Everyone has been doing 2016 round ups and best “ofs,” which I love-it’s fun to see the year in review…
I thought I’d do something a little different and look back over 2016 in pizzas!
Pizza is my favorite thing to make, it’s a one dish meal, can be loaded with vegetables, and when you make it yourself, you control the fat and nutrition
It’s also a great way to use leftovers!
Be sure to see the printable recipe formula and chart for making your own masterpiece at the end of the post!
Pesto was one of may favorite sauces this past year, so if you haven’t tried it pizza style put it on your to do this for this year
Winter
Bacon & Brussels Sprouts Pizza
Spring
His and Hers Pizza Cook-Off featured a white pizza with artichokes and a traditional marinara & sausage pizza
Summer
A B C Tart, Asparagus, Bacon and Corn
Basil Pesto Naan with Garlic and Pine Nuts
BBQ Chicken & Corn Pizza with Spinach Salad Topping
Fast and Fabulous Flatbread {blueberry, bacon, fig & bleu cheese}
Fall
Eggplant Parmigiana, Sausage & Pesto Pizza
Sweet & Savory Apple Tart with Fennel & Prosciutto
And here are the pizzas I didn’t even blog about! Just click on the title and you will go straight to the printable recipe
Nectarine and Bacon Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 can pizza crust
- 1 cup light Alfredo sauce
- 1-2 nectarines {or peaches plums}, sliced, peel optional
- 6-8 slices bacon cooked and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 oz. crumbled bleu cheese or grated fontina, jack, or manchego cheese
Instructions
- Prepare crust and bake according to package directions, 8-10 minutes, until almost done. Spread sauce evenly over crust and add fruit and bacon. Sprinkle with cheeses and return to oven at 400 for 10 more minutes until everything is hot and melted.
Prosciutto, Broccoli & Asparagus Flatbread
Prosciutto, Asparagus & Broccoli Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 can pizza crust dough
- 1 cup light Alfredo sauce
- 3 oz prosciutto
- 10-12 asparagus spears cooked to crisp tender
- 20 broccoli flowerettes roasted*
- 2 oz manchego cheese grated
- 2 oz Parmesan or bleu grated
Instructions
- Prepare crust and bake according to package directions, 8-10 minutes, until almost done. Spread sauce evenly over crust and add vegetables and prosciutto. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400 for 10 more minutes or until everything is hot and cheese has melted.
Notes
Recent creations by HHjr
Salami, Apple & Pesto Pizza
Salami, Apple & Pesto Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 pizza crust partially cooked
- 1/4 cup pesto
- 1 green apple sliced
- 8-10 slices thin salami
- 2 oz Parmesan cheese
- 2 oz crumbled bleu cheese optional
Instructions
- Spread pesto in a thin layer on crust. Top with apple and salami slices. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake for 10 minutes or until heated through and cheese has melted.
Pineapple, Pepper & Soppressata Pizza
Pineapple, Pepper, & Soppressata Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 pizza crust partially baked
- 1/2-1 cup marinara sauce
- 1 small can pineapple chunks or tidbits drained
- 1/2 green pepper cut into small strips
- 8-10 slices soppressata
- 2 oz grated mozzarella or fontina cheese
- 2 oz Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Spread sauce in an even layer over crust. Top with pineapple, peppers and soppressata. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400 until heated through, about 10 minutes
Pizza Bolognese with Mushrooms & Kale
Pizza Bolognese with Mushrooms and Kale
Ingredients
Pizza Bolognese
- 1 partially baked pizza crust of choice
- 1/2-1 cup Bolognese sauce
- 2 cups chopped kale leaves
- 8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1-2 T olive oil
- 2 oz fontina or mozzarella cheese grated
- 2 oz Parmesan cheese grated
Bolognese Sauce
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced & chopped
- 1/2 pound pancetta or slab bacon chopped
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks finely chopped
- 2 carrots finely chopped
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 2 bay leaves
- S&P
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cups milk
- 1 can tomato paste
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 2 cups dry red wine
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 28 oz jar quality marinara sauce
Instructions
Pizza Bolognese with Mushrooms and Kale
- Saute mushrooms over medium high heat in olive oil. When mushrooms have released liquid and begun to turn golden add kale and garlic
- Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring and being careful not to burn garlic. Set aside.
- Top crust with sauce and vegetables, then sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400 until hot and melted.
Bolognese Sauce
- Saute bacon in skillet until crisp. Remove to drain on paper towels and pour off most of drippings. Saute onion, celery, carrot and garlic in skillet until translucent. Add bacon and seasonings and cook for 5-10min. Remove bay leaves.
- Pour into heavy stock pot. Add a scant amount of reserved bacon drippings to skillet and saute mushrooms until brown, then add to vegetable bacon mixture. In same skillet brown pork and beef, drain and return to skillet with milk. Simmer 10 min until milk has absorbed into meat.
- Add meat to vegetable mixture then carefully pour in the tomatoes, spaghetti sauce and wine and season with salt and pepper and add to pot. Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat and cover. Slowly simmer for 3-4 hours, stirring now and then, until the sauce is very thick. Taste again for salt and pepper. Makes 14 cups. Can be frozen
So when you’re thinking, “What’s for dinner?” Think PIZZA!
You can see all the pizzas from the Painted Apron on my Pizza Pinterest board here
And if you’re going lo-carb after the holidays, try Zucchini Crust Veggie Pizza
Here is a recipe formula for any pizza
Formula for Pizza or Flatbread
Ingredients
Pizza Crust
- Refrigerated pizza dough from deli or pizzaria, pizza crust in a can, pizza crust mix, homemade, premade or prebaked crust of choice, french bread, flatbread, puff pastry, tortillas, pie crust, naan
- Prepare crust according to package directions, or bake dough until almost done. If using bread, lightly toast before topping
Sauce
- 1/2-1 cup white sauce or Alfredo, red sauce or any type Marinara, pizza, spaghetti sauce, vodka sauce or butternut squash pasta sauce, or 1/4-1/2 cup pesto sauce, BBQ sauce or any type salad dressing, or 3-4 T olive oil, 1/2 cup fig or fruit jam,
Toppings
- Cheese: asiago bleu cheese, cheddar, colby-jack, feta, fontina, goat, gouda, smoked gouda, havarti, manchego, mozzarella, provolone, ricotta
- Fruits: apples, blueberries, black berries, figs, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, pineapple, plums, strawberries
- Meats: bacon, canadian bacon, capicola, chicken, chorizo, ham, Italian sausage, ground beef or pork, pancetta, pepperoni, pork, salami, sausage, soppressata, steak
- Vegetables*: artichoke hearts, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, cole slaw, corn, eggplant, kale, mushrooms, onions, peppers, pumpkin, salad, shallots, spinach, squash, tomatoes, zucchini *some vegetables should be cooked before using on pizza
Extras and Garnishes
- basil, everything seasoning, eggs, roasted garlic, pepitas, pinenuts, walnuts, pecans, rosemary, fried sage, thyme
Instructions
- Bake topped pizza at 350-400 for 10-12 minutes or so to heat through and melt cheeses.
Create a masterpiece!
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I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:
Celebrate and Decorate, Rustic and Refined,
Between Naps on the Porch, Coastal Charm, Cooking and Crafting with J&J, The Scoop, A Stroll Thru Life