Creole Pizza

Lately, I’ve been in the mood for a shrimp boil. Jumbo gulf shrimp, corn on the cob, sausage, new potatoes, Old Bay… Get out! That sounds good, doesn’t it? However, with school starting back, I haven’t had time! Tonight’s dinner took literally 15 minutes to make so it was a big winner in my house, especially with the first day of school looming overhead.

My inspiration for this pizza came from that craving and spun off into a delicious direction. I didn’t have shrimp but it sure would have been good as an additional topping so feel free to play around if you make it.

Creole Pizza

Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Level: Easy

1 pre-made whole wheat pizza crust (I never use these but what a time saver!!!!)
1/4 block of cream cheese
1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
1/3 c. corn, fresh or frozen
1/2 c. smoked turkey sausage, sliced into bite-sized pieces
1/2 c. cheese, shredded
hot sauce, to taste

Preheat oven to 450°. Spread cream cheese over crust and sprinkle with Old Bay. Top pizza with remaining ingredients, except for hot sauce. Reduce oven temperature to 425°. Bake pizza, either directly on oven rack or on cookie sheet, for 7-10 minutes. Top with hot sauce, as desired. Yum!

Tips
-Add shrimp during the last 3 minutes of baking.
-You can use various cream cheeses with different fat contents. I used fat-free and it was still just as creamy.
-Try using different colored bell peppers.
-Add red onion if you want.

Red and Yellow Pizza

As you know, pizza is my favorite food. You can do ANYTHING with pizza so the versatility really draws me in. This recipe came to me out of pure necessity. I had literally nothing in the pantry except for a few cans of tuna, cream of whatever soups, and a can each of corn and fire roasted tomatoes. What to do? What to do?

Make pizza, of course!

I simmered the drained tomatoes and corn with a few other ingredients until all of the juices were gone and I had a  nice thick stew-ish consistency. Threw it on partially baked pizza dough with a little spaghetti sauce and cooked chicken and voila! A vegged out dinner in 20 minutes. Lovely.

Red and Yellow Pizza

Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Level: Easy

pizza dough
1 can fire roasted tomatoes, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 tbsp. jalapeño, chopped
1/4 c. roasted red peppers, chopped, optional
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried onion flakes
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. spaghetti sauce
1/2 c. chicken, cooked and shredded
1/2-3/4 c. cheddar, American,  or Edam cheese

Pre-heat oven to 425°. Roll out dough on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, simmer next 10 ingredients until juices are gone, about 12 minutes.

Remove pizza dough from oven when done. Top with spaghetti sauce, cooked tomato and corn mixture, chicken, and cheese.

Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes. Yum!

Tips
-Add bell peppers  and onions to the mixture.
-Mozzarella would probably work, too.
-Omit the chicken for a vegetarian dish.

Pizza a la Lasagna

Lasagna is a great comfort food on a cold night. However, with just the two of us in the house, the leftover ingredients can easily go to waste before the craving strikes again. So what to do with leftover ricotta, tomato sauce, and browned beef? Consult my solution for just about everything having to do with leftovers:

Make Pizza!

Ahh, don’t you love it? Let’s get started…

Pizza a la Lasagna

Servings: 4-6
Level: Easy
Time: 20 minutes

Pizza dough
1/4 lb. ground beef (guestimate… use what you have…)
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. minced onion
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/3 c. ricotta cheese
1/3 c. spinach, frozen, thawed, and drained
1/4 c. spaghetti sauce

Roll out pizza dough and bake, according to packed directions temperature, for 5-8 minutes. Meanwhile, brown ground beef with garlic, onion, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper flakes. Top pizza dough with an even layer of ricotta cheese, ground beef, and spinach. Dot pizza with spoonfuls of spaghetti sauce. Bake for an additional 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Yum!

Tips
-Try using a mix of different meats. round beef, pork, sausage, or chicken would all work!
-Top with mozzarella if you want a cheesier consistency.

Pizza Grilled Cheese Dippers

I got a griddle for Christmas and I’m slightly obsessed. It takes 2 seconds to heat up and you can grill more than one thing at a time!

Today I wanted to make ooey gooey grilled cheese but I thought that might be boring so I added a twist. Pepperoni! Not only that but I cut the sandwiches into 4 equal slices. Perfect for dipping in pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce.  These would be perfect for kids… they love to dunk and dip their food. You could add traditional pizza topping veggies to the sandwich if you wanted. Yum!

Pizza Grilled Cheese Dippers

Time: 10 minutes, max
Level: Easy
Servings: 1

2 slices whole wheat bread
3-4 pepperonis, chopped
1 slice mozzarella or cheddar cheese
1 tsp. butter
1/4 c. pizza or spaghetti sauce

Top one slice of bread with pepperonis and cheese. Top with second slice of bread. Butter the outsides of the bread. Grill in a pan over medium heat or on a griddle at 350° for 1-2 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Cut grilled sandwich into 4 slices. Heat pizza or spaghetti sauce and serve along side sandwich slices. Yum!

 

Steak and Potatoes Pizza

***** DISCLAMER*****

I am FULLY aware of how weird, and not so appetizing, the pictures of this pizza look. However, never judge a book by it’s cover, right?

 

 

 

Pizza is my fav. I love the creativity of it. You can seriously dump just about anything on top of pizza dough and it is going to turn out delicious. So far in my blogging journey, I’ve blogged about several yummy concoctions. Theres the Sloppy Joe bbq pizza, Thai pizza, BBQ pineapple pizza, a pizza using Flat Outs, Breakfast pizza, Mexican tortilla pizza, Ratatouille pizza, BBQ chicken pizza, and a Thin crust pizza.

But I’m afraid I’m going to knock your socks off with this one. Tonight, I made a Steak and Potatoes Pizza. I had thin cut eye of round in the freezer which I typically use for stir fry since they take almost no time to cook. After thawing them out and realizing I was craving a much more comforting and heartier meal, my brain automatically went to pizza, which it obviously does often.

A few minutes later…viola! Mashed potatoes, homemade gravy, marinated steak, and Parmesan cheese all came together to top a perfectly golden brown pizza crust. Comfort heaven.

The key to this pizza not taking you all night to make is timing. The recipe might sound a little confusing because so many things are going on at once but I’ll try to break it down for you here first. While your oven is preheating and your pot of water is coming to a boil, marinate the meat. While the crust is baking and the potatoes are boiling, cook the meat and make the gravy. Once the crust is done, mash the potatoes and you will be ready to load it all up in no time!

Steak and Potatoes Pizza

Servings: 4
Level: Medium
Time: 30 minutes

4 slices thinly cut eye of round
4 small Idaho potatoes, washed but not peeled
pizza dough
1 tbsp. oil
1 tbsp. flour
1/2 – 1 c. gravy
1/4 c. milk
1/3 c. sour cream
1/8 tsp. minced garlic
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 c Parmesan cheese, shredded

Steak Marinade:

2 tbsp. Dale’s low sodium marinade
1 tbsp. Worcestershire
1 tbsp. orange juice
1/2 tbsp. honey
1/2 tbsp. spicy mustard
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. dried chopped onions
2 tbsp. water

Preheat oven to 425°. Slice meat into bite sized pieces. Mix marinade ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Add meat and allow meat to soak for 15 minutes.

Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil. Chop potatoes into small, equally sized pieces. Once water has boiled, add potatoes and boil until a fork can pierce through the potatoes easily. Stretch pizza dough out onto a non-stick baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove meat from marinade and transfer to a skillet over medium heat. Cook meat until it reaches desired doneness, about 3-5 minutes. Remove meat from skillet and reserve the liquid left in the pan. To the heated pan, add 1 tbsp. oil and 1 tbsp. flour. Whisk together to make a roux. The flour and oil will make a clumpy glob.

When this happens, add the reserved liquid back to the pan and whisk constantly. Add water (approx. 1/2-1 cup) to thin out the gravy and continue to whisk until gravy reaches a dark brown color and is as thick or as thin as you like.

Drain potatoes once they are done and add milk, sour cream, garlic, and pepper. Mash potatoes. Top the cooked pizza crust with mashed potatoes, gravy, and steak, and top with a little Parmesan cheese.

Return pizza to oven and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Yum!

Tips
– The steak marinade is delicious on all types of steaks.
– Next time, I might put the gravy on first, instead of the potatoes.

Sloppy Joe BBQ Pizza

 

 

 

 

My mom used to make this pizza on busy Wednesday nights before church. Sometimes she would fold over the dough to make calzones. Super yum! Since you don’t use an entire can of sloppy joe sauce (you can use BBQ sauce instead) I like to freeze the leftovers flat in a small zip loc bag for an easy meal later on.

Sloppy Joe Pizza

Cook Time: 25 minutes
Level: Easy
Servings: 4-6

pizza dough
1/3 c. BBQ sauce or sloppy joe sauce (like Manwich)
1/2 c. ground beef, cooked
1/3 c. corn, drained and rinsed
1/3 c. peppers and onions, frozen
1/3 – 1/2 c. shredded cheese
jalapeños, chopped, to taste
red onions, sliced, to taste
ranch dressing, to taste

Pre-heat oven according to pizza dough directions. If using a dough that needs rolling out, roll out onto a greased cookie sheet, pizza pan, or baking stone. Bake dough for 8 minutes. Take it out of the oven and top it with BBQ sauce or sloppy joe sauce and next 6 ingredients.

 

Bake for and additional 4-6 minutes, or until dough is golden brown on the bottom and slightly browned on the edges. Take out of the oven and top with ranch dressing, if desired. Yum!

Tips
– Economically speaking, the bag of pizza dough mix is the way to go. You can get it for around 60¢ per bag and all you need to mix with is water. The tube of refrigerated dough and the fresh dough balls from the bakery section also work well in this recipe. You can even opt for a pre-made dough, like a Boboli crust.
-Rinsing vegetables from a can removes up to 25% of the added sodium. Try to buy the low sodium versions and rinse those as well.
– Don’t forget! You can add different ingredients to different parts of a pizza to help please everyone. Tonight, my half of the pizza was sans onions and double jalapeños!

Flat Out Pizza

No time? No problem! Flat Outs can be used for just about everything…from Berry Turkey Wraps to Pizza! As you probably already know, I love pizza. Any topping, any type.

I made these pizzas from start to finish in a little under 10 minutes and I used the toaster oven so I didn’t have to heat up the house with my oven. Perfect for a busy summer night!

Flat Out Pizza

Servings: 1
Time: 10 minutes
Level: Easy

1 piece of Flat Out bread
pizza sauce
fresh spinach leaves
peppers and onions, frozen
pepperoni
jalapeños
cheese, shredded
crushed red pepper

Top Flat Out with pizza sauce and layer, beginning with spinach, the remaining ingredients.

Toast in the toaster oven, or broil in the regular oven, until cheese is melted. Yum!

Tips
– Add any ingredients you want. Pizzas are a place to play around!

The BEST Breakfast Pizza You’ll Ever Eat (And You Don’t Have To Eat It For Breakfast!)

Upon the  suggestion by a fellow foodie and friend, we recently went to brunch at Hi-Tone in Memphis. Hi-Tone is not a typical place you would ever think of going to brunch. When you walk in, you get the instant vibe that the night before (well, probably even that very morning) the stage was rocking and the dance floor was packed with young hipsters having a great night.

How do you know they had a great night? Well they are still there, sipping on mimosas and bloody mary’s, and eating the most delicious brunch I’ve had in a while.

I can’t attest to anything else (besides the bloody mary’s…yum!) on the menu at Hi-Tone, but the breakfast pizza is legit. So legit, that I decided to try to recreate it at home. The result? Straight up awesomeness.

We ate this pizza for dinner and then ate the leftovers the next day for breakfast. I wish we still had some…

Breakfast Pizza

Servings: 4-6
Time: 30 minutes
Level: Medium

1 box pizza dough mix, made according to package directions (I used Jiffy)
1 package of peppered gravy, made according to package directions (you won’t use all of the gravy)
1/2 c. sharp cheddar, shredded
5-6 slices of bacon, crumbled (I used turkey bacon)
1/3 c. peppers and onions, frozen
5 eggs
1 tbsp. milk
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425°. Roll out dough as thinly as possible. Bake for 3-4 minutes. Remove pizza dough from oven and top with prepared gravy, enough to cover like regular pizza sauce would.

Top with 1/2 of the shredded cheese and all of the bacon.

Bake pizza for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on the edges and cooked in the center. Meanwhile, whisk eggs, milk, and salt and pepper in a small bowl and set aside. In a skillet over medium heat, sauté peppers and onions until thawed. Add whisked eggs and scramble. When pizza is done, top with scrambled eggs and then with remaining cheese. Bake for an additional 3-5 minutes, until cheese melts. Yum!

Tips
– Try using sausage or ham instead of bacon.
– The peppered gravy package can be found on the same isle and section as taco seasoning packets, chili starters, and pesto/other pasta sauce starter packets.
– You WILL have left over gravy… stay tuned to see what I made with mine!
– Use egg whites to make it healthier.
– Make it vegetarian by leaving off the meat or adding Morning Star sausage.

Mexican Tortilla Pizza

I was going to make quesadillas… but then I figured it would save me almost 100 calories if I left off the top tortilla. Ahh, Mexican Tortilla Pizza is born.

Tyson Grilled and Ready Chicken Breast Strips make this dish super quick and easy. I use these pre-cooked chicken strips a lot!

I’ll be making this pizza again, for sure!

Mexican Tortilla Pizza

Servings: 2
Time: 15 minutes
Level: Easy

1/3 c. Tyson Grilled and Ready Chicken Breast Strips
1/4 c. corn, frozen
1/4 c. peppers and onions, frozen
1/4 c. mushrooms, sliced, optional
1 tbsp. jalapeños, diced, optional
1/8 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. chili powder
salt, to taste

2 tortillas
1/2 c. refried beans
1/3 c cheese, shredded
salsa, to top
sour cream, to top

In a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, cook chicken, vegetables, and spices, until chicken is completely thawed.

Turn oven to Broil. Spread refried beans on each tortilla, top with chicken mixture, then sprinkle with cheese.

Broil in oven until cheese is melted and tortilla is crispy.

Top with salsa and sour cream, if desired. Yum!!

Tips
– Try using different veggies, meat, or spices to mix things up.
– Leftover taco meat, enchilada sauce, or fajitas? No problem! This pizza would be good topped with any of those leftovers.

Ratatouille Pizza

This pizza is perfect for summer! I LOVE all of the veggies sautéed in olive oil. They work perfectly with the pizza sauce. The whole pizza reminds you of a brighter version of Ratatouille.

I came up with this pizza on my way home from work. I knew had half of a zucchini and a squash and just a few other veggies that needed to be used. I wasn’t in the mood to grill and I wasn’t craving a pasta dish. Whenever I’m in an indecisive mood, I always turn to pizza. Tonight, I’m glad I did.

You will truly enjoy this pizza. It far exceeded my expectations and has easily become a family favorite.

Ratatouille Pizza

Servings: 4
Time: 25 minutes
Level: Easy

1/8 c. olive oil
1/2 of a zucchini, sliced
1/2 of a summer squash, sliced
1/4 c. onion, sliced
1/3 c. button mushrooms, sliced
1/4 c. bell pepper, sliced
1 tbsp. sweet and hot jalapeños, chopped (can substitute regular jalapeños)
1 clove of garlic, minced (can substitute a sprinkle of garlic powder)
generous sprinkle of Italian seasoning
pizza dough
1/2 c. pizza sauce
3 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled, optional
1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
pepper

Preheat oven to 400°. Bake dough for 8 minutes. In a pan over medium-high heat, sauté vegetables, sprinkled with Italian seasoning, in olive oil.

Top dough with pizza sauce, bacon, veggies, mozzarella cheese, and cherry tomatoes.

Bake for an additional 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil dough on top oven rack for 1 minute, until cheese is golden and bubbly.

Sprinkle with pepper. Yum!

Tips
– Try adding cubed or sliced eggplant.
– An Italian cheese blend would be yummy with or instead of mozzarella.
– You can use spaghetti sauce if you don’t have pizza sauce.