Cinnamon Apple Orange Dessert Pizza

May sound like a random combo, but it's one of my very favorite ones.  This is pretty simple and super delicious for a dessert!  :)

Pizza Dough (homemade or store-bought)

Apples (finely diced, 1 apple for small pizza, 2 for medium, 3 for large)

Sugar (2 T for every apple used)

Cinnamon (1/2 t for every apple, high quality is best, I used Vietnamese Saigon from Savory Spice Shop)

Orange Zest (as much as you'd like, or about zest from 1 orange for every 2 apples used)

1.  Spread out pizza dough on pan or cast iron skillet. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Cook diced apples in a a microwave safe container with 2 T of water per apple until tender.  Or about 2 minutes per apple.  Drain water.

3.  Spread cooked apples over pizza dough.  Sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and orange zest. (like below)

4.  Bake in 400 degree oven for about 7-10 minutes or until the crust is done.

Serve warm and enjoy!*

Optional to drizzle simple icing over slices before serving.

Tortilla Pizzas

These aren't anything new, but they are SO quick and easy to whip up.  I just had to share them with you because, well, they are SO quick and easy...and yummy.  :)  I just made these for our non-dinner Sunday night.

What you'll need:
Cheese
Tortillas
Sauce
Toppings, optional

Just place the tortillas (and size will work) on a baking sheet.  Then spread on some sauce and sprinkle shredded cheese on top.  Then you can add toppings if you'd like.  Bake at 400degrees for about 5 minutes or stick under the broiler for an even quicker snack! (just wait until the cheese is melted under the broiler)  Cut up and enjoy!  :)

Yum! :)

Healthier Pizza Crust?

I have been wanting to experiment with making healthier versions of pizza, and pizza crust, since I love pizza SO much.  So, tonight I added shredded carrots and here's how it turned out....    

I used my regular pizza dough recipe with the changes below...  :)

1 c. shredded carrots mixed with 3/4 c. water and microwaved for about 3 minutes.

Yeast, salt, sugar, oil and flour added.  (I only needed about 1.5 c. of flour.)

I wanted a rustic italian style pizza tonight, so I shaped it like this and then topped it with sauce, cheese and basil.

Ready to eat!  Yum!

Overall, we both liked it.  But I do however think it would be improved if the 1 c. of carrots was cooked and pureed instead of being shredded and partially cooked. So that's what I'll try next time! :)

Stromboli

Do you like pizza?  Do you enjoy eating it in different ways?  Then look no more! :)  These are cute, fun, pretty, sophisticated and really, quite easy!  Also fully customizable, AND they can be a great festive treat! :)

Stromboli:
Pizza Dough (store-bought or homemade)
Toppings of your choice, like....
     Sauce (try this one!)
     Cheese
     Meat
     Veggies
Egg wash (optional)

1.  Roll out the pizza dough into a an oval or rectangle.  Then cut strips about 1" wide and about 3" long like in the picture below.  :)

 2.  Fill the center of the dough with the toppings of your choice, like sauce, cheese and pepperoni. 

3.  Braid the strips to close up the stromboli like the tutorial below.  The bow at the end is completely optional but totally festive!  :)

4.  Egg wash (if you want to) and bake for about 20-25 minutes (or until golden brown) at 350 degrees.

 5.  Serve and enjoy!  :)  Yum...

The inside will look something like this...and please excuse the cutting mat that's been used....a...lot.... (apparently)

 Yum though!  You can make these are big or small as you'd like!  Slice and serve if it's a big one, or make little individual ones for everybody!  :)

Jack-o'-lantern Pizza

Here's a festive way to feed your family or party guests this Halloween.  I think these are a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e. and yummy!  You can really customize them too, which is always a plus right?  :)

Jack-o'-latern Pizzas:

Pizza Dough (homemade or store bought)

Sauce (Tomato Sauce or your choice)

Cheese

Toppings

 Make a personal sized pizza and then shape into a pumpkin.

 Top it with sauce, cheese and other toppings.  Be sure to arrange the toppings in a shape like a face or something!  Cute huh?  :)

Bake at 400degrees for 7-12 minutes or until golden.

Enjoy!  You could also do a regular sized pizza, but I think the personal sized ones are perfect for parties, etc!!  Have fun!!

French Bread Pizza

So, we've all grown to love those frozen french pizzas.  The funny thing is that they are actually super easy to make at home anyway!  Here's how you can do it!  :)

French Bread Pizza:
French Bread
Sauce
Mozzerella Cheese
Toppings (pepperoni, sausage, veggies, etc.)

Alright this is a very customizable dish.  You can make it for one person, two or four people, or more...The possibilities are endless and it will all be easy peasy!  :)  I just made this for me today for lunch.  So, if you do it for more people just use more of the bread, etc. k?

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Get the french bread ready!  Determine how much bread you will need.  Cut that off the loaf (or use entire loaf) and slice in half.  

 2.  Slather your bread with the sauce of your choice.

 3.  Then layer your toppings on top of the sauce.  I prefer my cheese to be next to the sauce and toppings on top of that.  Do whichever you like best though!  :)

 4.  Bake the french bread pizzas for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.

 5.  Enjoy!  The toppings will be melty, the outside will be crust and crunchy and the whole thing will be delicious!!  (And easy!!!)

Note:  I chose eggplant as my topping today so I sliced it up, cut those slices up, place them on a baking sheet, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper.  Then I roasted them for about 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

 

Poor Man's Pizza

Alright, this is quite possibly my very favorite pizza to make at home.  I make it 99% of the time for myself, but never have for my hubs till tonight.  And as it turns out, he likes it too!  Best part?  It's super easy, yummy and cheap!  Plus, it's basically all things found in your pantry...or out of staples.  :)

Poor Man's Pizza (aka my favorite homemade pizza)

Pizza Dough (Any will due!  Mine, yours or from the store!)

Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

Fresh Basil, roughly chopped

Garlic, minced

So, all you do is put the pizza dough on a pizza pan or baking sheet.  Then spinkle the cheese evenly over it.  Then sprinkle the basil and garlic over the cheese!

Bake in a hot 425degree oven for about 7-10 minutes (until golden)  and get ready to taste a little bit of heaven in a very affordable way!  :)  Enjoy!!!

Pizza

Here's my recipe:

Dough:

1 package active dry yeast

3/4 c. warm water

1 c. All Purpose Flour

1 c. Whole Wheat Flour

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Sugar (or Honey)

Olive oil to brush on crust

Toppings:

Your favorite sauce (I used Barilla's Tomato and Basil)

1.5 c. Italian Cheese Mix (or Mozzarella)

Pepperoni

Mushrooms

(Really, any toppings of your choice here!)

1. Start by adding the yeast to the warm water and stir.

2. Mix in the rest of the ingredients into the yeast mixture.

3. Once well combined, let rise for 30 minutes.

4. Punch down, turn and let rise another 30 minutes.

5. After the dough is done with the second rise, place it on a pizza pan evenly spreading it to the edges. (I used one with wholes in it so it is nice and crisp on the bottom.)

6. Spread the sauce, cheese and toppings on top of the dough.

7. Go around the edge of the crust and brush with the Olive Oil.

8. Bake in a 400degree oven for about 20minutes. (Or until done)

If you see my picture above you may wonder why the pepperoni isn't all over the pizza. That is because I just wanted Mushroom on my pieces. :)