Pizza belongs on Fridays, especially Feed Me Fridays!

For me cooking has always been so much about economy and inspiration:  using what I have and what I know to create something interesting and delicious for the people I love and for those we welcome into our home. When I’m not doing much cooking, it’s usually a sign to me I’m not doing enough loving. When “too busy” becomes “too typical,” it’s not just permission to “call” for delivery …. for me it’s a call to re-think my priorities.  I love take-out as much (or more?) than the next girl, but it can’t be a way of life.  I also love PBJ’s as much (or more?) than the next girl, but that also can’t be a way of life.  Maybe you have an area in your life that sometimes gathers dust or gets ignored. When that happens in my kitchen in this season of my life, I hear the message “Stop and evaluate!” Can you relate? I need to hit “reset” in my kitchen.

Economy and inspiration definitely stirred up yesterday’s dinner. I’m not sure what to call this pizza, but maybe you’ll have a suggestion by the end of this post. After all, my family LOVED it, so I need to name it and make it again.  So be thinking as you read …

______________ Pizza.  (You fill in the blank)

I started with a homemade pizza dough; this is SO easy to do and really takes the whole thing up a big notch. I use the Betty Crocker pizza dough recipe. It’s on page 167 of the “old” red binder, or you can find it here. If you follow the internet version, just know that I stop at 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1 tsp. of sugar, only 2 T. of oil, and I only let it rest 5 minutes. In other words, the older way is the easier way.

• Spray an 11×17 cookie sheet (with a slight edge) with non-stick spray and then gently nudge the dough all over the pan, creating a shallow crust.
• I just make one large pizza out of the dough recipe. If you put a little soft butter on your hands, it helps not to be covered in pizza dough.
• Saute 2 chicken breasts in oil and garlic, let them cool, and chopped them into bite size pieces.
• Brush olive oil all over the dough. Probably about 3 tablespoons.
• Distribute about 1 cup of grape tomatoes (cut in half) and 3 tri-colored sweet peppers all over the dough.

• Sprinkle feta cheese (about 1 cup) all over and then cover with 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozarella.
• I topped it all with a sprinkle of dried oregano from my sweet friend Mary’s garden in Greece.  All done!
• Bake the pizza for 15 minutes at 425. Let it rest a few minutes (TRY to get the people to wait …) before you slice it.

This got rave reviews from two of the family, with the exception of the one who said peppers and tomatoes are for salads 😉 What is he thinking??

I love making my own pizza, and the family has come to really enjoy it too. This would be an awesome weekend supper, and you can use what you have to inspire your own pizza creation.

So what would you call this pizza? I’m taking suggestions!