Goat Cheese Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

I made this pizza almost a month ago and haven't had a chance to post it until now.  Just thinking about it though is making my mouth water.  I rarely repeat recipes but this pizza features some of my favorite things....goat cheese, caramelized onions, and mushrooms! This was definitely a more time-consuming pizza to make, just in caramelizing the onions and sauteing the mushrooms.  But it is well worth it if you have the time!  My husband and I fnished this pizza off in one sitting, though I could probably have eaten the whole thing myself, or vice versa!  I always make the kids a plain cheese pizza to go with whatever specialty pizza I end up making.  My daughter eats none of the ingredients on this pizza and I snuck my son some goat cheese crumbles, since that's all he enjoys from this! 

Goat Cheese Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms
recipe adapted from Meatless Mediterranean

Ingredients:
1 Pizza dough 2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced into 1/2 rings
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
3-4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat pizza stone in oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Prepare the pizza crust to roughly form a 12-inch circle.

In a medium skillet, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium to medium-low heat, and saute the onion for 2 or 3 minutes, until the onion begins to soften. Turn the heat down to low, season with salt and pepper, and cook for another 25-35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to caramelize. Remove the onion from the skillet set aside.

In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and the garlic, along with salt and pepper to taste. Saute for 4-6 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked through and most of the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated. Remove the mushroom mixture from the heat and set aside.

Spread the ricotta cheese in a thin layer over pizza crust. Next spread the caramelized onions evenly over the ricotta. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the shredded mozzarella and the grated Parmesan. Top with the mushrooms and then the goat cheese. Top it off with the remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella.

Bake for 12-18 minutes, until golden.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing

Mommy & Daddy Rating: 2 thumbs up!

This post is shared at:
Foodtastic Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes
Tasty Thursdays @ The Mandatory Mooch

CPK BBQ Chicken Pizza

This recipe post is a bit belated, as our Supper Club is meeting tonight and this was one of last month's dishes that we made!  But I'm very behind in my recipe posting!  Last month's Supper Club theme was Restaurant Copy-Cats.  My husband and I were hosting so we were in charge of the main dishes.  As we were trying to come up with dishes to make, we realized that we don't visit chain restaurants enough to have favorite dishes to re-create.  Which of course is a good thing!  We did agree that we love CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) and the rare times we go there we split a pizza and a salad.  Our favorite pizza is the Thai Chicken Pizza, but different versions of Thai Chicken Pizza have already been made in the Supper Club (including one by myself!).  Although we've never actually had the BBQ Chicken Pizza at CPK this is the pizza recipe that we went with.  Everyone enjoyed this pizza.  My husband made the dough and doubled the recipe so we were fortunate to have leftovers for a couple of days!  Unfortunately, I never got a picture of the Outback Chopped Salad that we made as our other dish and there was none left over after our dinner (which again, is a good thing!).

CPK BBQ Chicken Pizza
Recipe slightly adapted from cdkitchen.com

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
10 ounces chicken breast, boned and skinned
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce plus 1/2 cup barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
1 cup Gouda cheese, shredded
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 small red onion, sliced into rings
2 tablespoons cilantro

Directions:
To make the dough: In a small bowl, dissolve the honey in the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir until it dissolves. Let the yeast mixture stand for 5 minutes, until a layer of foam forms on the surface. In a large bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the olive oil and the yeast mixture. Stir the flour into the wet ingredients, until all the flour is incorporated. If its too dry, add more water. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 15 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and put in in a well-oiled bowl. Cover with a moist towel and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk (about 1 1/2 hours).

One hour before baking the pizzas, start preheating the oven with pizza stones inside at 500 degrees F.

For the Chicken: In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Add chicken pieces. Saute until cooked (6 minutes). Chill. Coat chicken with 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce. Set aside in the refrigerator.

For the Pizza: Punch the dough down, and divide into equal serving portions. Roll out each portion into an 6-8 inch flat circle. Spread 1/4 cup barbecue sauce over the surface of the dough. Distribute 1/2 of the cheese over the sauce. Distribute 1/2 of the chicken over the cheese. Place half of the onion rings over the chicken pieces. Place the pizza in the oven (on top of pizza stones). Bake until crust is crispy and cheese is bubbling (8-10 minutes). Remove pizzas from the oven and sprinkle each with 1/2 of the cilantro.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Prosciutto-Mozza Pizza

It's been awhile since I've posted a pizza recipe.  We've still been eating it just about weekly in our house and I'm always on the look out for new recipes!  I had this recipe ripped out of an old Cooking Light Magazine and finally decided to try it.  I don't know why I didn't try it earlier.  It's only five ingredients, including fresh mozarella and prosciutto......yum?!!!  This was really simple but really tasty!  I will definitely be making this pizza again!

Prosciutto-Mozza Pizza
recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, June 2012

Ingredients:
1 pound refrigerated fresh pizza dough
2/3 cup lower-sodium marinara sauce
6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into 1/2-inch-wide strips

Directions:
1. Place a pizza stone or heavy baking sheet in oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. 

2. Roll the dough into a 14-inch circle on a lightly floured surface, and pierce entire surface liberally with a fork. Carefully remove pizza stone from oven and place dough on pizza stone. Spread sauce over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border; top with cheese. Bake at 450 degrees for 14 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is lightly browned. Remove from oven; brush outer crust with olive oil. Arrange prosciutto over pizza. Cut into 6 large slices.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Bacon, Brussels Sprouts, and Goat Cheese Pizza

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!  I'm wishing you all a happy and healthy 2013!  My husband took some days off of work and with almost everyone in my family being sick at one point over the past few weeks, I took some time off to spend some quality time with the family, rest, and relax! 

I have been continuing to make pizza almost weekly.  It's quick and easy, depending on what I put on it, and I know it's something that the kids love.  It's really hard to find meals that I know that both kids will eat and enjoy that don't involve pizza, mac & cheese, or chicken nuggets and french fries! I have been meaning to share this recipe for awhile now.  When I found it I immediately knew that I was going to be trying it out.  It includes three of my favorite ingredients on a pizza!!!  It couldn't be bad.....and it wasn't!!  All the flavors compliment each other really well.  I would definitely make this pizza again. 

Bacon, Brussels Sprouts and Goat Cheese Pizza
recipe from Pink Parsley, adapted from Shutterbean, via Cook Like a Champion

Ingredients:
1 lb pizza dough
4 pieces of bacon, chopped
5-6 Brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 Tbs olive oil, plus more for brushing the dough
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
1/2 cup shredded sharp aged white cheddar
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese

Directions:
Place a pizza stone or sheet pan in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.
Cook the bacon in a skillet, until just crispy and lightly browned, 4-5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.

In a medium bowl, toss the brussels sprouts with the shallots, garlic, oil, vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper.

Stretch the pizza dough into a 14-inch circle. Brush the perimeter with olive oil.

Sprinkle the dough with the cheddar and parmesan, leaving a thin border around the edge. Evenly distribute the brussels sprouts mixture, then top with the bacon and goat cheese.

Carefully transfer the pizza and parchment to the stone in the oven, and bake 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is browned and the toppings are cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cook 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Mommy & Daddy Rating:  1 1/2 thumbs up.

Reuben Pizza

We had leftover corned beef after I had made it in the slow cooker.  I wanted to make something with the leftovers, instead of just serving leftover corned beef.  So, I thought that I'd make a pizza since our family loves pizza so much.  My husband and I came up with the ingredients and discussed how I would make it.  As much as I love a good reuben every now and then I don't really like seeded rye bread.  I had to draw the line when my husband suggested that we add caraway seeds to the dough!  Overall, I think this sounded better in concept than it tasted.  Although my husband really enjoyed this I thought it was okay.  The kids surprisingly ate this, sauerkraut and all! 

Reuben Pizza
recipe by The Busy Mom (my own recipe)

Ingredients:
1 store bought pizza dough
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup sauerkraut
2-3 Tbps. Thousand Island dressing (or more if you prefer)
1 cup shredded corned beef
1 cup shredded swiss cheese

Directions:
Preheat pizza stone in oven at 450 degrees F.  Roll/stretch dough into desired shape and thickness.

Brush olive oil on dough, leaving approximately a 1-inch crust.  In a small bowl mix sauerkraut and thousand island dressing (use more dressing if you want it saucier).  Spread on prepared crust. Arrange corned beef on top.  Sprinkle swiss cheese on top.

Cook in oven for 12-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

This recipe is shared at:
Tastetastic Thursday @ A Little Nosh
Full Plate Thursday @ Mis Helen's Country Cottage
Creative Thursday @ Michelle's Tasty Creations

Three Cheese White Pizza with Spinach

Here is another pizza recipe.  This was made a couple of weeks ago. Pizza is made almost every week in our house.....but I don't want to over-do it with the pizza postings!  This is another vegetarian based pizza.  One that I knew the kids wouldn't like since they don't eat spinach. This was made during a week of other recipes that used ricotta.  I hate buying the big container of ricotta for one recipe and then throwing the rest out. I've tried to become more resourceful with ingredients and my cooking throughout the week.  Overall, this wasn't bad.....I don't think any pizza can be!  It wasn't one of our favorites but my husband and I did enjoy it.

Three Cheese White Pizza with Spinach
recipe from Cooking Light, June 2012

Ingredients:
1 pound refrigerated fresh pizza dough
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
6 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 1/2 cup)
2 ounces pecorino Romano cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk
1 garlic clove, minced

Directions:
1. Remove the dough from refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature, covered, for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat pizza stone in oven to 450°
3. Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and sliced garlic in a large skillet. Heat over medium-high heat 1 1/2 minutes or until the garlic begins to sizzle. Add 6 cups spinach; sauté 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Set aside.

4. Combine cheeses, milk, and minced garlic in a bowl.

5. Roll dough into a 14-inch circle on a lightly floured surface, and pierce entire surface liberally with a fork. Place dough on pizza stone. Spread cheese mixture over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Bake at 500° for 10 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is lightly browned. Top with spinach; bake an additional 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from oven; brush outer crust with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil. Cut into 6 large slices.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Meatless Monday: Zucchini Pizza

Another pizza recipe here for you!  I know I've mentioned numerous times that pizza is almost a weekly dinner staple in my house.  It's really quick and easy (depending on what you put on it!) and so much healthier to make it yourself than eating what you get from the local pizzeria. Just to note, I do not make my own pizza dough.  The store sells dough for less than $2 each and we like it.  I knew my kids weren't going to eat this, so they got a plain pizza.  But I love zucchini and wanted to try this recipe out.  The original recipe, linked below, called for zucchini ribbons.  I thought grating it would make for more manageable bites. My husband really enjoyed this pizza.  He liked the flavors of the dressing that the zucchini was mixed in.  I thought that this recipe wasn't bad, but not a favorite. It was definitely something different that we had never had before!

Zucchini Pizza
recipe very slightly adapted from A Cozy Kitchen

Ingredients:
10-ounce pizza dough (homemade or store-bought)
3 tablespoons tomato sauce
3 ounces mozzarella (low-moisture), thinly sliced
1 large zucchini, grated
1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 shallot, minced
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
1. Make your pizza dough or grab your store-bought pizza dough.

2. Preheat pizza stone in oven to 475 F degrees. Stretch out your pizza dough into desired shape.

3. Add the tomato sauce to the center of the pizza dough, spreading it evenly. Arrange the cheese over the tomato sauce. Mozzarella melts and spreads like crazy so don’t put too much. Transfer the pizza to the preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges of the pizza are golden brown.

4. Meanwhile, grab the zucchini, cut off the ends and grate. Set aside.

5. In a medium bowl, add red wine vinegar and using a whisk, slowly add the olive oil until it emulsifies. Add the Dijon mustard, minced shallot and mix until combined. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss the zucchini with the dressing until lightly coated.

5. Open the oven and carefully place the zucchini mixture atop the pizza. Bake for an additional 1-2 minutes, until zucchini is warm.

Mommy & Daddy Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Meatless Monday: Pizza Margherita

I've decided that next year I think I'm going to stick to an herb garden out on the deck.  I just have trouble with my container gardening!  But the basil plant that my mother gave me thrived and I was able to use fresh basil throughout the summer.  Although we eat lots of pizza I've rarely eaten a Margherita pizza.  I don't know why.  I made this pizza which was super easy (so few ingredients!), quick, and delicious!  I made a plain pizza for the kids, as usual.  But I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this.  It's a great summer pizza when ripe tomatoes are in season and basil is thriving in herb gardens.

Pizza Margherita
recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, September 2008

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 store bought pizza dough
1 tomato, sliced thin
3 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced thin
handful of fresh basil leaves

Directions:
1. Position an oven rack in the lowest setting. Place a pizza stone on the lowest oven rack.

2. Preheat oven to 450°.

3. Gently brush 1/2 teaspoon oil over pizza dough. Pat tomato slices with a paper towel. Arrange cheese over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Top with tomato slices. Slide dough onto preheated pizza stone, using a spatula as a guide.

4. Bake at 500° for 9 minutes or until crust is golden. Remove from pizza stone. Drizzle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with basil.

Mommy & Daddy Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Garlic Ranch Chicken Pizza

I have been making pizza weekly now for the past couple of months.  I normally buy two packages of dough from the store and make one new pizza recipe and one plain cheese pizza for the kids.  My husband and I share the specialty pizza.  He usually eats his half of the pizza in one sitting.  I like to eat one piece for dinner and save my other half for lunch the next day.  I made sure that to remind him not to take my pizza to work for his lunch the next day after what happened with our last pizza.  When I made the Peach Gorgonzola Chicken pizza (which was delicious!) he ended up taking my leftover piece to work and eating it for lunch!  And I was so looking forward to eating it myself!  I told him that he just wanted me to make it again!  Well, this Garlic Ranch Chicken pizza is just as tasty! I was so confident that my daughter would enjoy this pizza that I ended up making two of them, instead of one plain pizza!  And she did like it!  This was an opportunity for the kids to try bacon bits for the first time.  As my husband pointed out, it's just flavored soy bits really.  There's actually no bacon in bacon bits.  Of course, they're salty and crunchy so they were a hit with the kids!  We all enjoyed this pizza and it's another one that I wouldn't mind making again!

Garlic Ranch Chicken Pizza
recipe from Tidy Mom

Ingredients:
1 pizza crust
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 tomato,sliced and diced
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 Parmesan cheese
8 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast halves, diced
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
garlic (to taste)
bacon bits
1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1 teaspoon pepper (to taste)

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2.Put pizza crust on pizza stone, drizzle with olive oil and spread over crust with brush.

3.Saute chicken in skillet with olive oil and garlic (I used 1tsp of the jarred minced garlic).

4.Spread Ranch dressing over crust.

5.Sprinkle with cooked chicken, cheeses, tomatoes, green onions and bacon bits.
6.Place in oven for 20 mins. or until cheese is melted. Let rest for several minutes, then cut and serve.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Peach and Gorgonzola Chicken Pizza

My children love fruit.  I love the summer when they can eat their fill of peaches, plums, watermelon, and berries.  Although I always give them fruit at breakfast, I've been trying to incorporate it into dinner too.....since they're not the biggest veggie eaters.  Our family loves pizza and I'm always trying out new pizza recipes.  I can't remember the last time that I had a pizzeria slice of pizza!  My son enjoyed this pizza but he loves cheese of all kinds.  I made half of a plain pizza for my daughter, my non-cheese loving child.  My husband and I loved this pizza!  The tang of the gorgonzola with the sweetness of the peaches and balsamic reduction was delicious!  I'm definitely going to be making this again.  I only had one piece of the pizza and my husband "accidentally" took the piece I was saving for lunch the next day to work with him for his lunch. 
 

Peach and Gorgonzola Chicken Pizza
recipe from Cooking Light, May 2011

Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pizza dough
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup shredded cooked chicken breast
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1 medium unpeeled peach, thinly sliced
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions:
1. Preheat pizza stone in oven to 400°.

2. Shape pizza dough to desired shape and thickness. Place on heated pizza stone Brush 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil evenly over crust. Top evenly with 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, chicken, Gorgonzola cheese, and peach slices. Top with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 11 minutes or until crust browns.

3. Place vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 5 minutes). Drizzle balsamic reduction evenly over pizza.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Ham and Pineapple French Bread Pizza

My family loves bread.  We are big carb lovers in this house! I originally found a recipe for Ham and Pineapple Pizza subs in Cooking Light.  This recipe was inspired by the one that I saw in my magazine.  The original recipe called for refrigerated crusty French bread dough.  I thought to myself, why don't I buy a loaf of French bread instead and cut out some cooking time.  We recently went through a brutal heat spell and I wanted the oven on as short of a time as possible.  However, when I went to the grocery store, they didn't have any French bread!!!  They were having a one-day sale on Italian bread and the worker at the bakery counter told me that they were only baking Italian bread.  I did score a warm, fresh-out of the oven loaf though from her.  Honestly, it was very difficult for me not to rip into that loaf and eat the bread right there.  While we are big pizza eaters in our house I don't think that the kids ever had "french" bread pizza before now.  Like I said, they love bread....and they loved this pizza!  This was a big hit and was super quick and easy to make. I may have to try making some other versions of this type of pizza.

Ham and Pineapple "French" Bread Pizza
recipe inspired by Cooking Light, November 2011

Ingredients:
1 loaf Italian bread
1 cup tomato sauce
1 ham steak
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 can (8 oz) diced pineapple, drained

Directions:
1.Heat ham steak in small saute pan, cooking 2-3 minutes on each side to brown and heat through.  Once warmed, dice ham into small cubes.

2. Preheat broiler to high. 

3. Cut bread in half laying both sides open on foil-lined cookie sheet.  Spread tomato sauce evenly over both sides. Sprinkle ham, shredded mozzarella, and diced pineapple on top. 

4.  Broil approximately 3 minutes until toasty and browned.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Antipasto Pizza

Our family loves pizza.  It's become a weekly staple in our house.  The variations are endless!  Earlier this week I made a savory Italian bread pudding.  I had enough ingredients leftover to make this recipe.  Perfect!  I hate wasting ingredients and have gotten much better about using leftover ingredients from one recipe in other recipes.  This pizza was super easy to prepare.  There were no sauces that needed to be pre-made or chicken that needed to be cooked. Next time I might add artichoke hearts and/or marinated mushrooms to give it a little more flavor. Overall though we enjoyed it.  Even my son ate this pizza (minus the roasted red peppers, but he did try a bite!). 

Antipasto Pizza
recipe slightly adapted from Taste and Tell

Ingredients:
1 store bought pizza dough
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup diced salami
1 cup roasted red peppers, sliced
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:
Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 450F.

Prepare and roll out your pizza dough. Top with the mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle on the salami, red peppers and olives. Top with the parmesan.

Bake in the preheated oven until the dough is cooked and browned and the cheese is melted, 10-12 minutes.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

The Weekend Chef: Peach, Prosciutto & Goat-Cheese Pizza

Another pizza recipe.  Believe me, I will never tire of eating homemade pizza.  Especially because the toppings are limitless!  Just the name of this pizza had me drooling.  Peaches, prosciutto, and goat cheese.....delicious!  My husband was nice enough to make this pizza the other night while I went to a zumba class.  So, when I got home my pizza wasn't as hot as I like I like it.  Regardless, I was expecting deliciousness.  Unfortunately, what I got was just okay.  The prosciutto got a bit hard and chewy.  I'm thinking maybe some caramelized onions might perk it up a little bit.  Maybe my expectations were too high!  I may have to try this one again in the future with some adaptations, because I feel like it has so much potential.

Peach, Prosciutto, & Goat-Cheese Pizza
recipe slightly adapted from epicurious.com

Ingredients:
1 store-bought pizza dough
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 firm-ripe peaches, cut into thin wedges and halved crosswise
8 very thin prosciutto slices, torn into pieces
3 oz soft mild goat cheese, crumbled

Preparation:
Put pizza stone in lowest position of oven and preheat oven to highest setting 500–550°F.
Shape dough into desired thickness and shape.

Brush dough with some oil and top each with peaches, prosciutto, and cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake until crisp and golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Drizzle remaining oil over pizza.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Prosciutto Pizza with Tangy White Sauce

I know that I've mentioned numerous times how much my family loves pizza.  It's been a weekly staple at our house now for the past couple of months.  It's so easy to make (of course depending on what is put on top of it!) and there are so many different types to make, that it's never the same old plain pizza for us!  We don't get tired of it!  I saw this recipe and it looked delicious.....and let me tell you, it definitely was!  My husband and I are big fans of prosciutto.  I rarely cook with it though because it's expensive and my kids don't like it.  Although, as with this pizza, in small quantities it can be very cheap!  This pizza was delicious!  My son picked the prosciutto off of his and ate the cheese sauce and dough.  I always make a plain pizza for my daughter so she ate that.  I would definitely make this again....and I normally don't repeat recipes!

Prosciutto Pizza with Tangy White Sauce
recipe slightly adapated from Cooking Light, November 2011

Ingredients:
1 store-bought pizza dough
3/4 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, torn
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

Preparation:
1.  Place a pizza stone on oven rack and preheat to 450°.

4. Combine milk and next 3 ingredients (through egg yolk) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add garlic to pan; cook for 3 minutes or just until butter and garlic begin to brown, stirring frequently. Add 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour to pan, and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in milk mixture, and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly with a whisk. Spread sauce in an even layer over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border; sprinkle sauce evenly with cheese. Slide pizza onto preheated pizza stone. Bake at 450° for 12-15 minutes or until crust is golden. Arrange prosciutto on pizza, and sprinkle with chives.

Mommy & Daddy rating:  2 thumbs up!

Meatless Monday: Spinach and Potato Pizza

In the past I have joined a couple of different gyms.  Due to moving and/or rare use I ended up ending those memberships.  For the past couple of months I have been trying to get in shape on my own via exercise DVDs.  However, I'm really not disciplined enough and lacked motivation to really see any improvements.  This past week I ended up joining a local gym.  It's not one of the nation-wide chains and I feel like we're paying a fortune for me to go.   However, it's really close to the house, they have a pool, tennis courts, and tons of exercise classes.  They even have a women's only room with weight and exercise machines. Even with the cost, my husband has been very supportive of my decision.  I'm not going to diet on a program but I'm hoping to cook a little healthier for the family. 

Pizza is pretty much a weekly dinner menu staple in our house.  I love finding new pizza recipes.  When I saw this one in All You magazine I thought it sounded like a good vegeterian pizza.  My husband ended making this one for us.  It was quick and easy and really tasty!  I liked getting the extra veggies into my diet!  Of course we made a plain pizza for the kids. 

Spinach and Potato Pizza
recipe slightly adapted from All You , November 2011
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 store bought pizza dough
8 ounces Yukon gold potatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
8 ounces shredded Gruyère

Preparation:
1. Preheat pizza stone in oven to 475ºF.  Spread pizza dough out to desired shape/thickness.  Toss potatoes with 1 Tbsp. oil and scatter over dough. Sprinkle with salt. Scatter spinach over potatoes. Sprinkle with cheese.

2. Bake until underside of crust is golden and cheese is bubbling, about 12-15 minutes.

Mommy & Daddy rating:  1 1/2 thumbs up.

Shared with Makin' You Crave Monday

Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese

I am excited to be participating in Tina from Moms Crazy Cooking May Crazy Cooking Challenge.  I've been having so much fun participating these last few months!  This month's challenge was grilled cheese.  Cheese and bread seem simple enough.  But there were soooo many delicious looking grilled cheese sandwich recipes out there that it was so hard to choose just one!  This is definitely one of her challenges that I will be going back to and making recipes that the other participants posted!  Grilled cheese is such a quick and easy meal and the variations are endless!  After looking at lots of different sandwiches I finally settled on this Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese.  Becase we love pizza and grilled cheese so combining the two had to be good, right?!  Definitely right!  The compound butter crisped up on the bread giving it a tasty, flavorful crunch!  Plus you had the gooey mozzeralla cheese with the pepperoni and olives.....yum!  Unfortunately, my daughter doesn't like mozzerlla cheese when it's not on pizza.  So, she ended up scraping the cheese off eating a toasted pepperoni sandwich.  My son gobbled his sandwich up (it's a winner!).  I could have totally eaten another one of these sandwiches, but controlled myself after just one!

Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese
from Never Enough Thyme...when Lana's Cooking

Ingredients:
For the compound butter:
4 tblsp. softened butter
2-3 tblsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. dried oregano
dash of salt

For the sandwiches:
Bread of your choice
Prepared pizza sauce
Sliced or grated mozzarella cheese
Sliced black olives
Thinly sliced pepperoni

Directions:
Combine all ingredients for the compound butter in a small bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined.

Assemble the sandwiches: For each sandwich, spread a small amount of pizza sauce on the surface of two slices of bread. On the bottom slice, add the mozzarella cheese, black olives, and pepperoni. Top with second slice of bread.

Spread the top of the assembled sandwiches with a generous amount of compound butter. Place the sandwiches, buttered side down in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until bread is nicely grilled. While the first side is grilling, butter the second side of the sandwich. Turn sandwiches over and cook until the second side is toasted.

Place skillet with sandwiches in preheated oven for 5-6 minutes or until the cheese is melted.Remove from oven and serve immediately.
 
Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up!
 

Greek Pizza

Pizza is usually a weekly meal at our house.  When I was growing up, Friday night was always pizza night, but it was from the local pizzeria.  I can't remember the last time that our family had pizzeria pizza! My daughter loves it though, so luckily, it's a staple at Kindergarten birthday parties.  When I saw this pizza recipe I had to try it.  I'm always on the lookout for new variations of pizza and this one had flavors that I knew we (meaning my husband and I!) would enjoy.  I ended up not needing a whole can of artichoke hearts or olives and had leftover cheese, tomato and onions.  Lucky me, my husband made me a Greek omelet with the leftovers the next morning!  Delish!

Greek Pizza
recipe adapted from For the Love of Cooking

Ingredients:
1 store-bought pizza dough
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 can tomato sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Feta cheese
1/2 14 oz. can quartered artichoke hearts
1/2 6 oz. can sliced olives
1 Red onion, sliced thinly
1 Roma tomato, sliced thinly
Penzys Pasta Sprinkle

Directions:
Preheat pizza stone in oven at 425 degrees.
 
In a small frying pan on medium heat melt butter and saute red onion slices until wilted.


Roll the dough into whatever shape and size of pizza you desire.  Evenly spread sauce, mozzarella, artichoke hearts, tomato slices, red onions, sliced olives, feta cheese and Penzys pasta sprinkle on top.

Place in the oven and bake for 10-14 minutes or until desired crispiness.


Mommy & Daddy Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Ham and Pineapple Pizza

Home-made pizza has become almost a weekly dinner staple in our house.  It's cheap, quick, easy to make, and tastes so good!  Plus, the variations are endless.  I can't remember the last time we ordered a pizza.  Although I've eaten variatons on "Hawaiian" pizza I had never made it before.  My kids love ham and pineapple so I thought it would be a winner.  It pretty much was, although we discovered that our daughter who loves pineapple, does not like it warm, on her pizza.  My son really liked it.  I ended up making two pizzas, one for the adults with the crushed red pepper, and one for the kids without.

Ham and Pineapple Pizza
recipe adapted from Cooking Light, December 2001

Ingredients:
1 store bought pizza dough
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon Penzys Pasta Sprinkle
1/2 cup (2-inch) julienne-cut cooked ham
1 (8-ounce) can pineapple tidbits in juice, drained
3/4 cup (3 ounces) preshredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
 
Preparation:
Preheat pizza stone in oven at 450°.

Roll out/shape dough into desired shape. Spread sauce evenly over the pizza crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle Pasta Sprinkle on sauce.  Top with ham, pineapple, and cheese; sprinkle with red pepper. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until the crust is crisp.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Meatless Mondays: Roasted Beet Pizza

I love beets.  Especially roasted and eaten with goat cheese.  I had not yet tried beets on pizza so when I found this recipe I had to give it a try.  The original recipe called for a golden beet, which my grocery store didn't have.  So, I had to use a regular red beet.  Of course the recipe also called for a drizzle of honey at the end, which was when I realized that I had no honey in the house!  :(  I think the recipe would have tasted much better with that honey.  My husband and I ate it but both thought it was missing something (maybe the honey?!!).  I'm thinking the honey would have helped.  I didn't enjoy it enough to try making it again though.  Especially when there are so many more pizza recipes to try!  If you are a beet lover though I recommend giving it a try...just make sure you have some honey!

 
Roasted Beet Pizza (Pizza alla Barbabietola Arrostito)
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light, September 2008

Ingredients:
1 (4-ounce) beet
2 teaspoons olive oil
1store bought pizza dough
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup vertically sliced shallots
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Leave root and 1 inch of stem on beet; scrub with a brush. Wrap beet in foil. Bake at 450° for 40 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven; cool. Trim off beet root; rub off skin. Cut beet in half crosswise; thinly slice halves.

3.  In a small pan heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil.  Add shallots and saute for 4-5 minutes until tender.

4. Position an oven rack in the lowest setting. Place a pizza stone on lowest rack.

5. Gently brush the other teaspoon of oil over pizza dough. Arrange cheese, beet slices, and shallots evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Slide dough onto preheated pizza stone, using a spatula as a guide.
6. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes or until crust is golden. Remove from pizza stone. Sprinkle with salt. Cut into 8 wedges.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Meatless Monday: Peach, Basil, Mozzarella, & Balsamic Pizza

Okay, is your mouth watering from reading the title of this recipe?!!  Mine sure was.  As soon as I saw it I thought, "I have to make this!"  Lucky me, peaches were on sale at the grocery store for $1.49/lb!  I was definitely worried that they wouldn't be sweet enough since this recipe was originally posted in the summer, when peaches are in season, juicy, and delicious.  I made sure to pick out the ripest, softest peaches that I could find and they were surprisingly tasty. The original recipe made enough for two pizzas.  I knew my daughter wasn't going to eat this so I halved everything to make one pizza.  Maria and Josh also made their own pizza dough (check out the link below to go to their site for the recipe!). I liked the salty/sweet combo and the balsamic reduction was delicious!  This was also really quick and easy to make.

Peach, Basil, Mozzarella, & Balsamic Pizza
Recipe adapted From Two Peas and Their Pod 
Original Recipe found at: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/peach-basil-mozzarella-balsamic-pizza/

Ingredients:
For the balsamic reduction:
1 cup balsamic vinegar

For the pizza:
1 store bought pizza dough
1 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces fresh mozzarella-sliced
2 peaches-thinly sliced
1/4 cup freshly chopped basil

Directions:
To make the balsamic reduction:

1. Pour balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan, bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the vinegar has reduced to 1/4 cup. Set aside, and cool to room temperature.

To make the pizza:
1. Preheat pizza stone in oven at 450 degrees F.
2. Roll out pizza dough to desired shape/thickness. Lightly brush the dough with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Top the dough with fresh mozzarella rounds, peach slices, and fresh basil. Drizzle the pizza with balsamic reduction.

3. Place the pizza in the oven-directly on the pizza stone.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until pizza crust is golden and cheese is melted.
4. Let the pizza cool for a few minutes and then cut into slices and serve warm.

Mommy & Daddy Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.