the answer is spinach...spinach pizza!

Happy Friday!

If it is the end of your work week, congrats!  You should celebrate with some comfort food....PIZZA.  Yasssssss!  I love pizza.  So much.  I would eat it every day if that were socially acceptable.  But apparently, it's not.  Rude.

Awaiting the remainder of the toppings!

Anyway, I wanted to share with you the recipe for my spinach pizza! It's so easy and the best part is that you can alter it however you want!  I think a common misconception about cooking with recipes is that you have to stick to them super strictly.  I am not about that life in any way, shape, or form.  In my opinion, that idea scares people away from trying new recipes and diversifying their plates!  Unless it's a recipe for a baked good, I usually stray from the original recipe.  So with that being said, feel free to make adjustments to this recipe!

I typically load this thing up with spinach.  I heart spinach.  Especially on this pizza.  It's amazeballs.

Last spring, my family got together and we did homemade pizzas as a meal.  Remember how I said that I grew up in a meat and potatoes household?  That translates to a meat-lover's pizza household.  Good thing my mom likes my crazy veg cooking and shared my pizza with me.  Or not?  Then I could have had the entire thing to myself.....hmmm.

Anyway, this recipe started in college.  One of my roommates made a variation of this and I tried some and was in love!  I can't remember the exact details, but I basically hijacked the basis for it and made it my own.  It started as a pizza with chicken on it, and I will say, it was excellent when I ate chicken.  If you are a meat-eater, I would recommend cubing some chicken, cooking it ahead and throwing it on top.  Otherwise, I imagine the fresh/frozen chicken strips would work just fine, too.

One last note:  Some of the ingredients do not have quantities next to them.  This is because I usually just sprinkle them on and spread them evenly across the pizza as toppings.

Ingredients:
1 packaged pizza crust (I prefer Target's Archer Farms brand wheat crusts, I would imagine you could do a cauliflower crust too, but I have yet to try it this way!)
Basil Pesto (I don't actually measure...enough to spread across the crust as the sauce.  I buy an 8oz jar and use the extra in other recipes)
Alfredo Sauce (optional)
1/2 bag/tub spinach
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese (approximately)
7 ounce jar quartered artichoke hearts (Again, I buy the larger can and use the rest in other recipes)
Sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
Sliced/quartered black olives
Sliced/quartered kalamata olives
Parmesan cheese (maybe 1/4 cup)

Directions:
Preheat oven according to pizza crust directions.  Place crust on baking sheet.  Spread basil pesto across crust as the sauce.  If you choose to use Alfredo sauce, too, spread that over the pesto layer.  Sprinkle with about 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.  Cover with 1/2 bag/tub spinach.  Try not to freak out by how much spinach there is....it will cook down.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup mozzarella.  Evenly distribute artichoke hearts, black and kalamata olives, and sun dried tomatoes over pizza.  Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.  Cook according to directions on the pizza crust (about 10-12 min)

Finally, I apologize for the last of photos of the cooked pizza!  Apparently, I have an issue with scarfing it down before I can take a pic of it.  #sorrynotsorry c[:

Have fun with this one though!  Add toppings and make it your own!  Everyone in your family can do it differently and you can have a family-friendly homemade pizza night!

xoxo,

anne