spinach and mushroom pizza
You really wouldn’t believe it, but having pizza night every week has totally changed our lives. Geoff is pretty much willing to eat whatever I cook for the rest of the week, knowing that Thursday night, we’ll all be stuffing our faces with cheesy goodness. In the time since I figured out how to make delicious pizza at home, I think we’ve had pizza from outside the house only once or twice. It’s just that good! I think Geoff and Abby would be happy with our classic combo of one cheese and one turkey pepperoni pizza every week, but I need a little more variety in my life, so I like to experiment a little with my pizza toppings. This week I made spinach and mushroom pizza, and I think it was by far my favorite pizza that I have made so far! One of the benefits of having pizza night on Thursday is that we get to eat the leftovers on Friday for lunch. I like to cut the pizza into little pieces and then dip it in blue cheese or marinara. Yum!
Easy Pizza Crust
adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 T yeast
1 T honey or sugar
1 tsp salt
3 cups flour
Preheat oven (with baking stone) to 500. Mix together water, yeast, sugar, and salt, then add flour. Knead until smooth. Let dough rest 10-15 minutes, then roll out into two crusts. I usually shape my crusts on the preheated pizza stone (sprinkled with cornmeal) or on a sheet of parchment paper.
Spinach and Mushroom Pizza
adapted from Annie’s Eats
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup fresh spinach, rinsed and dried
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
~1 tsp. dried basil
ground pepper, to taste
Brush olive oil onto pizza crust, covering entire surface. Sprinkle minced garlic evenly over crust. Stack the spinach leaves, then cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch strips; scatter evenly over crust. Cover pizza with shredded mozzarella, and top with sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle dried basil over the top and season with ground pepper. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and edges are crisp.
Matt and I saw this before Christmas. I've wanted to try it for awhile but couldn't because I didn't have the right cooking equipment. Guess what Matt got me for Christmas? A pizza stone! And we love it. This was our first ever recipe tried on it and it was a hit. We've had pizza 3 times this week. Thank you for the enticing recipe that influenced my hubby in buying me the pizza stone. This recipe is perfect because it makes the two pizzas. One for the kiddos and one for us. I tried the recipe that came with the pizza stone the second time we used it and it took twice as long and turned out flat and crunchy. I'll stick with this one from now on. 🙂