Christmas Pizza

This Christmas Pizza came about almost by accident last night. On my way home from work I was thinking about what we had in the fridge and what I could make out of it. When in doubt, make a pizza! I stopped at Trader Joe's to pick up some pizza dough and mozzarella cheese, and the rest of the ingredients came together at home.

The dough should be left at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before forming, so I put it on the counter and Pat and I went to the gym for a back and bis training session. When we returned the dough was ready to be stretched, so I got to work.

Christmas Pizza Ingredients:

• Pizza dough
• Pesto
• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Tomatoes (I used grape)
• Mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

I cut the broccoli up into very small pieces and steamed for about 5 minutes (to cook halfway). As the broccoli steamed, I stretched the dough and put it on the pizza pan that had been sprayed with baking spray (the type that has oil and flour). I'm still not the best at shaping the dough, but I am getting better with practice (and if you ask me, practicing by making and eating lots of pizzas is a pretty great job).

I then spread my mom's homemade pesto on the dough with a spatula.

First layer of Mozzarella cheese:

Layer of spinach:

Another sprinkling of mozzarella cheese:

Add the grape tomatoes (halved) face down:

Add the semi-steamed broccoli:

 

Add a final layer of mozzarella cheese, and then top with a few tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted and dough is lightly browned.

Mmm... Christmas Pizza!

I made some broccoli cole slaw to have on the side using these easy ingredients:

I used Trader Joe's organic broccoli slaw and their Champagne Pear Vinaigrette (which is delicious) and added dried cranberries and chopped Granny Smith apple. Very quick and so refreshing.

This dinner was so delicious. The pizza was even better than I thought it would be, and I think that's partly due to the layering of cheese to bring everything together. Pat also loved this, and he's the lucky winner of leftover pizza for lunch today!

 

8 days until Christmas! I woke up several times last night with an awful headache, sore throat, and throbbing ears. This is not the time for me to get sick! Too much to do! I'm drinking as much tea (with honey and lemon) as possible and am going to load up on lots of fruits and veggies to fight this thing. I have dinner plans tonight, shopping and cooking tomorrow, a Christmas party tomorrow night, and my dad's side of Christmas on Sunday in Rhode Island, so hopefully I can push through this.

Happy and Healthy Weekend to All!