PIZZA – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

Italian Garlic Sausage Pink Alfredo Homemade Pizza ~ Favorite Ingredient Friday

I developed this recipe February 27, 2009 when we first moved from the west coast to the Upper Peninsula. We really couldn’t find a pizza that came even close to what we liked so I tried hard to mimic our favorite Round Table pizza, their Italian Garlic Supreme. It has been in need of a picture update for many years and I think I finally got a great picture when I made it last week during our stay at home stint.

ITALIAN GARLIC SAUSAGE PINK ALFREDO PIZZA

CRUST
1 cup of warm water (105F)
3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 teaspoons of honey
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of yeast

Put warm water into a bowl. Add salt, sugar and honey and mix well. Add the yeast, mix and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
Gradually add the flour and olive oil until well blended.
When the mixture gets too heavy to mix, start kneading the dough with your hands.
Knead the dough until you have a smooth ball. If the dough cracks it is too dry. Add water bit by bit until if forms a nice smooth ball. If you need to add water or flour, do it by small amounts.
Coat the dough with olive oil, place it in a large bowl and cover it with kitchen wrap and a flour sack towel. Let the dough rise for about an hour at room temperature, then push it down again so it deflates. Let it sit for about another hour. Either bake it or refrigerate for later use.
Put the dough on a lightly floured surface, put a bit of flour on top and make it into the shape of a pie by stretching it out from the center outwards. Use a rolling pin until the dough is about 1/4″ thick. Punch some holes in the dough with a fork to let the air escape while the pizza is in the oven

PINK ALFREDO SAUCE
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon minced garlic, jar
1 tablespoon Classico sun-dried tomato paste
1 egg yolk, beaten
1/4 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in a saucepan.
Add garlic and saute until fragrant.
Gradually add heavy cream, stirring constantly. Stir in salt, pepper and grated Parmesan cheese and stir constantly until melted.
Whisk in egg quickly and heat through.

TOPPINGS
Enough pepperoni to cover pizza
Enough crumbled cooked sausage to cover dough
Thinly sliced mushrooms
Thinly sliced green onions
1 tomato, diced small
2/3 cup grated mozzarella

Coat dough with a layer of sauce
Evenly sprinkle the crumbled sausage over the sauce
Follow with the mushrooms, green onions and tomatoes
Evenly sprinkle the cheese over it all
Top with the pepperoni
Bake the pizza at 400-450° F for about 20-25 minutes until the crust is golden.

♥

PEPPERONI & TOMATO BASIL SQUARES

PEPPERONI & TOMATO BASIL SQUARES

1 batch pizza dough or 10 ounce Pillsbury pizza crust
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated to 2 cups
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup pepperoni pieces
2 tablespoons FRESH basil leaf pieces + a tablespoon or so for garnish
2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 ROMA tomatoes, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 375°.
Roll crust to 12×15 inches on a pizza stone or baking sheet.
Sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and pepperoni pieces.
Arrange tomato slices evenly over top.
Combine mayonnaise, basil pieces, Parmesan cheese, garlic and remaining mozzarella cheese until well blended.
Top with cheese mixture and spread evenly.
Bake 15-20 minutes until golden and bubbly.
Cut and serve warm.

ITALIAN GARLIC SUPREME – NUMERO UNO / ROUND TABLE PIZZA COMBO

One of the things we miss most here is our favorite pizza. Round table Pizza has an Italian Garlic Supreme that is our ALL time favorite pizza. When I was a kid though my favorite was NUMERO UNO, a southern California local favorite. So I set out to try and recreate both of these and believe I have actually succeeded.

ITALIAN GARLIC SUPREME
1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees ONLY – If it is to hot, it will kill the yeast!

1 package or 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons whole milk

1tablespoon melted butter

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon avocado oil*

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon corn meal
3 cups flour
TOPPINGS
1 tablespoon avocado oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup favorite pizza sauce
1/2 pound cooked and crumbled mild Italian sausage
Pepperoni slices
Mozzarella cheese
chopped green onions
chopped tomatoes

*I am probably the only person in the western hemisphere that does NOT like olive oil. Feel free to substitute it for the avocado oil if you prefer.

Add water, sugars and yeast to a bowl and stir well. Let sit 5 minutes until creamy.
Add milk, butter, oil, salt and corn meal to yeast mixture and mix with wire-whisk until well blended.
Pour into mixer bowl.
Add 2 1/2 cups of flour and mix with paddle for 5 minutes on low.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and form dough into a ball. Pour remaining flour (1/2 cup) around the outsides. Use dough hook, and mix for 5 minutes on low.
Remove dough from mixer and place in a well greased glass bowl large enough to allow the dough to double in size.
Place damp towel on top of bowl, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in size. (for best results, place bowl in a 180 degree oven – keep the towel damp)
- Cut dough in half.
- On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin and roll dough to your desired thickness and shape. If your using a metal pizza pan, or a cookie sheet, lightly grease the surface and sprinkle graciously with corn meal.
- Place shaped dough on the pizza pan and let rise for 10 minutes.
- Brush with garlic and oil mixture.
- Add toppings. (save green onions and tomatoes for the last 5 minutes)

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Place pizzas in preheated oven and cook for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375 degrees, and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the pizza looks done.

If you’re only making one pizza you can freeze the other one for up to 3 months. When you are ready to use it, thaw overnight in the refrigerator or for at least 12 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature about 30 minutes before stretching out the pizza.

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BAKING PARTNERS CHALLENGE #10 – PIZZA

We are a group of home bakers helping each other to achieve baking perfection. Baking partners was begun by Swathi at Zesty South Indian Kitchen. In order to achieve the best results, a perfect recipe and the right techniques are required. We are a small group of home bakers, who love to bake and want to learn more about the tips and secrets of baking and baking well. We are planning to try out recipes from books/magazines and cooking shows. Every member gets a chance to present their choice of recipe and share important points with the rest of the group. The main purpose of this group is to learn the techniques, critic procedures if there are ways to improve and to eat delicious food.

THIS MONTH WE ARE MAKING NEW YORK STYLE PIZZA AND SAUCE – YAY! I chose Archana of Tangy Minds recipe because we love thin or original crusts. Recipe adapted from SeriousEats

Ingredients for the thin crust:

22 1/2 ounces (about 4 1/2 cups) bread flour, plus more for dusting

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons instant yeast

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

15 ounces lukewarm water

Ingredients for making its NY Style pizza sauce

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes or Fresh Tomatoes.

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 medium cloves garlic, grated

1 teaspoon dried oregano

pinch red pepper flakes

Kosher salt

2 six-inch sprigs fresh basil with leaves attached

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and split in half

1 teaspoon sugar

Toppings:

Any sliced or chopped veggies of your choice such as capscium, sliced onions, mushrooms. Also you can add paneer or sliced jalapenos or even fruit such as pineapple. I used very thinly sliced mushrooms.

Any Meat as you like. Preferable pre-cooked Chicken pieces if you want. It is optional. I used super thin pepperoni just under the cheese.

CHEESE – 1 to 2 cups (depends on the size of the pizza) grated cheese – Parmesan or Mozzarella Cheese.

For Making the sauce:

Pulse the tomatoes and their juice in food processor / Mixie until pureed, or puree with hand blender. Puree should not be completely smooth, but should have no chunks larger than 1/16 of an inch. Set tomatoes aside.
Combine butter and oil in medium saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Add garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and large pinch salt and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil sprigs, onion halves, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to lowest setting (bubbles should barely be breaking the surface), and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by 1/2, about 1 hour. Season to taste with salt. Allow to cool and store in covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

For Making the thin crust pizza:

Combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in bowl of food processor or in a bowl. Pulse 3 to 4 times until incorporated if you have food processor. otherwise mix well together with the help of the whisk . Add olive oil and water. Run food processor until mixture forms ball that rides around the bowl above the blade, about 15 seconds. Continue processing 15 seconds longer. Those who don’t have food processor. try it with hand mixer or stand mixer or knead it with your hands and how are you kneading like chappati/roti dough.
Transfer dough ball to lightly floured surface and knead once or twice by hand until smooth ball is formed. It should pass the windowpane test. Divide dough into three even parts and place each in a covered quart-sized deli container or in a zipper-lock freezer bag. Place in refrigerator and allow to rise at least one day, and up to 5.
At least two hours before baking, remove dough from refrigerator and shape into balls by gathering dough towards bottom and pinching shut. Flour well and place each one in a separate medium mixing bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise at warm room temperature until roughly doubled in volume.
1 hour before baking, Preheat oven to 400°F. Turn single dough ball out onto lightly flour surface. Gently press out dough into rough 8-inch circle, leaving outer 1-inch higher than the rest. Gently stretch dough by draping over knuckles into a 12 to 14-inch circle about 1/4-inch thick. Transfer to pizza pan.
Spread approximately 2/3 cup of sauce evenly over surface of crust, leaving 1/2 to 1-inch border along edge. Add toppings of your choice evenly and spread 1/3 of cheese over sauce evenly.
Bake until cheese is melted with some browned spots and crust is golden brown and puffed, 10 to 15 minutes or varies depends on your oven.
Transfer to cutting board, slice, and serve immediately. Repeat with remaining two dough balls, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese.

GRILLED PIZZAS

While I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight, the thought of grilled pizza came to mind. I knew right away that just one pizza would not feed all of us nor would it satisfy what we all like on our pizzas so I decided to make 3:

Grilled Veggie Pizza (for me)

Pepperoni Pizza (for Scott)

Three-Cheese Pizza (for the kids)

Even though these are pictures of my particular pizzas, you could switch them up and make every type of pizza in the world.

Grilled Pizzas

Pizza dough kit

1/2 cup hot water

Toppings of your choice

Directions: Preheat to low and CLEAN grill. Mix pizza dough according to the directions. Roll out or shape into a good-sized pizza. Put dough on grill for 6-8 minutes or until you get good grill marks. Turn pizza over, add toppings, and grill for another 6-8 minutes. Cut and serve.

Here’s what you’ll need for Grilled Veggie Pizza (or other veggies)

Pepperoni Pizza

Three-Cheese Pizza

For the Veggie Pizza I did not use any pizza/marinara sauce but brushed olive oil and garlic on the dough.

Use a garlic press to press out 2 garlic cloves into some olive oil. If you do not have a garlic press, chop up the cloves and then smash them up a bit.

Make the dough according to the package directions. This particular brand just called for 1/2 cup of hot water.

Cover with a lid for a couple of minutes to let it rise a bit. Roll out and shape.

You can do this for all of the pizzas. Brush on the olive oil and garlic.

Put your chosen veggies on the grill.

Put the pizzas on the grill. If you are using olive oil/garlic, put the side you just brushed face-down.

When they have cooked for 6-8 minutes, turn them over and put your toppings on while the bottom side is grilling. (Also, brush on the other side with olive oil/garlic.

Here’s what you’ll end up with:

Grilled Veggie Pizza

Three-Cheese Pizza

Pepperoni Pizza

Here is a closer look of the pizza crust that I used. There are others available (even a gluten-free one).

Hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

Pizza Roll Up Burritos

So have you every had those frozen pizza rolls? I’ve bought them. We eat them occasionally. They are extremely greasy, fatty and like a million calories for 4 of them. Not filling at all either.

These remind me of those but are like 10,000 times better! I love how they get crispy in the oven, with out all the fat. They are also super easy to handle without all the mess.

I posted these on my other blog awhile back and recently made them again. They deserve anther look. They were incredibly simple and everyone loved them.

They are a little higher on the calories than I usually make but these are very filling! I was completely satisfied with 1 of these bad boys and a side of watermelon.

I thought about making these more like enchiladas and pour a bit of pizza sauce over and a bit of cheese but decided these were much neater. It certainly would have made a pretty presentation that way though!

We made extras and froze them for lunches. We just take them out, thaw and microwave them for an awesome lunch. Or a snack in my kids’ case!

Pizza Roll Up Burritos

Adapted from Penny-Pinching Provisions

2 pounds ground turkey, 93%
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 ounces pepperoni (about 50 slices), cut in half
1 (15 ounce) can pizza sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
10 slices mozzerella string cheese
10 – 100 calorie whole wheat tortillas

Cook turkey in pan until it’s almost done. Toss in onion and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes or until ground turkey is no longer pink. Add pepperoni slices, oregano and pizza sauce and simmer for a couple of minutes to warm. Add about 1/2 cup pizza mix on tortilla. Place 1 piece of string cheese along the middle on top and roll. Place seam side down in 9 x 13 pan. I was able to put 9 in the pan, we just stuck the 10th one on a tortilla the next day for lunch. Bake in oven at 350 for about 15 – 20 minutes until cheese is melted.

Total calories = 3743 calories
10 servings = 374 calories per burrito

1 Pizza Roll Up Burrito + 2 cups watermelon = 474 calorie dinner

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

It is Fire Day Friday and one of our favorite things to cook on our grills is pizza. Yes, grilled pizza. That might sound weird but it shouldn’t, coal and wood fired brick oven cooked pizzas are all the rage these days.

But first I have to thank Jenn of Jenn’s Food Journey for the excellent job she did guest posting for me last week. She has an open invite to post Fire Day Friday anytime she wants.

Back to the pizza. This is one Alexis made this week on her Big Green Egg. You could do the same thing in your oven but it is just a bit better cooked by live fire.

Alexis’ Chicken Alfredo Pizza

1 chicken breast, boneless, skinless
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
2 slices bacon, cooked to crisp and crumbled
1 green onion, diced for garnish
1 recipe Pizza dough (use refrigerated, buy from your local pizza joint or make your own. Alexis used the recipe from Kitchenaid for their Crusty Pizza Dough).

Alfredo Sauce
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup half & half
1 cup pecorino romano cheese, grated

If you are making your own dough, like Alexis, make it first because it’s going to have to rise and do all that yeast voodoo that you amazing bakers do.

Then fire up your grill to 400f. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. Grill 5-6 minutes per side or until 160f internal temp. After resting the chicken for 10 minutes, thinly slice.

While chicken is resting, melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Whisk in the flour, stirring until mixing together in a light blond roux. Whisk in the half & half and simmer until reduced in volume by half. Then blend in the cheese.

Raise your grill or oven temperature to 500f. Spread the dough over a pizza stone and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Remove and ladle 1/2 cup of the alfredo sauce onto the dough. Top with the chicken, bacon, and mozzarella. Drizzle about 1/4 cup of the alfredo sauce over the top.

Return to the oven/grill in an indirect heat set up for 9 minutes and top with the green onion. Cook another 2-6 minutes, until the crust reaches your desired crispiness and the toppings are melted.
Have I mentioned that I am one lucky guy because I married the perfect woman for me.

So what’s your favorite pizza?

Mushroom/Tomato Goat Cheese Pizza and a dough recipe

I love pizza!

Here’s a funny little stat… I make @8 pizzas every two weeks. I always use a fresh baked from scratch dough. That sounds like a lot, and it sounds like a lot of work, but nope.

Easy as pie (pizza pie) to make your own dough. I actually use a modified flatbread recipe (it has a small amount of yeast, but no rising time) for my dough. I make it in a large batch, divide the batch into 4ths. That is the perfect size to make 2 personal size pizzas. One with my wife’s favorite toppings and one with the better toppings for me.

Once I have the dough, I store the divides in separate ziplock bags in the fridge. If I don’t plan to make the za’s within the two weeks, these freeze just fine. With the aid of my kitchenaid, it takes 15 minutes to make the dough; just a little longer back when I kneaded everything by hand. That’s a small investment in time for 8 pizzas.

This was my lunch yesterday…

Leftover Mushrooms sliced,

Leftover Tomatoes,

Leftover Goat Cheese

A sprinkling of Balsamic Vinegar

and a sprinkling of my “Not your grandmother’s Herbes de Provence” spicemix!

___________________________

If you are a novice bread maker, this pizza dough recipe is about as easy as it gets. Just enough yeast to make the insides of the crust sweet and soft. But crisps up nicely on the outside. The dough goes right from the kneading process to the fridge. So, there is no rise time to complicate the process.

The flour and water used in the mix should be as cold as possible. That’s what allows the yeast to flavor the bread, but keeps the flatbread… flat.

But I digress away from the recipe…

4 1/2 cups chilled Flour
1 3/4 teaspoon Salt
1 tsp instant Yeast
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 3/4 cups COLD Water (40 degrees)

OK, did you read the 2 cold ingredients. Takes an extra hour or two of planning, I measure the water and the flour and pop them in the fridge for a couple hours to get cold. The small amount of yeast, relative to the amount of flour and the cold will make for a flat bread, almost no fermentation (rise). Just enough to soften the taste, but not make a big rise. In my pre Kitchenaid days, I mixed and kneaded this recipe in a gallon size ziplock bag. Worked great, largely I believe because of the oil in the recipe. Without that, the dough would be too sticky to mix in a bag. But this sure made clean up easy.

Here’s what I did…

Mix the dry ingredients first

add the water and oil about a fourth of each at a time

mix well until all the flour is hydrated and you form a large dough ball in your bag

continue kneading for about 10 minutes, or if you use your kitchenaid, use the dough hook attachment, and allow the machine to knead for 7 minutes

And now, time to divide… Generously sprinkle a work surface with flour. Also, prepare 4 ziplock sandwich size bags (bigger works fine as well) by spraying the insides of them with spray canola oil.

Plop the dough ball into the flour and coat well. Divide into 4 equal parts (or fewer if you know you are making larger pizzas). Put each dough ball into a prepared ziplock bag and refrigerate at least 6 hours, and preferably overnight. When it comes cooking time, allow the dough to reach room temp.

When it comes cooking time, allow the dough to reach room temp.

If you are making one big one, just roll out round and flat (actually, any shape you like). Add your toppings and bake in a preheated 500 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

Not a bad lunch!

Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. It really is just this easy!

… I CAN COOK THAT!

And so can you!

ITALIAN GARLIC SUPREME PIZZA

We have a favorite pizza – ITALIAN GARLIC SUPREME from Round Table Pizza. This pizza is full of pepperoni, Italian sausage, Roma tomatoes, white mushrooms, green onions and lots of chopped garlic and is baked with a blend of 3 cheeses in a creamy garlic sauce. Unfortunately they are not a national chain. We have spent horribly disappointing meals out trying to find a local replacement for this pizza. I have since decided the best replacement is the one I make myself. And when hubby got home the other night he whole heartily agreed!

ITALIAN GARLIC SUPREME PIZZA

CRUST
1 cup of warm water (105F)
3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 teaspoons of honey
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of yeast

Put warm water into a bowl. Add salt, sugar and honey and mix well. Add the yeast, mix and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
Gradually add the flour and olive oil until well blended.
When the mixture gets too heavy to mix, start kneading the dough with your hands.
Knead the dough until you have a smooth ball. If the dough cracks it is too dry. Add water bit by bit until if forms a nice smooth ball. If you need to add water or flour, do it by small amounts.
Coat the dough with olive oil, place it in a large bowl and cover it with kitchen wrap and a flour sack towel. Let the dough rise for about an hour at room temperature, then push it down again so it deflates. Let it sit for about another hour. Either bake it or refrigerate for later use.
Put the dough on a lightly floured surface, put a bit of flour on top and make it into the shape of a pie by stretching it out from the center outwards. Use a rolling pin until the dough is about 1/4″ thick. Punch some holes in the dough with a fork to let the air escape while the pizza is in the oven.
Lightly oil a cookie sheet with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal.
Pre-Bake dough at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.

TOPPINGS

1 package John Morrell pepperoni

3 Italian sausages, cooked and crumbled

1 can Contadina tomato paste with basil and oregano

1/2 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 large bunch green onions, thinly sliced including the majority of the tops

6 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 Roma tomato, diced small

2/3 cup grated mozzarella cheese

2/3 cup grated provolone cheese

2/3 cup grated Romano cheese

Extra light olive oil

Whisk together the tomato paste, garlic and 1 teaspoon olive oil to make the sauce.
Brush pre-baked dough with a small amount of olive oil and then an even layer of the sauce.
Evenly sprinkle the crumbled sausage over the sauce followed by half of the pepperoni.
Top with the mushrooms, green onions and tomatoes.
Evenly sprinkle the cheese over it all
Top with the remaining pepperoni.
Bake the pizza at 400-450° F for about 20-25 minutes until the crust is golden.

Cooking The Italian Way – Zucchini-Sausage Pizza

Posted by Joanne of Eats Well With Others

Zucchinis don’t understand the concept of personal space.

They grow and grow and grow. Until they are sleeping next to you in your bed at night. Whispering sweet nothings into your ear. Trying to explain that, sorry, they have grown out of the garden and could you please move over and make a little room?

At times like these. You know you have to take matters into your own hands.

So roll up your sleeves. Pull the yeast out of your fridge. And get kneading.

It’s pizza time.

Pizza Dough

Makes 1 12-inch pie, adapted from The Minimalist

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon yeast

2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1 cup water

2 tablespoon roasted garlic-infused olive oil

1. In a small bowl, mix together the yeast with 1/4 cup lukewarm water. Add a pinch of sugar.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour and sea salt. Add in the olive oil, 3/4 cup lukewarm water, and yeast. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough gets too stiff, then incorporate the rest of the flour with your hands. Knead for 5-10 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 2 hours.

3. Flour the dough, form it into a ball and let it rise on a floured surface, covered with a damp cloth, for 20 minutes. Stretch out on a pizza peel, parchment paper, or baking sheet.

Zucchini-Sausage Pizza

Serves 4, adapted from The Minimalist

3 medium zucchini, sliced thinly

coarse sea salt

2 spicy Italian turkey sausage links, cases removed

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees, with your baking stone already inside the oven (if using).

2. Mix the zucchini with the salt in a large bowl and let sit for 20 minutes. In the meantime, heat a small nonstick skillet and saute the sausage, breaking it into crumbles with spatula as you go, until it is cooked through,

3. Rinse the zucchini and pat dry. Layer the zucchini slices on your pizza dough. Sprinkle the sausage on top, along with a tad bit of salt, some Parmesan cheese, and freshly ground pepper.

4. Bake for 15 minutes or until nicely browned.

Simple Saturday: One of the best pizzas ever!

Hi friends, long time no see. It’s me, Martha (MM) here to bring you today’s simple meal.

Most of you know I love to cook, but with my super busy schedule I’m very much into meals that are quick and easy while still delicious. As a result I’ve also become a master of meal stretching – cooking a little extra and planning creatively with leftovers. Not only does it make for quick meal preparation, but it’s also very frugal, nothing goes to waste in my house.

Today’s featured pizza was a quick throw-together pizza made using up small amounts of leftovers. I had no idea how it was going to turn out. Trust me, I am not kidding when I say it’s one of the very best pizzas I’ve ever had in my life – and I am extremely picky about my pizza! This one is definitely going onto my “family favorites” list, it’s really that good!

I used a very basic homemade pizza dough or you could use store bought or even premade pizza crusts. This was perfect on a thin crust – quick tip, be sure to let pizza dough come to room temp before trying to work with it.

Spread dough thinly and evenly on a large greased cookie sheet (or pizza stone).
Spread a light layer of pesto (homemade or from a jar, either will work fine)
Top with a thin layer of mozzarella cheese
Add a light sprinkle of sharp cheddar cheese
Add a layer of finely chopped chicken breast
Add some very thinly sliced and then rough chopped tomatoes
Top with partially cooked crumbled bacon (or use the precooked bacon like I did 🙂

Bake at 425 for about 10 minutes, cut, enjoy! Seriously one of the most delicious pizzas ever – try it!

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Pizza Pasta

Happy Saturday!! This is Tiffanee from One Crazy Cookie and I can’t tell you how excited I am to be guest posting her today. This is such an amazing blog!! Since it is a busy Satruday I am sharing with you one of my family’s all time favorites. The recipe makes 2 9×13 pans. So you make two and freeze one for later. It freezes very well.