The Pizza To End All Pizzas...

It's no big surprise that I love Mediterranean flavors. Scroll through my recipes, and a pretty high percentage of them (the savory one, anyways) feature olives, tomatoes and feta. For the past few years, my favorite pizza has been a chicken pesto pizza. It's really delicious, and I didn't think it could get any better.

Until now.

This pizza is so good, and had so much flavor,you just can not stop eating it. I'm embarrassed to say that Graham and I finished the whole thing that night. Every single componet is delicious, and when you put it all together and cover it with cheese, you have the perfect, most flavorful pizza ever.

I used store bought pesto, which was oilier than mine, so it was a little messy, but still so freaking delicious.

Chicken Sausage Pesto Pizza
Ingredients:

• 1 ball of pizza dough (I like the whole wheat from Trader Joe's)
• 1 cup of pesto (homemade or store bought)
• 1 T. of olive oil
• 1/2 of roughly chopped marinated tomatoes (from Whole Foods)
• 1/4 of roughly chopped kalamata olives
• 1/2 a red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 spinach-feta chicken sausage links (I like the Brat Hans brand from Whole Foods)
• 1.5 cups of shredded mozzarella; divided
• 1/4 cup of feta

Directions:

1. Heat oven according to dough directions (for TJ's dough, it's 350).
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. 
3. Slice the sausage into thin coins and add to a skillet with the onions. Saute for about 5-7 minutes, until sausage has lightly browned and onions are carmelized. 
4. Spread the pizza dough out on a baking sheet or pizza stone and pre-bake for 10 minutes. 
5. Remove from the oven and add the toppings: pesto, mozzarella (1 cup), sausage, onions, tomatoes & olives. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the top, and then add the feta. 
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Chicken Pesto Pizza...

... aka the second best pizza I've ever had. And Graham's reaction (in between moans): "Effing amazing."

This recipe is adapted from this one I found over at Annie's Eats. And it was SO good. I mean really. So. Freaking. Good. I added more stuff to this, because I really like my pizzas to have a lot of toppings. The only time you'll ever find me eating a plain cheese pizza is if it's all that is available. You've probably noticed that I love strong flavors, so I added feta and kalamata olives to this, and it was absolutely perfect. I can't wait to dig in to the leftovers.

Chicken Pesto Pizza
(Recipe adapted from this one.)
Ingredients:

• 1 ball of Pizza dough (I love the Pioneer Woman's recipe)
• 1 cup of Pesto (I like this one from Williams-Sonoma)
• 2 vine ripened tomatoes; pulp removed and chopped
• 1/2 cup of feta (goat cheese would be delicious too!)
• 8-10 kalamata olives; chopped
• 3 chicken tenders; grilled & chopped into bite size pieces
• 1.5 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese 

All of the pretty topping before adding the mozzarella.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 500
2. Roll out pizza dough on your baking sheet/pizza stone.
3. Spread pesto over the dough, leaving about 1/2" to a 1" border. 
4. Sprinkle on the feta, the chopped olives, tomatoes and chicken.
5. Cover the whole thing with the shredded mozzarella.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let sit for a minute before slicing it.

Cresent Veggie Pizza

 
In October, my friend Heather made these little mini pizzas for my bridal shower, and they were the culinary hit of the party. Everyone raved about them, and asked me to get the recipe from her. When we had an office party recently, and were told to bring in finger foods/appetizers, I knew this would be the perfect thing!

Heather is the friend who introduced me to so many of my favorite foods. Before her, I had never enjoyed sushi, never tried Indian food, never eaten tapas style, etc. I had been in a long and incredibly unexciting relationship with a guy whose favorite restaurant was Texas Roadhouse, and was completely content with hamburgers and grilled chicken. And while I had always enjoyed good food, I had never enjoyed anything exciting.

Anyways, when she sent me the recipe I was stunned at how crazy simple these were to make. The add ins to the cream cheese give it a totally different flavor and I was stunned when I saw the crust was just canned crescent rolls. This appetizer is delicious enough for any party & is easy enough that you're going to make it over and over again!

Easy Crescent Pizza
(Recipe adapted from one found here & the one Heather emailed me.)

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
• 2 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup of Miracle Whip
• 2 teaspoon dill weed
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon of onion salt
• 1 cup small fresh broccoli florets
• 1 cup of chopped, seeded tomato
• 1 cup of chopped bell pepper
• 1/2 cup of chopped black olives

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Unroll both cans of dough; separate dough into 4 long rectangles. In ungreased 15x10x1-inch pan, place dough; press in bottom and up sides to form crust.
3. Mix cream cheese, Miracle Whip, dill, garlic & onion salt until well blended. Spread over crust. Top with vegetables. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours before serving. To serve, cut into squares and arrange on a cute platter. You should get anywhere from 24-32 squares, depending on how big you cut them.