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Alicias Activity Angle: Pizza by the slice
Alicia Wicklund
05/08/2012
I don’t know a sole that doesn’t like a slice of pizza. Maybe it’s the warm and cheesy topping or the uniqueness of eating it by the slice, or square, or however a person chooses to cut it.
An alternative to the traditional way of baking a pizza in the oven is grilling it. I’ve grilled pizzas on a grill that burns wood pellets and the flavors really come out. You can taste the nuttiness of the wood pellets and can also choose assortments of pellets to enhance the flavors layered on top of the crust.
Pizza is one of those go-to foods when a person doesn’t really feel like cooking. They could call in and get one delivered, pop a frozen one into the oven or maybe a person would have enough energy to drum up a homemade concoction.
There are some pretty quick and easy ways to make pizza crust. You can also buy the crust already pre-made. I personally like the frozen disks of dough a person can find in the freezer section. Once thawed, they can be rolled out on a lightly floured surface. I like this way too because you can control how thick you want the crust.
Just a preference, but I think using a pizza stone makes a difference too. Pizza is just a versatile food that can be made to each person’s food preferences. Here are several options of pizza combination toppings. Don’t be afraid to mix and match, leave out or add a food item or make up your own:
Chicken Alfredo Pizza
1 c. Alfredo sauce
4 chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to taste
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1 green or red pepper, finely chopped
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
Over medium heat, cube chicken breasts and cook in a couple teaspoons of olive oil. Use salt and pepper to season. When chicken is fully cooked, spread Alfredo sauce and chicken over crust.
Next, sprinkle chopped onion, peppers and sliced mushrooms and layer cheese on top. Bake in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Use the same ingredients above, except exchange 1 c. of BBQ sauce for the Alfredo sauce.
Breakfast Pizza
6 eggs
½ c. milk
Salt and pepper
1 lb. ground sausage
1 c. Alfredo sauce
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
Over medium heat, brown sausage until done. In the meantime, whisk the eggs, milk and salt and pepper together and cook over medium heat until scrambled. Make sure to add a teaspoon or two of butter to keep the eggs from sticking to the pan.
Spread Alfredo sauce over dough. Evenly arrange sausage, eggs and cheese. Bake in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.
Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza
1 lb. ground hamburger
Salt and pepper
6 oz. bacon
1 c. pizza sauce
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
Pickles, ketchup and mustard
Brown hamburger over medium heat and season with salt and pepper. In the meantime, cook bacon. I like to cook bacon in the microwave by layering a few paper towels on a plate, then layer the bacon and cover with a few paper towels. Usually about 3 to 4 minutes is long enough. It all depends on how crispy you like bacon.
Spread sauce over crust and layer the remaining ingredients, except for the last three. Bake in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Once done, you can top a slice with the last three ingredients.
Vegetable Pizza
2 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls
16 oz. sour cream
1 pkg. dry ranch seasoning
Assortment of veggies: shredded carrots, chopped broccoli, onions, green peppers, black olives, etc.
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a jelly roll pan and spread out crescent rolls. Make sure to push together the seams. Bake for about 8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.
Once cool, mix sour cream and dry ranch seasoning together and spread over crescent roll crust. Arrange veggies over the top and sprinkle with cheese. It really doesn’t matter what kind of veggies you put on top. I like to make sure there are a variety of colors to make the veggie pizza look appealing.
Enjoy.