Butternut Squash, Red Onions and Goat Cheese Pizza with a Balsamic Drizzle

Hey fellow blog reading foodies! I know it has been quite some time since I have made a post here. School and work appeared to have taken over my life. No seriously. I haven't eaten anything since my last post. Ya .. NOTHING... obviously kids. But I realized that post-writing has turned into a form of artistic expression, and I need to... express myself. Also, Come Dine with me Canada is back on... so inspiration is nothing but lacking! HA.

Egg and Sausage Breakfast Pizza

Whoa nelly! It is pizza for breakfast again.

You know what the best part of this pizza was? The fact that when I made this I am pretty sure I was drinking a ceasar as a hangover cure... and then I spilt it on the pizza (post picture of course - or probably while I was drinking to juggle a camera and a drink is one hand). And I ate it anyways (clearly I did... I was hungover)

Pita Pizza

As most of you know by now, pizza is a staple in my house. A staple in my life. I truly believe pizza is what makes the world go round. Isn't that why pizzas are typically round? Like the EARTH.

Bacon and Avocado Breakfast Pizza

Breakfast pizza? Whhaaaa???

That's right folks, yesterday I got a bit crazy and put my breakfast ON A PIZZA. 

Only crazy people do this. 

Eggplant Pizza Version 2.0

Ready for Eggplant Pizza Version 2.0? If you recall, Eggplant Pizza Version 1.0 was not only easy on the taste buds, easy on the wallet as well as easy on the eyes. Version 2.0 meets all the same qualifications but takes things up a notch. In more traditional pizza format, this pizza is hearty enough for the winter yet fresh and light enough for the summer (contradicting no? Whatever - I eat it all the time and hopefully you will too!)

Pizza Party

 It's that time of year again. We all know what I am talking about. When the weather sucks the big one; I personally get to tired of dealing with it so I end up staying in most of the time dreaming about the day when I don't have to scrape off my car. Midterms and projects pile up and stress is at an all time high. And my social life seems to be on hold until the sun comes out again.

But how to kill the winter blues? Well I decided to do what I do best and throw a dinner party! But not just any dinner party - a pizza party. I gathered up my girls, divided up the grocery list and the result? One friggan amazingly delicious dinner. 

Green Pizza

Pizza dough truly is a blank canvas. You can put whatever you want on it, and chances are it will taste good. Now I know the traditional sauce for pizza is a tomato sauce, but I like to switch things up now and then.

Today I am using pesto. Pesto is just a sauce made from crushed herbs and garlic. The most traditional pesto is made from parsley, garlic, pine nuts and parm cheese. I have made my own pesto before, and have tried different version using different ingredients (I'll have to show you that another day =P). But sometimes I like to take the easy route and use the jarred stuff. You may be taken aback at first by the price of pesto, but trust me, once you see how far the jar will spread, you won't feel so bad.

Like I have mentioned before, I like sneaking as many veggies as I can onto pizza because no matter what you put on it...its still pizza. So today's pizza is green..obviously it must be somewhat healthy right? Right?

Green Pizza

Your Favourite Pizza Dough (plain, flavoured, pre-cooked, whatever)
3 Tbsp of Pesto
3 Cups of Spinach
Goat Cheese (or mozzarella) and as much or as little as you want
Parm Cheese (optional)
Fresh Herbs (optional)
Cornmeal (optional)
Olive Oil
Chicken (optional - I didn't use it today because I didn't have any..but it would be an awesome addition)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out your dough (if it needs to be rolled). Sprinkle some cornmeal on a baking sheet (this is optional, but it adds a nice little crunch to the crust). Spread out the pesto all over the dough. Cover with spinach.

Place in oven for approximately 15-18 minutes or until the crust just begins to show a little color. Pull it out and add the goat cheese. The reason I add the goat cheese near the end is because I personally do not like when goat cheese is completely melted. Have a different opinion? Be my guest and add it earlier. Just a matter of preference. Throw it back in the oven for another 5-8 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Like a crunchier crust? Leave it in longer.

Once out of the oven, sprinkle on parm cheese and fresh herbs (don't fret if you don't have any herbs, it doesn't MAKE the pizza, it just takes it up a notch). Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top.

Eat your greens!

Cooking Tip for 1: I highly recommend just making this whole pizza for yourself. That is because I am a fan of cold pizza and I love having it for lunch (or breakfast) the next day. But of all the pizzas I have had, this is one of my favourite cold.

Eggplant Pizza Version 1.0

Version 1.0? Yep, that means I have multiple eggplant pizza recipes. I can't seem to get enough of the whole eggplant-pizza combination. It is quite delicious and ridiculously easy. Part of the Ultimate Student Collection.

This recipe comes from my bf who grew up on it. His mother had to be creative in getting her boys to eat their veggies! Apparently they would eat anything if the word "pizza" was attached. She is also gluten-intolerant which makes eating pizza difficult. And the dough-less eggplant pizza was born.

Eggplant Pizza

1 Eggplant
1 Can of Pizza Sauce
Pepperoni
Mozzarella Cheese
Any other pizza toppings you like

 Preheat oven to  425 degrees. Slice up an eggplant (1/4 - 1/2 inch thick) and lay them flat on a baking sheet. The reason you don't want to cut the eggplant too thick is that the skin can be kinda tough and nobody likes tough stuff.

Spread pizza sauce on each slice. Top with well, toppings. I personally think the pepperoni slices are what makes this a tasty bite. It adds texture and makes it feel a little more substantial since there are no carbs present.

Place in oven for approximately 10-12 minutes until the cheese begins to melt and turn a little golden.

Let em cool before you jump in!

Cooking Tip for 1: Eggplants come in such various sizes so just try to pick a smaller one. Or try a Japanese eggplant because they are smaller and thinner. They may offer a bit of a different flavor but worth a try. Then you can make eggplant pizza bites! Yum.

Kitchen Sink Pizza

Mmmm... pizza. The ultimate student food. Its delicious, filling and incredibly cheap; in fact, the joint around the corner from my house sells large pizzas for $5.99! It is almost impossible to beat that! But all that grease and fake cheese definitely starts to take a tole on the waist line. So I decided to start making my own pizza at home and I was determined to make it just as cheap, but a lot tastier. As you will see in the future, this pizza is only the first of my crazy concoctions!

First up, the Kitchen Sink Pizza. What on earth? Well.. it is pretty much pizza, with whatever you have in the house on it - possibly including the kitchen sink, but thats optional (HA!).

So what makes a good homemade pizza? Well the dough of course. I have made my own dough from scratch, but that will be a different day and a different post. For now, let's look at where you can buy some delicious dough!
- Local bakeries sometimes have fresh dough to buy
- Farmer's market (London, Ontario at the Covent Garden market has some great pizza dough at the bakery inside)
- Metro - not as fresh, but certainly delicious because they usually have different flavors such as Garlic and Rosemary (which I used today).

Best part about all this? I think the most I ever paid for this dough was $2.50 and I can usually get 2 pizzas out of the dough (well depending on how thick or thin you like your crust).

Another great thing is about this pizza, you can literally use whatever you have on hand. Anyone can make one really. The reason I post this recipe is to show you how you can actually use anything and chances are it will taste way better than anything out of a box. Plus you can load on the veggies and without even realizing it, you made yourself something healthy.

So let's take a gander...

Kitchen Sink Pizza

1 bag of pizza dough (well possibly half a bag)
1/4 cup of flour (just so the dough doesn't stick to the counter)
1/4 cup of cornmeal (OPTIONAL!)
1 small jar of pizza sauce (OR Ragu! Haha.. I had no pizza sauce so I used Ragu. Told ya.. whatever you have!)
2-3 cups of sliced mushrooms
1-2 peppers (I happened to have roasted red peppers - check that recipe out another day)
3 cups of spinach
2 tbsp of oregano
Cheese.. any kind. I had goat cheese and parm - but that wasn't going to stop me from making some good stuff!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Roll out the pizza dough on a floured surface until you receive the thickness (or thinness) you desire. Sprinkle some cornmeal on a baking sheet. You really don't have to do this, but I happened to have some and it adds a nice crunch to the dough. Place the dough on the baking sheet and spread out with your hands until it meets the corners. Well... try your best, dough is stubborn.

Spread the pizza sauce (or whatever sauce) over the dough and sprinkle oregano over the sauce. If you are using Ragu or some pasta sauce, adding oregano kicks it up a notch. Place all vegetable toppings on top. If you are using spinach, put it underneath the other vegetables because it tends to burn. Sprinkle cheese on top.

Put in oven on middle rack for approximately 15-20 mins. Depending on how you like your crust. I like mine on the crunchier side so I will leave it in a little longer. Once the crust is a golden brown and hard to the touch, the pizza is done!

Let cool for a bit before cutting. Trust me on that one.

No more pizza boxes yay!

Cooking for 1 Tip: Pizza dough freezes nicely. Can you believe it? Wrap it really good in saran wrap and put it in a freezer bag. When you go to thaw it out and use it again, you may need to add a little more flour because it may be a bit wet. Also, knead it before you roll it out.