BLT Pizza

One of my favorite pizzas from California Pizza Kitchen is their BLT Pizza, so I wanted to try making it at home for dinner. I used turkey bacon to reduce the amount of fat and it was pretty hard to tell the difference. 

After all, this pizza is layered with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo and finished off with avocado. The contrast of the crunchy salad on top of melted cheese and bacon make this pizza one of a kind.

BLT Pizza
Inspired by California Pizza Kitchen
Printable Version
Ingredients
Makes 2 pizzas
2 pre-made pizza crusts
10 slices of bacon, chopped
2 cups of shredded cheese (I used mozzarella and Italian Blend)
4 tomatoes, diced
2 cups of lettuce, chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 avocado, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees (or as directed for pizza crust). In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Heat to medium high and add chopped bacon. Cook until slightly crispy. Brush pizza crusts with olive oil. Sprinkle on about 1/2 cup of cheese on pizza crust. Then add half of bacon to each crust, sprinkling evenly. 

Cover bacon with 1/2 cup of cheese and bake for about 9 minutes, or according to directions. While pizza is baking, place chopped lettuce and diced tomatoes in a large bowl. Add in mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix together. 

Once pizzas are done, spoon the tomato/lettuce/mayo mixture on top of pizza. Sprinkle on the avocado. Slice the pizza and serve!

Caprese Pizza

This past weekend hubby and I were in Washington D.C. visiting family. We went out for drinks and appetizers and had the most scrumptious caprese flatbread. Since caprese salad is one of my most favorite dishes, I couldn't get it out of my head, the melty mozzarella cheese, the juicy tomatoes, the tang from the balsamic vinaigrette. I just had to make my own version of it at home this week. I decided to go with a pizza, using 5 Minute Pizza Dough. Instead of using fresh basil, I used frozen chopped basil that I got a Trader Joe's because this way I could sprinkle the basil all over the pizza. Chopped fresh basil would be wonderful on this pizza as well. Hubby and I loved how this turned out and will definitely be adding this easy, delicious pizza to our meal rotation. 

Caprese Pizza
An Ashley's Cooking Adventures Original
Printable Version


Ingredients
Pizza dough of your choice
7 small fresh vine ripened tomatoes 
Fresh mozzarella cheese
Fresh basil
Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella and lay on a paper towel for 5 minutes to reduce some of the juice. 

Roll out the pizza dough and place on pan. Place tomatoes and mozzarella on the dough. Layer on the basil. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake in the oven for about 14 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and slightly golden brown on the edges. Remove from oven and drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before slicing and serving.

White Mushroom Pizza

My husband is a pizza freak. Before we were married it was the main food group in his diet - yes food group. The man would eat it every day if he could - that and hot dogs. Needless to say, hubby is not the healthiest eater. On Friday nights when we are debating where we should order dinner from, he always throws in a "pizza?" and every once in a while, I let him get his way. I'm such a sweet wife, I know! :) The problem with the two of us ordering pizza is that we are complete polar opposites on pizza toppings. He loves pepperoni, the more the better. I love my pizzas sans meat with tons of veggies and pineapple. The one compromise for our pizzas is mushrooms because we both love mushrooms, especially a variety of mushrooms.

So during the month of January when we were eating vegetarian at home, I made a white mushroom pizza, using white truffle oil instead of pizza sauce and of course lots and lots of cheese. I went crazy and put a little goat cheese on the pizza, but do not recommend it. Hubby picked it off!! Oops, lesson learned. Despite the goat cheese mistake, this was super yummy. Even my pepperoni loving hubby admitted it was pretty good.

White Mushroom Pizza
An Ashley Original
Printable Version


Ingredients
Pizza crust (I was lazy this time and used store bought crust)
Variety of mushrooms, washed and sliced (I used button, cremini, and baby bellas)
1 white onion, sliced
Olive oil
White Truffle Oil
Fresh mozzarella, sliced
Italian cheese mix, shredded
Fresh parsley, chopped


Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium. Saute sliced mushrooms and onions until softened, about seven minutes. Allow to cool slightly.

Brush pizza crust with white truffle oil. Place mushrooms and onions on crust and cover with cheese.

Bake for 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with parsley.

Baked Spaghetti Pizza

Hubby and I are sticking to cooking vegetarian for the month of January but let me tell you, I was running out of ideas! I asked my Aunt Chris, who is a fabulous home chef, if she had any good recipes for vegetarian dishes and she suggested Spaghetti Pizza. My Mom is actually the one who had the recipe and I faintly remember eating it as a kid, but not very often since my Dad is a diabetic and needs to limit his carbs. This dish is so much fun! The "crust" is baked spaghetti and then you top your spaghetti with tomato sauce and whatever toppings you like. Since we're going veggie, I added in a variety of fresh mushrooms, black olives, diced tomatoes, and sliced white onions. But any of your favorite pizza toppings works great -- green peppers, pepperoni, sausage, etc. This is a dish that kids would love and also be able to help you make! I served this with quick and easy cheesy garlic bread, which I will post next. 

Baked Spaghetti Pizza
From My Momma
Printable Version

Ingredients
1 cup of milk
2 eggs
1 pound thin spaghetti, cooked and drained
Toppings of your choice for the "pizza"part (mushrooms, olives, diced tomatoes, onions, green peppers, pepperoni, sausage, etc.) Note: if you use  meat make sure it's cooked and drained
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 jar of pizza sauce or Ragu sauce


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together eggs and milk. Toss with the cooked spaghetti. Spread the mixture in a greased 9X13 baking dish. Top with sauce, toppings, and then cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is golden brown on edges. Let stand for5 minutes and cut into squares. Serve with a spatula. 

Breakfast Pizza

This breakfast pizza from A Cozy Kitchen is genius! I made it this weekend for my hubby and family that was visiting and everyone raved about it. I was a little nervous about the eggs, and although 2 of mine broke as I cracked them, it wasn't apparent because they got covered up with sliced mushrooms, bacon, freshly grated cheese, chopped parsley, and green onion. My husband declared that this was the best breakfast I have ever made, which is a big deal because I have made many, many breakfasts for us since it's my favorite meal. Make this pizza to impress guests or if you want something different for breakfast/brinner (breakfast for dinner!).

Breakfast Pizza
From A Cozy Kitchen -- Check out her site because she grilled her pizza instead of baking it! 


Printable Version


Ingredients
3 bacon strips, cooked
12 ounces pizza dough (I bought my pizza dough!)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
3 eggs
8 mushrooms, sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon minced chives
3 strips of green onion, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll out and shape pizza dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Drizzle both sides with olive oil and set on baking stone. Crack the eggs onto the dough. Arrange mushrooms on pizza. Sprinkle cheese on top and add the pieces of bacon. 

Sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Bake for 8 - 12 minutes. Check on the pizza after 5 minutes and rotate if necessary. When the crust is golden, the cheese is melted, and the egg yolks are cooked to medium, remove from the onion. Sprinkle parsley, chives, and green onions on top. Slice into pieces and serve. 

Five Minute Pizza Dough

When I made Buffalo Chicken Pizza, I decided to use homemade pizza dough. I found this recipe for 5 minute pizza dough on Tasty Kitchen and in doing so made a new cooking blog friend at A Busy Nest. I encourage you to check out their blog, I found several new recipes on there I am excited to try sometime. This pizza dough couldn't be easier. It only takes a a few minutes to prep and then you have to let it sit for 5 minutes. Some other Tasty Kitchen users said that they will try this recipe with whole wheat flour and I think next time I will do the same. 

Five Minute Pizza Dough

From A Busy Nest

Ingredients

1 tablespoon instant yeast (I used one small packet of active dry yeast)

1 cup very warm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

Directions

Dissolve the yeast with water. Add the oil, salt, and sugar. Mix in flour until a soft dough ball forms. Let stand for five minutes. Pat into a greased pizza pan. 

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Over Memorial Day weekend this year my husband and I met my sister and brother in law and mother and father in law at Cape Cod to celebrate my in laws 35th Wedding Anniversary. We stayed at a lovely cottage in Brewster, Mass and dined on the local fare of lobsters and clams and buffalo chicken pizza. Buffalo chicken pizza? Yes, that's right! We got pizza one night from a local pizzeria and the buffalo chicken was out of this world. Any "alternative" pizzas always catch my attention because I'm not much of a traditional tomato sauce/pepperoni/sausage kind of girl. I'm the girl that likes veggie pizzas or white pizzas or chicken pizzas. After one bite of this pizza I declared, "I'm going to try to make this pizza myself!" That's one of the best things I've found through all of my cooking adventures - once I try something I really like, I know I can now make my own version at home. 

This Buffalo Chicken pizza from Sandra Lee was so yummy! With grilled chicken strips marinated in buffalo sauce, cooled off by blue cheese and celery, it isn't exactly like the Cape Cod creation, but I loved the crunch and coolness that the celery added. Celery on a pizza - yes it sounds crazy, but is actually terrific - even my hubby who was a bit skeptical agrees. I made homemade pizza dough for this pizza and will post that recipe next. 

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

From Sandra Lee

Ingredients

1 pound chicken tenders, cut into small strips

1 cup buffalo wing sauce plus 2 tablespoons

Pizza dough (Sandra recommends a 13.8 ounce can of refrigerated dough. I made my own)

1 cup blue cheese dressing (This is where I made a mistake and bough blue cheese crumbles instead. Still turned out great!)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 small red onion, sliced

1 cup celery (2 stalks), diced

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. Carefully unroll dough and place on prepared baking sheet. Press out dough with clean hands to form a 13 X 9 inch rectangle. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 7 minutes or until crust begins to brown. Meanwhile place chicken strips in a large bowl with 1 cup of the buffalo sauce. Toss to coat the chicken. Grill the chicken strips for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. 

Remove crust from oven and top with blue cheese dressing leaving a 1 inch border. (Since I bought the crumbles instead of the dressing I just sprinkled the dough with the crumbles and drizzled a little olive oil and buffalo sauce over the cheese as the base). Next top with the chicken strips, red onion, and celery. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of buffalo sauce.

Cover with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown and cheese has melted. 

**I made my pizza indoors, but you can also make it on the grill. If you want the directions for the grilled version, click on the link (Sandra's name) above.

Cape Cod Sunset

Chicken Caesar Pizza

In college I worked at an Italian restaurant that made tremendous chicken caesar pizzas. The restaurant bakes these unique pizzas in a wood fired grill with cheese and chicken, then topped  the pizza with a caesar salad. Essentially, it's a very yummy pizza salad! When I brought this pizza home to my college roommates, we gobbled it up like a rare delicacy. Of course in those days when we lived off of instant potatoes and ramen noodles, a hot fresh homemade pizza did seem like a delicacy. Recently I've been craving the chicken caesar pizza from my college days so I set about to make my own version.

I took the easy road and used pizza dough from a box. I also used store bought reduced fat caesar dressing. The best part of this pizza for me is the pinenuts! I toasted them before hand to bring out the nutty and buttery flavor. I also added mushrooms to the pizza, which I don't believe are on the restaurant's chicken caesar pizza. 

Ingredients

Pizza dough

2 chicken breasts

1 package of mushrooms, sliced

olive oil

Fresh Parmesan cheese

2 bunches romaine lettuce

1/4 cup caesar dressing

fresh grated black pepper

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted to golden brown for 5 minutes at 350 degrees - watch these carefully!

Directions

Grill chicken and slice into bite sized pieces. Form pizza dough and spread out on pan. Drizzle olive oil on the pizza dough. Arrange chicken and mushrooms on the pizza and cover with cheese. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 - 22 minutes, until crust is golden brown. 

While the pizza is baking cut lettuce into bite sized pieces. Mix in dressing and grate shredded cheese over the top. 

Allow pizza to cool for about 5 minutes and top with the caesar salad. Sprinkle pine nuts on the top and season with black pepper to taste. Cut and serve with a fork and knife.