Green & White Pizza

You can't tell from the fuzzy photo, but this was a really tasty pizza. A new creation, I am calling it the Green & White. Everything on it was green or white. If you ever make one, all you need is green and white toppings, and you'll be set.

I had all these onions left over from some Persian take-out food we ordered. They always give us quarters of raw white onions in a paper bag with the plastic utensils and extra sumac seasoning. But, I'm not a huge fan of raw onion, so I saved them for another day. This was the day.

I carmelized them by heating up 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter, dumping in the sliced onions, sprinkled with salt, and turned the heat on low, letting them cook really slow. Low and slow, baby. They will sweeten up and turn a beautiful golden brown color. Smells so good.

Second white ingredient: chicken breast. I cubed 2 breasts and seasoned them with salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning. Then I sauteed the chicken in the same pan that my onions were in, after they were done.

Third white ingredient: mozzarella cheese. First green ingredient: basil pesto (pre-made from the farmer's market).

Second green item: capers. They are are salty and pickled and add the slightest bit of tang to a fairly sweet pizza (because of the onions).

Here it is, all ready for the oven. I was going to add spinach to even out the green and white, but I got lazy. No one but me knew the difference. It is what you make it after all, right?

Baked it up in a 450 degree oven for 10 minutes and it was bubbly and delicious. My husband said it was the best yet. I guess they just keep getting better, because he seems to always say that when I make pizza. Give the Green & White a try. Just be sure to use whatcha got.

Homemade Sausage For A Homemade Pizza

Mmmm. Pizza. So many possibilities for a cookin' with whatcha got meal. This is the reason why you should have pizza dough on hand at all times. It freezes perfectly, so you can take one out whenever you feel like it. And, you can pretty much add whatever the heck you want (or need to use up) from the fridge and pantry. Genius.

I buy my pizza dough (the whole wheat variety) at Trader Joe's, and I buy 2-3 at a time to store in the freezer. They have plain white dough, whole wheat, and herb dough. They are all really good. Another fun place to get ready-to-bake pizza dough is your local pizzeria. If there's a restaurant crust that you fancy, there's a really good chance that they will sell you a portion of dough, so you can make your own pizza at home. Try it. I'm not joking. Of course, if you're at a regular supermarket, you can also buy the Pillsbury crust. It's pretty good too.

I don't know about you, but I love sausage on my pizza. I'm not a huge fan of pepperoni, but I love sausage pizza. I used to buy sweet Italian sausage for my pizzas, but then one day (years ago) I didn't have any stocked up. I did, however, have ground turkey. I thought about it for a little while and then I realized...sausage is ground meat, just with some seasoning!

So, I played around a little. I pulled out the salt and pepper, Italian seasoning, oregano, red chili flakes, garlic, onion, cumin...a little shake here and there...mixed it into the turkey meat and I had myself some sausage. I tested the seasoning by taking a little bit and cooking it in a small skillet. then taste it. If it needs something else, like salt or garlic, add a little more...you get the point.

This time I used about 1/4 lb of ground turkey to cover one large pizza. Add 1tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp red chili flakes, 1T oregano, 1tsp Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp garlic powder.

To make my pizza, I used a pizza screen (shown underneath my ingredients) - a gift from my aunt for Christmas. You can find them at restaurant supply stores. The screen makes the crust come out really perfect, because the holes let the hot oven air reach the bottom and crisps it up just enough without burning it. So fun!

I used pesto, mozzarella, roasted red peppers, leeks (I needed to use them, and they are in the onion family!), goat cheese, the sausage, and then I added artichoke hearts at the end - I remembered I had some at the last minute.

Roll out the dough to fit the pizza screen. Pesto on first, then the cheese, then the other toppings...

I always finish my pizzas off with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and fresh cracked black pepper.

In the oven at 450F for 10 minutes, or until the edges are browned and the cheese is melted. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes and then transfer it to a cutting board to slice.

It's so easy and fun to do with friends and/or kids! Happy cookin'!