LET'S TRAVEL TO ITALY -- DELICIOUS PIZZA

Shape 2 lbs. of flour into a well.  Put 1 ounce of yeast, 1/4 cup of warm water and a pinch of salt in the center.  Knead the dough with your hands for 15 minutes.  The dough must become smooth.  Put the dough into a large bowl.  Cover it with a dish towel and keep it out of the sunlight.  Let it rise at room temperature for about two hours.

When the dough is ready, shape it into a flat disc.  Spread it with tomato sauce.  Add garlic, mushrooms, black olives and cheese.  Bake in 450*F. oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Buon appetito! 

4-Ingredient Pizza Bake

• Prep Time 10 min
• Total Time 35 min
• Servings 8

Ingredients

2 pouches (7.5 oz each) Bisquick™ Complete buttermilk biscuit mix

1 cup water

1 jar (14 oz) pizza sauce

1 package (8 oz) sliced pepperoni

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)

Directions

Directions

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix and water until soft dough forms. Drop half of dough by spoonfuls evenly in bottom of baking dish (dough will not completely cover bottom of dish).
• Drizzle about 1 cup pizza sauce over dough. Arrange 1/2 of the pepperoni slices evenly over sauce. Top with 1 cup of the cheese. Repeat layers with remaining dough, pizza sauce, pepperoni and cheese.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into squares to serve.

MINI HA-HA PIZZAS

Did you know that we eat about 90 acres of pizza a day -- not just me, but all of us together?  That's a lot of crust.  Pizza has become a very American thing -- I'm surprised we haven't seen a McPizza yet.  My pizzas here are small ones -- they're so cute and happy-looking, they'll make you smile.  Have a couple of these, along with a green salad (easy on the dressing), and you've got lunch.

MINI HA-HA PIZZAS
Makes 32 appetizer servings

Prep:  20 minutes
Bake:  500* for 8 minutes per baking sheet

8 pieces (1 ounce each) frozen bread roll dough or bread dough, thawed
All-purpose flour for rolling
Nonstick olive oil cooking spray
1/2 cup pasta-ready tomato sauce
2 ounces turkey link sausage, frozen and partially thawed
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped onion or green onion (white and green parts)
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 500*.  Shape thawed bread dough into balls.  On floured board, using rolling pin, roll ou to 3- or 4-inch circles, or pat out with your hands.  Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.  Place 4 circles of dough on each sheet.  Spread each circle with 1 tablespoon sauce.

2.  With sharp knife, slice partially thawed sausage into very thin slices.  Divide sausage slices, sliced mushrooms, and chopped onion equally over dough circles.  Sprinkle with cheese.

3.  Bake, one tray at a time, about 8 minutes or until crusts are browned and cheese is melted.  Let cool slightly.  Remove to wooden board.  Slice each pizza into 4 wedges. 

NUTRIENT VALUE PER SERVING 
27 calories
2 g protein
1 g fat (27% fat)
4 g carbohydrate
76 mg sodium
2 mg cholesterol

TOPS AND BOTTOMS
We've com a long way since that first tomato pizza in Naples.  Use this topping just as a starting point.  Other variations include a single sliced tomato with shredded part-slim mozzarella and fresh basil leaves to  a more fancy artichoke heart and sun-dried tomato.  The sky really is the limit.  Try a ham pizza with pineapple rings on top -- the perfect luau pizza.  Just be careful you don't load up on toppings that mean fat:  pepperoni, vegetables drenched in oil, or a half-pound of shredded full-fat cheese.

And for the bottoms, feel free to stray in other directions.  Frozen pizza dough is an obvious choice, but there's also pita bread, flour or corn tortillas, English muffins, or even matzoh for a very crispy no-bake crust.

Pizza Cupcakes

Here’s a fun way to have pizza in a cupcake!

• Prep Time 15 min
• Total Time 30 min
• Servings 8

1can ( 8 oz) Pillsbury™ refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1/2 cup Muir Glen™ organic pizza sauce

1/4 cup mini pepperoni slices

1/4 lb mild Italian sausage, cooked and drained

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (2 oz)

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 8 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray. Unroll dough; separate into 8 triangles. Press into muffin cups.
• In small bowl, mix sauce, pepperoni, sausage and 1/4 cup of the cheese. Spoon about 2 tablespoons mixture into each dough-lined cup; sprinkle each with about 1 teaspoon additional cheese.
• Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately remove from cups and serve.

If you can’t find mini pepperoni slices, purchase larger ones, and cut them into fourths to fit in the muffin cups.