Summer Pizzas

{cooking}

I love pizza! I really really love pizza. I love a traditional pizza parlor pizza with just cheese or with meats (in my opinion veggies don't belong on that type of pizza lol), but I also love making other types of pizzas, with different kinds of crusts and different types of toppings, at home.  One of my go-to, no-brainer meals is mini pizzas using refrigerator biscuits for the dough (just flatten each one slightly and top with sauce cheese and whatever other topping you want (I like mini peperoni, slices of grape tomatoes, minced onion, and finely chopped roasted red peppers on mine..... on my husbands I usually add slices of baby mushrooms, but I don't do fungus on my food ;) and bake following the biscuit package instructions for temperature and time.......).  For summer especially I'm often in the mood for lighter fresher tasting foods, and like to step a little more out of the box, so to speak.  Today I'm going to share a few of the summer pizzas I've put together this year :)

*for all of these pizzas I have used refrigerated pizza dough (I know, I know, one day I will actually take the time to make my own, I really want to try a cauliflower pizza crust..... but they are quick and really taste pretty good), if you have a great recipe for your own pizza dough and want to use it instead, just adjust any cooking times if necessary)

 

Pesto and Shrimp Pizza

What you need:

1 refrigerated pizza crust (regular/traditional crust)

1 1/2 c. traditional pesto sauce (the amount is an estimate and could vary depending on the size of your 

       dough and personal preference)

2 1/2-3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese (again amount depends on size and preference)

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese (or shake-y cheese as we call it) (and I think by now you get the idea, adjust 

         for size and preference) 

approx. 1/2 pound medium shrimp, deveined, tails off and cooked (I usually buy frozen cooked, deveined 

        shrimp for this kind of thing)

{1}Following package instructions unroll pizza crust dough and pre-bake crust (usually about 8 minutes)

{2}Let cool slightly then spread with pesto sauce and top with mozzarella and shrimp (if you are using frozen shrimp make sure they are fully thawed before this step); sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

{3}Return to oven and bake according to package instructions (usually another 10-12 minutes)

I served this pizza with cherries (mainly because that was the only other thing in the fridge at the time (it was the day before grocery day lol). They actually went really well with it though, and of course there's always salad......

 

Summer Veggies and Grilled Chicken Pizza

What you need:
Refrigerated Whole Wheat Pizza dough (I used Pillsbury Artisan pizza crust with Whole Grain, it is really
            good)
1 c. Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (again, approximately)
1 1/2-2 c. Shredded Mozzarella cheese
1-1 1/2 c. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 or 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Yellow Squash
Onion
Grape tomatoes
Baby Mushrooms

{1}Grill or pan cook Chicken breasts, seasoning with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika to taste.  Let cool and cut into small chunks
{2}Prepare and pre-bake pizza crust according to package instructions (for the crust I used it's 8 minutes @ 400 degress for dark or non-stick baking sheets and 425 degrees for all other types of baking sheets)
{3}While the crust is pre-baking, cut the veggies.  Cut Yellow squash into small chunks, slice or mince onion (I like mine minced), slice grape tomatoes (be very careful doing this as they are pretty tiny.... you could also just halve them if you like a stronger tomato taste.... I just prefer mine not as strong in each bite) and slice baby mushrooms.  I had also thought about putting green beans on this pizza, but decided to save them for another meal, but if you wanted to add them just snap the ends off and maybe snap longer beans in half.
{4}Mix Mozzarella and Cheddar cheeses together
{5}Allow pre-baked crust to cool slightly and then spread with the Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, coat with cheese mixture and top with chicken chunks and prepared veggies.
{6}Return to oven and bake according to package directions (for mine it was about 10 minutes more)

I served this one all by itself because it really can stand alone with the whole grain crust, hummus, chicken and all the veggies on it.  It was actually quite filling.

 

Salmon and Goat Cheese Pizza with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

 

What you need:
Refrigerated Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (I used the same one as the last pizza again)
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (recipe to follow)
Approx. 8 ounces Goat Cheese (crumbled or sliced)
8 ounces Salmon (I used 2 frozen fillets)
Grape tomatoes

{Anyone seeing any flavor/ingredient trends here? lol}

{1}Season Salmon fillet(s) with salt, pepper, a little olive oil, and some Italian herb seasoning and bake @ 350 degrees until about halfway cooked (you don't want to cook it all the way through because then it will dry out too much on the pizza but you want to get it to the point that it will be done in another 8 minutes or so..... so depending on the size/thickness of your fillets maybe not even quite halfway cooked....)
{2}Start on Roasted Red Pepper Sauce while salmon is in the oven (unless you made it ahead of time)
{3}Cut/Flake partially cooked salmon into chunks and set aside for now.  Finish up the sauce if you're still working on that. 
{4}adjust oven temperature and pre-bake crust according to package directions (8 minutes or so). While that's in the oven slice (or halve) grape tomatoes and set aside as well.
{5} Allow crust to cool slightly and cover with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.
{6}Slice or crumble goat cheese and lay over sauce on the pizza
{7}Top with salmon chunks and tomato slices
{8} Finish baking according to package instructions (about another 8-10 minutes for mine)


This would probably be good with a spinach and arugula salad. Last night when I made it we just ate it by itself and it was filling enough to stand alone as a summer meal.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

I really really love this sauce.  I use it for all sorts of things..... on pasta, on salmon or shrimp, as pizza sauce.... it's good.  Also if you want it to be a thinner sauce you can leave out or reduce the amount of Parmesan cheese you put in it.

What you need:
2 large(ish) red bell peppers
1 c. Chicken broth
1 tbs. White Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbs. olive oil
Italian Herb seasoning (to taste... I probably usually use 1 to 2 tablespoons all together although I've never
           actually measured it)
Grated Parmesan Cheese (again I've never really measured how much I use especially since it varies
           depending on what I'm using the sauce for and how thick I want it)

{1} Roast your red peppers : slice each pepper into about 8 slices, removing seeds; lay skin-side up on a baking sheet (you want them to lay flat on the sheet so break the ends if necessary to get them to lay flat); place under your broiler until the skins are black and blistery (if you have an electric stove make sure the broiler is on high..... but if you ever have the choice get a gas stove/oven ;).... they really are so much better for so many things) They'll look like this when they're done:

 

Place them immediately into a ziplock bag or airtight storage container and put them in the fridge, for anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple days  (you want them to have cooled completely and juices to have formed - obviously this doesn't take a could days but they will stay good at least that long if you want to do them ahead of time or roast extras to use for another recipe.  Usually about half an hour is enough, although an hour or two would be ideal)

{2}When the peppers are done cooling in the fridge remove them from their bag/container and peel the skin off of the meat.  You want to end up with about a cup of Roasted Red Pepper (a little more or little less won't hurt, you just want to get pretty close and the 2 peppers is usually pretty spot on for me)

*if you don't want to roast the peppers yourself you can get jarred roasted red peppers and skip steps 1 and 2, but I think it tastes better with home-roasted peppers (and they're cheaper.....)

{3}Put the roasted peppers, chicken broth, olive oil, and vinegar in a blender, also about half of the amount of Italian herb seasoning you think you are going to want in it. Blend until it's all liquified.

{4} Empty the blended sauce into a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until it starts to simmer.  Add your Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper and Italian herb seasoning to taste and let it simmer until the Parmesan it well melted and incorporated and it's heated through (check the consistency several times and add a little less Parmesan then you think you'll need the first time - you can always add more but you can't take it out and it will thicken a bit as it cooks and incorporates into it so put some in let it cook down a few minutes, check the consistency, and some more, if necessary,...... you get the idea.)

{5} if you're using it for the pizza recipe above you probably want to let it cool just a bit before putting it on the crust but it your using it on pasta or something else that's already been cooked it's ready to go as soon as you're done heating it.