Staying In

I decided to stay in this weekend. I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat for dinner so my boyfriend suggested we make pizza!

As you can see, we made a "vegetarian" pizza that contains mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers, and broccoli. For this post, I will tell you how I made the pizza in the form of a recipe. I did not get this idea from any website, I just made it up because it seemed pretty simple. I shopped for all of my ingredients at Wegmans.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can of the Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Dough (near the refrigerated yogurt and cookie dough section)
• 1 cup of mozzarella cheese (I chose a Wegmans bag of cheese that was labeled "Pizza Cheese," it is mixed with mozzarella and provolone)
• 1/2 cup of pizza sauce (I used Wegmans Chunky Pizza sauce)
• spinach (I chose to use spinach from the bag because I personally like the taste better than the fresh spinach they put out along the wall)
• sliced portabella mushrooms (you can buy these pre-sliced or not)
• green and red bell peppers
• broccoli

For each topping, I used about 1/2 cup or so, maybe even a little more. I think it really depends on your own preference. Some people like to cook the toppings before they are put on the pizza. It is entirely up to you if you want to sauté or steam your toppings before you put them in the oven. I chose to not cook my ingredients because they will cook a little in the oven.

The one thing you should always do before cooking anything is wash your hands. Washing your hands is the best ways to prevent transferring any illnesses. Next, preheat the oven to 400°F. Take out a dark, non-stick cookie tray. With previous experience, I still choose to spray the cookie sheet with PAM because the dough has stuck onto the tray a few times. After spraying the cookie sheet, pop open the roll of dough and roll it out on the tray. Be patient because the dough is sticky so it takes some time to fully spread out the dough on the cookie sheet.

Once that is done, I like to wash and separate the ingredients if needed. Separating the ingredients in different bowls makes it easier for me when I put the toppings on the dough. When the oven is preheated, put the cookie sheet into the oven for about 5 minutes. Make sure you don't forget to take it out! During these 5 minutes, I like to cut the bell peppers and broccoli. After 5 minutes, take out the cookie tray and set it down, be careful because it is hot!

The dough is not fully cooked within 5 minutes; you have to put the pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings on them for another 10 minutes in the oven. When the dough is taken out after the 5 minutes, use a spoon to spread the pizza sauce. After the sauce is spread, sprinkle the cheese all over the sauce. If you like a lot of cheese on your pizza, I would recommend using more than 1 cup of cheese. It may look like there is a lot on there, but looks can be deceiving! If you don't like a lot of cheese, use 1 cup or less.

Now it's time for the toppings. Place the toppings wherever you want on the pizza. When you're done, place the cookie sheet back into the oven for another 10 or 11 minutes. Be sure to check on the pizza from time to time to make sure the crust isn't too brown. If the crust is golden brown, then you can take it out. If you like a softer crust, take out the pizza a little bit sooner than 10 minutes, maybe around 6 or 7 minutes.

Let the pizza cool down before trying to cut it. Use a pizza cutter and serve it warm. No one wants to eat cold pizza! This usually serves 3-4 people. I like to make my own pizza because I can use all the toppings I want. You can make the pizza in the same amount of time you have to wait for delivered pizza. I know exactly what food is being put into my body and it may be a healthier alternative to the well-known pizza chains. You will be able to make two pizzas for the price of one (compared to Papa John's and Domino's).

If you ever decide to make this, I hope you enjoy it! It's a simple dish and you can make it however you like!