Pesto Artichoke Heart Boboli Pizza

Boboli is such a perfect blank slate waiting for any of your favorite flavors to dress it up. Pesto, artichoke hearts, tomatoes and olives are some of my first choices for pizza, so I used them today and it made a delicious combo- try it!

Pesto Artichoke Heart Boboli Pizza

1 mini personal size Boboli crust
2 tablespoons pesto
1/4 cup jarred marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
6 kalamata olives, sliced
8 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
handfull of mozzarella cheese

Spread pesto on crust and place artichoke hearts, tomatoes, olives all over top. Sprinkle with cheese and bake in 450° oven for 8-10 minutes on baking sheet. I cooked mine for 10 minutes and the crust got crunchy. Enjoy!

Make Your Own Mini Pizzas

On our last day in Tahoe, we had a great lunch that the kids loved. They had spent the morning swimming in the Lake, so were very hungry after enjoying the cold, clear lake water and the warm hot tub afterward.  The kids got to personalize their own pizzas and make them exactly how they wanted them. I put them in the oven while they changed out of their swimsuits and the timing was perfect.

I even made a few "appetizer" pizzas for the adults to enjoy with their lunch salads. The mini Hawaiian Pizza with fresh pineapple and canadian bacon and the mini Pesto Pizza with pesto, fresh tomatoes and shredded parmesan cheese were a hit with the adults. The kids loved the mini Parmesan Pizzas with olive oil, shredded parmesan cheese and garlic salt. 

The mini pizzas are ready for the kids to choose their toppings

Each of the kids loved making their own

Their personalized pizzas before baking

Appetizer pizzas for the adults and kids- 
Hawaiian Pizzas (lower left),  
Pesto, Tomato and Pamesan (lower right, upper left) and 
Olive Oil, Parmesan and Garlic Salt (upper right)

Mini Pizzas

2 packages pre-made pizza dough (I love Trader Joe's pizza dough in a bag)

Assorted toppings:

-pizza sauce

-mozzarella cheese

-shredded parmesan cheese

-cubed canadian bacon

-sliced bacon

-sliced tomatoes

-sliced fresh pineapple

-pesto

-garlic salt
-any other veggie or meat you like (olives, peppers, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, broccoli, sausage, bbq chicken- the options are endless!)

Place dough on floured counter and let sit for 20 minutes. Cut dough into six balls and spread each ball into a flat shape (I found it hard to make circles-not a problem since the more irregular ones looks more homemade that way!) 
Place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Add desired toppings. 
Bake at 425° for 10-13 minutes until bubbling on top and lightly browned on bottom. Enjoy!

Trader Joe's Grilled Pizza

I have never made grilled pizza, nor would I have tried it, had my stove/oven not been broken for the last few days. I had a bag of Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough in my fridge that needed to be cooked before expiration and hungry girls for lunch. So I did a little research and took the plunge and made a pizza on my barbecue. It cooked very quickly and despite getting a little charred in spots, tasted amazingly delicious. I am posting this as my first attempt at grilling pizza and look forward to following up someday when I get really good at it! Just keepin' it real for you all :)

Grilled Trader Joe's Pizza
 
1 package Trader Joe's whole wheat or regular pizza dough
1/4 cup Trader Joe's Pizza Sauce (or more if you like it saucier)
1/2 cup Trader Joe's Grated Mozzarella Cheese (or more if you like it cheesier)

Heat grill to medium high heat. Take dough out of refrigerator- dust counter with flour and rest dough on top of counter for 20 minutes. Stretch dough to pizza shape and brush with olive oil. Put on rimless baking sheet for easy deposit on your grill and place the dough, oil-side down on the grill with top down for two minutes. Flip over and put sauce on quickly and sprinkle with cheese. Close grill for another minute or until cheese is melted and then remove. Slice and enjoy!

Mushroom Pizza with Gruyere and Basil

My husband and I enjoyed this tasty pizza for lunch today- it would make a great appetizer, too.

Mushroom Pizza with Gruyere and Basil

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound mushrooms (I used sliced crimini, but you can use what you have in the fridge!)
2-3 cloves garlic
1 shallot, minced
pinch dried thyme
2 mini boboli (or you could use pizza dough or flatbread)
1 cup grated swiss/gruyere mix (Trader Joe's has a pre-shredded bag that is perfect for this)
2 tablespoons chopped basil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In saute pan over medium high heat, heat olive oil and saute mushrooms for 5 minutes. Add garlic, shallot, pinch of thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Saute 6 minutes longer until mushrooms and garlic begin to brown at edges.
Place whatever kind of crust you are using on baking sheet, brush lightly with olive oil, place cheese on crusts and scatter mushrooms on top. Bake for 12-15 minutes until cheese and crust turn golden brown. Allow pizza to rest for a few minutes before sprinkling with chopped basil. Yum!