Breakfast Pizza

Mmmm, pizza.  :)  Pizza is the perfect food.  It's wonderful for lunch, dinner...and now even breakfast! This is a hearty way to incorporate a myriad of breakfast foods onto a single pizza crust.  You can customize it with your favorite meats, cheeses, and veggies, but this is how my family enjoys it.  Eat it plain or top it with ketchup or (my choice) Tapatio hot sauce.  Even though it could be considered "breakfast" we often enjoy this for dinner with a tasty vegetable side dish.  I hope you give this a try!

Ingredients

your favorite pizza dough (keep in mind to form a good crust to keep the egg in place before you bake!)

1 C chopped meat of choice - sausage, bacon, ham, or vegetarian sausage (that's what we use)

4 oz shredded cheese - we use cheddar, but pepper jack would be great too!

1/2 C onion, chopped

4 eggs

1/4 C milk

1 C hash brown patties, cooked and coarsely chopped 

3 Tbsp minced herb of choice - we use rosemary since we always have it growing in our yard

ketchup or hot sauce, if desired

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 475 degrees.  
2. Prepare your pizza crust and top with the meat of choice.  Sprinkle shredded cheese and onion on top.
3. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.  Pour carefully and evenly over the pizza.
4. Top with hash browns and minced herbs.  
5. Bake until egg is cooked and cheese begins to brown, about 15 minutes.  Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

This is an original recipe

Spinach Tomato Alfredo Pizza

Boy, have I found another great pizza recipe for you!  This delicious pizza uses a base of homemade Alfredo sauce in lieu of your basic tomato.  It is pretty much everything I love about pizza and Fettuccine Alfredo all rolled into one amazing dish!  Adding a bunch of minced garlic over the sauce takes this to the next level.  The little bursts of garlic in every bite is just heavenly!

The farm fresh tomatoes and spinach give this pizza great flavor and texture.  It is a new family favorite for sure and we already can't wait to make it again.  If you are looking for an out-of-the-box pizza, give this a try.  I promise you will not be disappointed!

Ingredients

For the Alfredo Sauce:
1 C heavy cream
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 C freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
a dash of nutmeg

For the Pizza:
your favorite pizza crust
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 oz shredded mozzarella
1/2 C tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2-3 large handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped
Italian seasoning

Directions

1. Cook Alfredo Sauce: In a medium fry pan, bring the butter and cream to a boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Add the parmesan cheese and stir until it melts completely.  Continue to simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, 3-5 minutes.  Remove from heat and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Set aside.
2. Heat the oven to 475 degrees with a pizza stone inside.  Evenly spread the Alfredo sauce around the pizza crust leaving a 1 inch border.  Sprinkle the garlic over the sauce.  Layer the cheese, spinach, and tomatoes evenly over the pizza.  Top with a sprinkle of Italian seasoning.
3. Bake for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted and golden at the edges.  Allow to cool 3-4 minutes before cutting or else the sauce might be a little to runny.  Enjoy!

Adapted from Love Bakes Good Cakes

Ultimate Mexican Pizza

It's a known fact...I love pizza.  If I could have it every single day, I would.  If you ask me, it's the perfect meal!  It includes grains, dairy, and a variety of fresh produce!  Sounds pretty balanced, huh?  I love trying new combinations of veggies on my pizzas and boy did I find a winner!  This Mexican pizza is PACKED with veggies and is even given an extra boost with a base of beans in lieu of the standard tomato sauce.  This gives the pizza tons of fiber and a virtually fat-free source of protein.  By making your "refried" beans at home, you have control over the salt levels, lowering the overall sodium content of this meal.  

This pizza with the toppings shown above is awesome (that is how my 3 year old ate it), but if you want to make it truly "Ultimate" you have got to add my Restaurant Style Salsa and some broken tortilla chips on top of your pizza slices.  Seriously life-changing people!  The combination of hot pizza with cold salsa and crunchy chips is a match made in heaven.  All the prep can be done ahead of time, making this a great dinner when you are short on time in the evening.  Go ahead.  Try it tonight!  :)

Ingredients (add to your liking!)

Your favorite pizza dough or crust
refried beans
jack and pepper jack cheese, shredded
sliced olives
fresh or frozen corn
tomatoes, seeded and chopped
green onions, chopped
cilantro, chopped
avocado, chopped
Restaurant Style Salsa
tortilla chips

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 475 degrees with a pizza stone inside.  
2. Ready your pizza dough/crust and add toppings.  Start with an even layer of refried beans.  Next add cheese.  Then top with all the veggies except cilantro and avocado.  
3. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling.
4. Remove from the oven and add cilantro and avocado.   Just before enjoying, top with salsa and chip pieces.  

Pot Pie Pizza

OK.  This may be the coolest thing ever.  If you haven't guessed, I love pizza.  It is, hands down, my favorite food.  I love that you can make so many different variations, and as a vegetarian, one of the foods I miss is chicken pot pie.  It has such great flavors and is just so comforting.  Now, I have found a way to enjoy that same experience in a PIZZA!!  This was so much fun!

If you wanted to make it super simple, you could use a bag of frozen mixed veggies, but since my local organic farm had all but the peas available, I decided to use their fresh veggies.  I prepped them and steamed them to make my own veggie medley for this pizza and it was really easy - and don't they look beautiful?  :)  And what a great way to get kids to eat more veggies!

Instead of pizza sauce, you make a simple broth thickened with a basic roux.  If you are not a vegetarian, feel free to use chicken broth, but if you are a vegetarian I would really suggest using Imagine No Chicken Broth.  Vegetable broth would work, but the No Chicken broth takes it to the next level.  It truly tastes like chicken pot pie!!  I thought about adding cooked and shredded Gardein chicken, but opted against it this time.  Next time I think I will give it a try.  It's so good, it might be a part of my next vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner!  :)

Ingredients (makes 1 pizza)

3/4 C finely chopped carrots
3/4 C peas
1/2 C green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1/2 inch lengths
1/2 cob of corn, kernels removed
1 pizza crust
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
2/3 C Imagine No-Chicken Broth
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 oz shredded mozzarella
1/3 C freshly grated parmesan

Directions

1. Using a steamer, steam the green beans for about 1 min, then add the carrots and peas and steam until crisp tender (about 5 mins).
2. Set aside to cool and add the corn kernels to the veggie mixture.
3. Heat the oven to 475 degrees with the pizza stone inside.
4. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the flour and whisk until smooth.  Cook for 1 minute.  Add the broth and whisk constantly for 2 minutes until it thickens and begins to bubble.  Whisk in thyme, sage, salt, and pepper and cook for 1 minute more.  Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
5. Prepare the pizza crust.  Spread the sauce evenly over the crust leaving a 1 inch border.  Top with mozzarella.  Layer the mixed vegetables evenly over the pizza.  Sprinkle with parmesan.
6. Bake until crust is golden and cheese just starts to brown (about 15 minutes).  Let cool about 5 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!!

Adapted from - Family Fun September 2012

Pesto, Tomato, Goat Cheese, and Arugula Pizza

This is one of the first out-of-the-box pizzas I ever made, and my family instantly fell in love!  Because the flavor of the tomatoes is so important, we only make this during tomato season.   I knew it was going to be one of the first recipes I made with this year's tomato crop!  The quality of the pesto is also key, so please, PLEASE make your own!  This pizza is a little more complicated to eat with the whole arugula leaves on top, so I will chop some of the arugula to top my daughter's pieces; it makes it much easier for her to handle.  We will be enjoying this fantastic pizza throughout the summer and I sure hope you will too!

Ingredients
your favorite pizza crust
1/3-1/2 C pesto
3-4 tomatoes, sliced
4 oz crumbled goat cheese
two large handfuls of arugula
olive oil

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 475 degrees with your pizza stone inside.  
2. Spread the pesto evenly over the pizza crust.  Place your tomato slices around the pizza and top with the goat cheese.
3. Bake directly on the pizza stone for about 10 mins or until the goat cheese is lightly browned.
4. While the pizza is baking, place the arugula in a bowl and toss with a drizzle of olive oil to very lightly and evenly coat the leaves.
5. Cut pizza into slices and top with arugula to serve. 

Adapted from Myra Goodman

Greek Pesto Pizza

This delicious pizza is jam-packed with veggies!  It is one of my family's favorites for sure!  There are so many textures and flavors combined to make this pizza a real delight for the whole family.  The quality of the pesto is so important to this dish, so I truly hope you make your own.  There are far more veggies than cheese, so it is a healthier option for a pizza.  (Good since I LOVE pizza!)  This is another recipe that allows you to prep the ingredients ahead of time, so your dinner-time rush is incredibly fast and simple.  I hope you give this pizza a try!

Ingredients

Your favorite pizza crust

1/2-3/4 C pesto

1/2 small cucumber, seeded and chopped

1 ripe tomato, seeded and chopped

1/2 large green bell pepper, chopped

2 oz black olives, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

6 oz canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

3-4 oz crumbled feta cheese

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 475 with the pizza stone already inside.
2. Spread the pesto evenly on the pizza crust.
3. Top with the vegetables and cheese.
4. Bake directly on the pizza stone for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is lightly browned.

Shared on Orgjunkie

Sweet Potato Kale Pizza with Rosemary and Red Onion

Pizza may be my all-time favorite food.  I could have pizza every single week!  I am always on the look out for new and inventive pizza recipes, and this one is a real winner!  I seem to always get quizzical looks when I tell people about it, but trust me, this is a pizza I would pay good money for at a restaurant! 

The combination of flavors is fantastic!  The sweet roasted red onions with the thick-cut sweet potatoes are wonderful.  That paired with a hint of rosemary, a crunch of kale, and a splash of balsamic vinegar make this pizza complex while still remaining kid-friendly.  

I always try to serve food with a variety of colors, and I love how colorful this pizza is.  Also, the fact that it doesn't use a sauce makes it a nice change of pace from our other pizza options.  I really encourage you to give it a try.  You will not be disappointed!  

Ingredients

your favorite pizza dough or ready-made crust

2 small sweet potatoes, sliced into about 1/4" thick rounds

1 medium red onion, cut into thick wedges

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

5-6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

1-2 C kale, torn into pieces

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

 Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Toss the sweet potato rounds and onions in the olive oil on a large baking sheet.  Lay the potato rounds flat and season everything with salt and pepper to taste.  Bake for about 20 minutes being sure to turn the potatoes once during cooking and season the other sides.
2. Once the veggies are done, turn your oven to 500 degrees and let your pizza stone (if using) heat up.
3. To assemble the pizza, first layer the shredded cheese over the pizza crust.  Sprinkle the rosemary evenly over the cheese.  Once the veggies have finished roasting, place the potato rounds on top of the cheese.  Spread the onions evenly over the potatoes.  Lay the kale pieces on top (remember, the kale will shrink during the baking process).  Finally, drizzle the balsamic over the entire pizza.
4. Place the pizza directly on the pizza stone, or on the oven rack.  Cook approximately 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and slightly browned on the edges. 
5. Let the pizza sit a few minutes before slicing.  Eat and enjoy!

Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod