Taking it easy & a yummy pizza recipe

Well, things have not gone so smoothly with the early contraction situation. I thought I was over them and resumed normal activity on Monday morning…but they came back some Monday night and really bad yesterday. Back to the doctor. All thankfully is still fine…I am not in labor but I need to take it easier and make sure I drink lots and lots of water. Easier? I am not sure I know what the definition is, but Jeff defined it for me. For the time being, I am restricted playing with Reed, going to the grocery store and cooking dinner and the rest of the time, I need to be relaxing. Whoopee, right? Just kidding, I actually really enjoy going to the grocery store and cooking. I am VERY into the food we eat and providing my family healthy, yet delicious meals.

Speaking of cooking, this is where I source most of my recipes from these days:

Barefoot Contessa (from all her books), I just love her earthy recipes/presentation that are just good, classic dishes

Everyday FOOD monthly magazine, these recipes are quick, and use easy ingredients to make a delicious meal

Pinterest boards, so many different types of recipes that I use for both everyday & entertaining

and on occasion

still a Martha devotee…but sometimes the recipes are not practical for my everyday meals. But I do come across some that suit me from time to time and certainly for special occasions/holidays I will put in the extra time. :)

The recipe today comes from the current issue of Everyday FOOD

bacon and escarole pizza

(I actually used fresh spinach since I couldn’t find escarole and it was D-lish!!!)

I make our pizza dough from scratch because it’s so crazy easy and way less expensive. I used to make it in our bread machine, but tried Barefoot Contessa’s recently and love it so I have just been using that the last few months. If you have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, try it, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

You can also buy the fresh dough at your grocery store near the deli, usually.

All-purpose flour, for work surface

1 pound pizza dough, thawed if frozen

1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

1/2 white onion, thinly sliced

6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

Coarse salt and ground pepper

3 cups torn escarole (from 1 head)

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees, with rack in upper third. On a floured work surface, roll out dough to a 17-inch-long rectangle. Transfer to a broiler-proof rimmed baking sheet and top with mozzarella, onion, and bacon; season with salt and pepper. Bake until dough is cooked through and edges are golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Heat broiler. Top pizza with escarole, drizzle with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Broil until escarole is wilted and slightly charred in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

I love making homemade pizza. There was awhile there where I think I was making different variations at least once a week. LOL. I was so daunted at first, but it really isn’t hard, you just have to know some tricks to make it REALLY, REALLY good. You can make sooooo many variations (a great way to recreate your favorite ones from restaurants). Most of the time I make ours vegetarian, but I couldn’t resist bacon on this one. I do love me some bacon. I don’t eat a pound of it at a time anymore, though!

The biggest trick I have discovered to really re-create that gourmet pizza effect was to use a pizza stone. Wow, this has changed everything. You preheat it in a 500 degree oven and when it comes to temperature, place dough on hot stone and it immediately starts cooking and eliminates the soggy crust. I just put the dough on and “dress” the pizza on the stone (just have all the ingredients ready to go) and then pop it in back into the oven until the cheese is melted which is usually about 10-15 min. depending on the size, your ingredients and your oven.

Hope you enjoy!