Friday, January 1, 2010

Mini Pizzas - and Happy New Year!


After receiving protests from the Bee Balm Gal for my lack of posting, I realized it has been three weeks since my last post! Please accept my apologies - and enjoy this fun recipe.

Now that we've survived the holiday Bermuda Triangle - Hanukkah, Christmas, and
Festivus - it is time to make space in your fridge by using some of those leftovers. My recommendation: mini pizzas. Pizzas are always a good tool for using up the last of the green pepper / chicken / cherry tomatoes, and since so many people are in the mood for appetizers or other smaller-than-normal sized foods, I thought mini pizzas would fit in perfectly. We had them for New Year's Day lunch at my husband's family's house. This recipe makes about 5-6 small (8-inch or so) pizzas.

In this recipe I stretch and bake the crust for a couple minutes before dressing the pizzas - I found that it made the bottom crust sturdier and better able to withstand the saturation of sauce, cheese, and toppings.

Ingredients
  • a batch of Basic Pizza Dough that has risen and been punched down
  • flour (for dusting)
  • 14 oz. jar of pizza sauce (we like the flavor of Ragu's pizza sauce)
  • 3- or 4-cup bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
  • desired toppings (we used pepperoni, diced chicken, and sliced cherry tomatoes)
  • basil
  • oregano
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
  2. Cut dough into 5 or 6 equal sized pieces.
  3. Stretch them into approximately 8-inch rounds and place on a floured cookie sheet or other flat pan.
  4. Bake the dough, plain, for 2-3 minutes until just risen.
  5. Remove from oven and dress with sauce, cheese, and desired toppings.
  6. Sprinkle with basil and oregano.
  7. Put back in oven for another 5-6 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
Comments
These could be made even smaller if desired, but cut into quarters they make a nice snack for people to share. It can also be fun to let people decorate their own pizzas.

No comments:

Post a Comment