beyond and other locations, it will help get hot air underneath the pizza crust and help to make the crust crisp.

"You can also cook the pizza crust as high as the temperature goes on your oven, usually 450 or 500 degrees and brown the crust for five minutes before adding toppings," he said.

When it come to toppings, Stevens advises home cooks to avoid raw meat because home ovens don't get hot enough to cook the meat in the time it takes the rest of the pizza to cook. Pre-cooking or partially cooking meats is what he recommends to be on the safe side.

"It also wouldn't hurt to pre-cook vegetables or partially cook them. You can sauté them a little first," he said.

Tremb said their secret to keeping vegetables moist is placing them under the cheese, rather than on top.

"Everything we use is fresh, but for at home, they stay moister from the can," said Tremb.

When it comes to cheese, both Tremb and Stevens are fans of cheese blends.

Tremb said you can experiment with different cheeses added to either while milk or skim mozzarella and recommends provolone to get a chewy consistency. She said each pizzeria usually has its own special blend, but provolone is the cheese that gives that stringy quality to a pizza. So, when you pull a slice away from the pizza and get that long string that doesn't want to let go -- that's usually due to the provolone.

Stevens said that a blend of whole milk and skim mozzarella usually works well and other cheeses can be added. However, he said that mozzarella should always be the base of a blend.

"With mozzarella you get the even bubbling and good flavor," he said, adding the recommendation that a blend always be at least 25 percent mozzarella. His other tip when it comes to cheese: "Don't buy cheap cheese. It will reflect in the taste of the pizza. Suputo is a good brand if you can find it. It's one of the only mainstream Italian brands you can sometimes find at a grocery store."

Now that you're ready to heat up the oven, don't think you have to stick to pepperoni, mushrooms and the other standard toppings. Pizza today have become versatile and often reflects different ethnic food styles.

Stevens said that a popular pizza on their menu is a tequila lime pizza, which has a jalapeno/ranch sauce atop a standard pizza crust with shrimp, red onions, tomato, guacamole and cilantro.

According to Tremb, several specialty pizzas have become best sellers at her place, including a barbecue chicken pizza, a honey mustard pizza, chicken parmesan pizza and a taco pizza. The barbecue chicken pizza has barbecue sauce in place of pizza sauce topped with chicken, mozzarella cheese and jalapeno peppers. She said she makes the pizza at home for her son and the sauce she uses is Sweet Baby Ray's.

The honey mustard pizza comes on a standard crust with honey mustard in place of pizza sauce. It is then topped with marinated chicken breast, bacon and mozzarella cheese.

The chicken parmesan pizza, a popular menu item, comes with marinara in place of traditional sauce and grilled chicken with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.

Taco pizza is one that she said is a fun choice for making at home. A traditional crust and sauce are used and topped with browned, seasoned ground beef. You can use a bag of shredded taco cheese blend from the store. After you bake it, you top it with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and crunched up tortilla chips. Salsa and sour cream are served on the side. If desired, jalapeno peppers can be added.

A great advantage to cooking pizza at home is that you can tailor it to your own taste.

If you prefer the deep dish variety, don't be afraid to give it a try at home, as well. Stevens gave simple directions for putting one together.

Start with a pie tin or a round dish with at least a 1-inch lip. Fill with pre-made refrigerated dough, overlapping the sides. Cheese goes in first, then toppings, then sauce (like an upside-down pizza, he said.) Bake at about 400 degrees until the middle bubbles.

Tips for baking pizza at home

* Add spices to your sauce rather than sprinkling them on top of the pizza

* Use refrigerated crust or Boboli crust to save time

* Blend different cheeses for a better flavor (provolone is a good addition.)

* Used canned mushrooms at home so they don't get dried out

* Always put vegetables beneath cheese to keep toppings moist

* Use precooked meats

* Use a pizza stone for a crisp crust

* Let pizza sit for a couple minutes before cutting to let the cheese set

SOURCE: Debbie Tremb (Zuni's Pizzeria)

* Use a pizza pan with holes in it for a crisper crust or put oven to highest temperature and brown crust for five minutes before adding toppings

* Always pre-cook or partially cook meats

* Sauté vegetables in advance

* Don't use cheap cheese

* If blending cheeses, make sure mozzarella makes up at least one-fourth of that blend

* Make a quick sauce with five basic ingredients n tomato puree, tomato paste, sugar, salt and oregano

SOURCE: Derrick Stevens (Popolano's)

Want to find a recipe?

For recipe ideas for making your own pizza at home, visit recipepizza.com.