Pizza With Pizazz

I'm not sure about you, but we are much more likely to eat pizza on the weekends than during the week.  I'm not sure why exactly, because it certainly is a quick enough dinner for those busy evenings with lots of activities and what not going on, but that's just how it is.  I like to make pizza's for pot lucks and for appetizer nights too.  There are so many yummy things to put on a pizza that you just can't miss.  Here are some of our faves.

I prefer to start with homemade dough.  Nelsy bought a bunch of organic bread flour so it's super easy to whip some up in the bread machine.

One of our favorites is the Margarita Pizza.  Fresh tomato slices, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil (notice a theme here?) are always a safe bet.

I add a tiny bit of sauce to it first, maybe a couple of tablespoons or so.  Some fresh cracked pepper and maybe a little shake of garlic powder and you are good to go!

And of course, the cheese!

Ahhh yes.  Not every pizza needs meat!

But if you should choose to go that route....I love the hot Italian ground pork sausage we get from our CSA. This is about a half pound.   I proposed on the Facebook page that I was thinking about making a pizza with Brussels sprouts (some of you were horrified!) and this is it!

I used about 5 or 6 large sprouts and sliced them really thin.  I cooked the sausage up in a pan and when it was close to done I added in some minced garlic and the Brussels sprouts and cooked them until they were softened and the sausage was cooked through.

I used pizza sauce, the sausage and sprouts and added a few mushrooms then topped with part-skim mozzarella and some fresh cracked pepper.

You'll notice that my pizza isn't done if it isn't brown.  How good does this look?

I know you're rethinking this Brussels sprouts thing...admit it!

A couple of slices with a nice salad.  Seriously, this is a fabulous dinner!

I've got one more for you, and this one is always a hit.  I started this one with a whole wheat crust (I like to pre-bake the crust in case you're wondering).

Next I rounded up some fresh herbs, oregano and thyme in this case.

Chop them up.  In a small dish add a tablespoon or so of olive oil and a couple of cloves of minced garlic, a squeeze of lemon, the herbs and a dash of salt and pepper.

And that's where the clams come in.  Stay with me here people, clam pizza is no joke!

Chop up the clams a little, spread the oil, herb garlic mixture over the crust and then spread the clams around. Add another little squeeze of lemon if you like.  I do.

I like to top this one with a combination of part-skim mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.  It doesn't need a ton of cheese.

Bake until beautiful.

Top with spring mix and a light drizzle of olive oil.  This is by far one of my faves!

I guess if you're not a fan of pizazz, there's always pepperoni.  By far not one of my faves but sometimes the kids like to keep it old school.