Tomato Basil Pizza

Hooray! I finally feel good enough to start cooking again. I'm sure I won't be cooking quite as much as I did before, but at least I can do a few meals a week again. That'll do, I think.

This was very, very easy to make, but it is a "homemade" pizza that I think turned out really well. I'm a big fan of cheese pizza, because I'm picky. Haha. So this was a great alternative to the same-old, same-old cheese pizza. A pizza crust, some pizza sauce, fresh basil, and shredded mozzarella combine to make this very simple, but very tasty, pizza.

Ingredients:
-pizza crust (I used a store bought, half-baked crust, but use your favorite)
-approx. 1 cup pizza sauce (I made mine from plain tomato sauce, adding herbs and spices to taste)
-1 sprig fresh basil leaves (a few leaves, in other words)
-shredded mozzarella cheese (the amount will vary based on preference...I used about 1-1.5 cups, probably)

Directions:
If your pizza crust is raw, half-bake it before adding any toppings.

Once half baked, spread an even layer of the pizza sauce all over the crust. Gently tear the basil leaves and sprinkle them around the surface of the pizza.

The reason I say gently tear is because basil bruises easily, and it doesn't taste as good if it's bruised. Chopping tends to bruise it more than tearing, so just be nice. :)

Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the pizza, and bake according to the crust directions until everything is hot and the cheese is melted and yummy.

Cut in slices and enjoy! Yum!

Taco Pizza

Mmm pizza. And tacos. I like both. Why not combine them? Ok, let's do that.

As usual, my husband and I needed our weekly pizza fix. I decided to try a taco pizza. Yum. I have seen taco pizza at several pizza places, but...I'm not a fan of the lettuce and such they put on top of it usually. Who wants lettuce on pizza? Gross. I don't really like lettuce anyway, so lettuce on pizza is a definite no-go for me. So I made up my own taco pizza.

I started with a PLAIN pizza crust. While some spices from Italian and Latin cooking overlap, not all do, so I'd prefer to start with a neutral base. Then I mixed up a taco-seasoned tomato sauce. Once again-the Italian kind just wouldn't cut it. Plain tomato sauce would be too boring for something like this. The solution was mixing up my own sauce. Add your favorite type of taco cheese (I used cheddar, but colby jack, Monterey jack, or queso blacno would be awesome), and you're golden! Let's get crackin'!

Ingredients:
For sauce-
-3/4 cup plain tomato sauce
-1 teaspoon garlic powder
-1/2 teaspoon onion powder
-1/2 teaspoon cumin
-1/2 teaspoon chili powder
-1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro

For meat-
-1/3 lb ground beef
-1/3 cup water
-1 teaspoon garlic powder
-1/2 teaspoon onion powder
-1/2 teaspoon cumin
-1/2 teaspoon chili powder

For Pizza-
-1 pizza crust (mine was a store bought one)
-prepared sauce
-prepared beef
-3/4 cup cheddar cheese

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients until well combined.

Set aside.

In a skillet, place the ground beef and cook over medium/medium-high heat. Drain the grease and return meat to pan. Add the water and spices and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium.

Let the liquid be absorbed by the meat, stirring occasionally. When the liquid is gone, remove the meat from the heat and set aside.

Lay out the pizza crust. If the crust needs to be half-baked before topping, bake according to package directions. Spread a thin layer of the seasoned sauce over the crust.

Add the ground beef evenly over the pizza.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 425 (or package directions) for about 10-12 minutes until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted and yummy.

Cut in slices and enjoy!

Homemade Cheeseburger Pizza

As I have said before, my husband and I pretty much eat pizza every week. I enjoy taking the night off from cooking every once in a while, and sometimes we'll order a pizza from somewhere, or I'll make a frozen one, since it's quick and easy. But, there are times, like this week, where I really want to make one of my own. I try to come up with something my husband and I haven't had, or something that sounds interesting, or...whatever floats my boat that day. This time, it was a cheeseburger pizza. You may have had "hamburger" on your pizza before, but this pizza actually tasted like a cheeseburger. No lie. My husband even commented on it. It was almost like a brain trick. Your eyes saw a flat disc with toppings, your mouth tasted a cheeseburger, and your brain didn't know which to believe. But it was awesome. And, since it was homemade...it tasted better than a delivery pizza would have, of course. Haha. Anyway, I hope you try this and enjoy it. My husband and I did.

Ingredients:
-1 pizza crust (I bought a ready made one from the store that was about 12 or 14 inches, but use whatever you want, although the "plainer" the dough/crust, the better. Italian spices/garlic, etc, wouldn't be good for this pizza)
-1/2 cup of PLAIN tomato sauce (no spices)
-1/4 to 1/2 lb of ground beef, depending on how meaty you want your pizza
-1/2 teaspoon onion powder
-1/2 tablespoon ketchup
-1/2 tablespoon mustard
-1 teaspoon of worceistershire sauce
-1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (or more if you like lots of cheese...whatever)

Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, mix the ground beef, onion powder, worceistershire sauce, ketchup, and mustard.

You may be thinking, "That sounds like the grossest combination ever." Let me explain. When I make hamburgers at home, I usually make the beef patties with worceistershire sauce and onion powder. I LOVE the way they turn out. So I thought, "Self, making this pizza will be like making a burger, but in smaller chunks and spread out on a pizza crust. Just season the meat as you would a regular burger, and it will taste like a cheeseburger once you add the cheese to the pizza." And of course, mustard and ketchup are typical condiments, but topping a pizza with mustard and ketchup sounded...dangerous. So I just added it to the meat. Voila! It was a wise decision. Trust me. I used my hands to kneed it all together.

Set that meat mixture aside for the moment.

Preheat the oven according to the pizza crust directions. If it needs to be half-baked before you put on the toppings, then do that. Otherwise, pour the plain tomato sauce onto the crust and spread it evenly into a thin layer.

Why plain sauce, you ask? Well...a cheeseburger doesn't typically have garlic, Italian herbs and spices, or Italian cheeses in it. I figured a regular Italian seasoned tomato sauce would completely ruin the cheeseburgery-ness of the pizza, but it needed a sauce. So, I went with plain tomato sauce. Kinda like a non-vinegary ketchup, if you will.

Next, roll the beef into tiny little meatballs (about 1/2-3/4 inch in diameter)

and place evenly across the pizza.

Make sure they're all approximately the same size so they cook evenly. If you're too lazy for this (which I might be next time...it took me a little while), then just pinch off a small amount and and place it on the pizza.

When the pizza is covered in as much meat as you want, sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top.

Bake it according to the crust package directions, or until the crust is golden, the meat is cooked through, and the cheese is melted and bubbly and yummy.

Woohoo! Enjoy! Yum.

Pizza Snack Bites

Sometimes, you just want to snack for dinner. Can I get an amen? But...snacking for dinner isn't so great for you, I know. That thought doesn't always discourage me from snacking for dinner, but hey. When a hungry husband is involved, sometimes you need a little umph in the snack department to help it pass the muster. So...enter pizza snack bites. They contain my hubby's favorite cracker, a favorite pizza topping, and some left over deli-cheese I needed to use. Amazing! Perfect combo. Plus...they took about 2 seconds to make and were relatively satisfying. They be good for a kiddo lunch, too, I think. But I digress. Here you go.

Ingredients:
-Round buttery crackers (like Ritz)
-Pepperoni slices
-Provolone or mozzarella cheese slices

Directions:
Set out some crackers on a microwave safe dish. Place a pepperoni slice on each cracker, then a slice of the cheese, then another slice of pepperoni. Microwave for about 10 seconds, or until the cheese has softened but not totally melted. Remove from the microwave and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Alfredo Pizza

There is a certain all-you-can-eat pizza buffet chain that has an alfredo pizza. Growing up...that was just about all I would eat there. It was my FAVE. :)

Now that I'm older and wiser (ha), I still like alfredo pizza. So since there is not a pizza buffet near enough to me to make it worth the effort, I decided to make my own. Crust, sauce, cheese. That's it. I know you're jealous. Just make it already and get it over with. Haha.

Ingredients:
-Pizza Crust (I bought mine at the grocery store, but you can make your own if you're so inclined)
-Alfredo sauce (I made mine from scratch, as usual, but do whatcha gotta do)
-Shredded mozzarella cheese (you can also add a little parmesan or Italian seasoning for flavor)

Directions:
Place the pizza crust on a flat surface (if it's totally raw, half bake it before moving on). Spread on some alfredo sauce. Don't make it too thick, or your pizza will be mushy. Plus, alfredo is a rich sauce...too much would make the pizza a little too rich, and not very tasty. A thinnish layer will do. Next, sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese, evenly, all over the pizza. If you're doing the parmesan and seasonings too, add those too. Bake it at 350-400 degrees until the crust is cooked completely, the cheese is all melted, and everything is delicious looking. Cut into slices and enjoy. :)

Pesto Chicken Pizza

My husband and I pretty much eat pizza every Friday night. Sometimes it's just a frozen one to give me a break from cooking. Sometimes, though, I make a homemade one. Well...semi-homemade anyway. I don't make my own dough for the crust. But other than that, it's homemade. :) This one is pesto cream sauce, chicken, and cheese. We both thought it was pretty yummy. I hope you do too. Away we go.

Ingredients:
Pizza crust (this one, I made with a Boboli brand pizza crust, but any will do)
Chicken breast, cooked and shredded (I only used one, but however many you want)
Approx 1/4 cup Pesto (homemade or store bought-I made mine homemade)
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup heavy cream
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then whisk in flour. Cook for a couple minutes to make a roux. Add the cream, and mix well. Let it thicken slightly. Add the pesto, and stir well. When the pesto has melded with the cream sauce, pour it onto the pizza crust (if you're making the crust from dough, half-bake it first). Spread evenly on crust. Add the chicken on top of the sauce. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake at 400-450 for approximately 8-10 minutes (or however long for the crust to be cooked through, the cheese to be melted, and everything to be heated through). Cut into slices and serve while hot. Yum. Enjoy!

Chicken Florentine Pizza

We have pizza pretty much every Friday night. A lot of times I just do a frozen one, but tonight, I made a homemade one. :) Chicken Florentine. Pretty yummy, I'm not gonna lie. And it has some veggies, so that's a plus. haha. So here we go.

Ingredients:
-Pizza crust (I used refrigerated pizza dough from the fridge section at the store)
-1 cup(ish) Alfredo sauce (I made homemade, but use whatever you want)
-1/4 cup chopped spinach
-1/4 cup diced tomatoes (I used canned)
-Chicken breast, cooked and cubed (I only used one and it was plenty...you can decide for you)
-1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
-3/4 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:
Bake the pizza crust until it's almost done, but not quite. Spread the alfredo sauce over the entire crust. Put a layer of spinach, then a layer of tomato, then a layer of chicken. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese evenly across the pizza, then sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over it. Place it in the oven at 400-425 degrees for about 5 minutes until it's all heated through and the cheese is melted, and the crust is cooked and yummy.
Cut into slices and serve. Nom. :)