Mini pizza's...

We had some friends over for dinner recently and because a lot of  kids were present I decided to make the easiest thing I could think of. We have "make your own pizzas" on a regular basis here...for two reasons. 1- they are soooooo easy to throw together 2- they really are delicious. My friend asked why she hadn't seen this on my blog. I guess I never even think to post the super easy stuff, but isn't that what we all really want??? Anyways... Here you go!

1 pkg Greek flat bread (Costco sells these in a pkg of six for dirt cheap & they freeze really well)

Italian seasoned tomato paste (trust me on this one) Also freezes well if you don't use all of the tiny can

Shredded mozzarella cheese 

Turkey pepperoni (regular if you like to live on the wild side)

Dried oregano 

Additional pizza toppings of your choice 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare pizzas. Bake 10 min (approximately) or until edges are golden brown and cheese is melted. Run under broiler for a min until cheese is extra bubbly!

candy corn pizza...

1 pre made pizza crust

pizza sauce

grated cheddar cheese

grated mozzarella cheese

Bake according to crust instructions.

This is a Halloween dinner favorite at our house! For the non pizza lovers (is there really such a thing??) you can omit the sauce and just make cheese bread.

My kids love that it is a change from the norm.

Greek pizza...

pitas

olive oil

diced red onion

diced english cucumber

chopped romaine lettuce

hummus

feta cheese

kalamata olives, pitted and halved

greek vinaigrette

vinaigrette:

Juice of 1 lemon

5 Tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Whisk to combine. Store in refrigerator.

Brush pitas with a little olive oil. Place on grill until a little crisp and grill lines are visible. Spread 1-2 tablespoons hummus on to each pita. Sprinkle with feta. Put back on grill just until warmed through. Sprinkle with the remaining inngredients and drizzle with a little vinaigrette.

I could eat Greek salad every day. Pile it all on to a pita, grill it, and you have yourself a winner!

pizza pot pie...

pizza dough

pepperoni and/or sausage (cooked)

mushrooms, green pepper, olives

mozzarella cheese; cut into small cubes

pizza/spaghetti sauce

olive oil

parmesan cheese

Combine all pizza toppings (to your liking) and mix with sauce. Fill ramekins. Roll out pizza dough and cut out a circle that is a little larger than ramekin top. Place over pizza fillings and press onto sides of ramekins. Brush tops with a little olive oil, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and cut a slit on the top of each pie. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 min, or until top is golden brown.

I will admit that I was a little skeptical of this at first, but pleasantly surprised in the end. The pizza lovers in my house LOVED it. I got the idea from Giada De Laurentiis. She made hers with chicken and broccoli in the sauce. That didn't sound good to me, so I just went with traditional pizza toppings. I didn't give exact amounts of ingredients because, like pizza, just add what you like in the amounts you like.

I've mentioned before that my grocery store bakery sells bread dough in 16oz increments. If you can't find that in your store, try the frozen bread dough. I've heard that there are some pizza places that will even sell dough.

roasted vegetable & ricotta pizza...

1 pound store-bought pizza dough, fresh, or thawed if frozen
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
6 cups roasted vegetables
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp dried rosemary leaves, (optional)

salt and pepper

Roasted Vegetables
1 pound (about 1 small) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1½ inch pieces
1 pound red new potatoes, (4-5), well scrubbed and quartered
1 medium red onion, peeled and quartered
1 pound carrots (3-4 medium) halved lengthwise, if thick, and cut into 1½ inch lengths
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper

To roast vegetables, cut in to similar size (1 1/2 inch) cubes. Place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt & pepper. Roast at 450 degrees 40-45 min, tossing half way through, until golden brown and crisp on the outside.

For pizza:
Preheat oven to 475°. Brush a large baking sheet with oil, or line with parchment paper, if desired, for easy cleanup.
On a lightly floured surface, roll and stretch dough into a 12-by-16-inch oval (or as large as will fit on baking sheet); transfer to sheet.
Sprinkle dough with half the mozzarella. Scatter vegetables on top, and dollop with ricotta; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and, if using, rosemary. Drizzle with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Bake until bubbling and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve.

I have been intrigued by this recipe from Everyday Food for quite some time and decided this weekend to give it a try. It was delicious!! First of all, any vegetable is better when roasted. Then add bread & cheese to the mix and you have yourself a winning combination. If you have leftover roasted vegetables you can reheat them with a little chicken broth, then puree for a yummy soup.

chicken club pizza...

1 "thin crust" pizza crust
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

1/2 cup 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1/2 packet ranch dip mix

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

8 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled

2 cups shredded romaine lettuce

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes; if desired

Cook pizza crust according to directions; let cool completely. Meanwhile, mix sour cream, cream cheese & ranch seasoning; set aside. When crust is cooled spread on cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with chicken, bacon, lettuce and tomatoes. Slice & serve.

*recipe adapted from here*

Just a delicious way to use up that cooked chicken!!!

meatball pizza...

meatballs (mini)

premade pizza crust(s)

pizza sauce

mozzarella cheese

green onions

If you have meatballs already made in your freezer this couldn't be any easier...and a nice change from pepperoni & cheese!

Everyone loved it!!

mexican pizza...

tostadas

1 lb taco meat

non fat refried beans; warmed through

cheese

olives

shredded lettuce

taco sauce

Spread refried beans on tostade, add taco meat, cheese & olives. Place under broiler until cheese melts. Add lettuce, taco sauce & sour cream.

Mexican pizzas, tostadas, open face tacos...call them whatever you want. I found if I called them pizzas my non mexican food lover (who LOVES pizza) would eat it & I was right.

I saw a similar recipe on Marci's blog using chicken...YUM! When she posted a pic of the tostadas I knew I needed to find a way to use them.

These were easy, really good, easy & really good!! We'll be having these again soon!

rolled pizza...

These are absolutley a new favorite at our house!!

Bread dough purchased from the bakery (16oz)

Roll out to 12-14 inches in diameter.

Sprinkle on toppings (no sauce) & roll up as tightly as possible.

Tuck the ends under, place seam side down on a lined or lightly greased baking sheet. Brush with a little olive oil & sprinkle with a little salt (or oregano)

Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 min until golden brown.

Slice & eat!

You can serve these with pizza sauce on the side, but it really doesn't need it.

The recicpe was adapted from Giada De Laurentiis' Venetian Rolled Pizza. I cut the amount of cheese in half & used 1 tsp olive oil per roll instead of 1 Tbsp. Any pizza topping would be wonderful in these...I just stuck with the tried & true (& what I had on hand!!) The word from the dinner table tonight was "AWESOME!!" I'll take it!

grilled pizza...

WOW! I didn't realize how long it had been since I last posted. There have been quite a few recipe repeats, BBQ's & even a little eating out...

We first fell in love with this pizza on Father's Day & I couldn't wait to make it again.

All you need is pizza dough, store bought or homemade (I lucked out & found balls of dough in the bakery at my grocery store for...$1.50...LOVE IT!!)

Divide dough into individual servings & roll out on a well floured counter. Place dough on the grill (I brushed the grill with a little olive oil first) and cook over med-med low heat on one side. Turn over & partially cook the other side. Have all of your toppings ready to go, remove dough & assemble pizza toppings on the first/fully cooked side. Put pizza back on the grill & cook until the cheese melts.

This really couldn't be easier and is so very, very delicious!

Give this a try this Summer...you'll be hooked!

*to make this even easier just use pita pockets or flat bread instead of dough*

crazy pizza...

crazy pizza

8 oz extra lean ground beef or turkey

1 3/4 cup pizza sauce

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (if desired)

1/2 cup chopped green pepper (if desired)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup sliced ripe olives (if desired)

1 can Pillsbury refrigerated buttermilk biscuits - 7.5 oz can

2/3 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8x8 inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a large skillet brown meat. Add mushrooms, green pepper, onion and olives. Mix well to combine. Stir in pizza sauce. Remove skillet from heat. Separate biscuits and cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Gently stir biscuit pieces into meat mixture. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Bake 20 minutes. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over the top. Continue baking until cheese melts, about 10 minutes. Place baking dish on a wire rack and let set 5 minutes.

Ok, easy peasy! This was such an easy dish to throw together. Not only that, but it really does taste surprisingly good. I am not the biggest fan of biscuits in a can...and I really don't love casseroles (I even hate the word), but I really loved this, so did the fam. You could easily double this, just bake in a 9x13 if doing that. And the green peppers, mushrooms & olives are only suggestions, you could use any pizza toppings you like. I actually only used olives. Not too many pics on this one...I was STARVING and just wanted to get going on the making & the eating!!

carmelized onion & mushroom pizza...

1 prepared pizza crust

pizza sauce

1 large onion, sliced

4 Tbsp butter

salt & pepper

sliced mushrooms (I used baby portabellos)

shredded mozzarella cheese

dried oregano

Over med high heat put 2 Tbsp butter in large saucepan and add sliced onions & salt & pepper. Turn every few minutes until onions are tender and well carmelized. Do the same with mushrooms. Assemble pizza & cook according to crust baking directions.

Another pizza winner!!! This was really a nice change from the ordinary pepperoni...although the non mushroom lovers did enjoy the usual pepperoni & cheese. I will definitely be making this again. The leftovers were just as fabulous!

bbq chicken pizza...

1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked & diced

1 store bought, pre-made pizza crust

1 bottle bbq sauce

1/2 red onion

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Slice onion and caramelize in 1-2 Tbsp butter and a dash of salt. Cook over med heat until brown in color. Spread bbq sauce on pizza crust. Top with cheese. Bake at 450 degrees 10-12 min. or until cheese is golden brown and bubbly.

I was having a huge craving for this!! I sometimes make my own pizza crust, but for this particular pizza I just love the pre made crust. The red onions really make this particularly fabulous. The little people around here weren't hip on the whole chicken pizza thing...so they got plain old cheese. I just used the same type of crust with tomato paste, cheese & a little dried oregano. Both pizzas were devoured...bummer...no leftovers!

calzones...

premade pizza crust dough

pizza toppings

pizza sauce

Seriously...could this be any easier? All you need to do is flatten/roll out the pizza dough to desired size (a little flour on the counter helps this process along) Cut into rectangles...this part is up to you, I got 4 small-med sized pieces out of one pkg of dough and 2 x-tra large out of the other pkg. Put pizza toppings (not sauce) in the center of each rectangle and fold it in half, creasing/pinching edges together. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake according to pizza dough baking directions, or until golden brown. Serve with pizza sauce on the side.

My kids love these!