Greek Pizza

This greek pizza is so full of flavor and gorgeous colored vegetables that if you close your eyes hard enough you might be able to imagine that you are eating this somewhere in the Mediterranean (wouldn't that be nice?). The "icing" on this pizza was topping it with fresh spinach half-way through cooking - what a great addition! When I make this pizza again I might add artichokes for even more flavor but this pizza is definitely tasty just the way it is.

You Will Need:

• 2/3 cup red pepper, diced
• 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
• 1/3 cup black olives, sliced
• 1/3 cup red onion, diced
• 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• handful of fresh baby spinach leaves
• 1 ball pizza dough (white or wheat)
• 1 1/4 cups pizza sauce
• 1/2 bag of mozzarella cheese (12 oz bag)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Here We Go:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F
• Roll out dough to desired thickness using your hands or a rolling pin if you have one
• Rub pizza stone with olive oil and place dough on pizza stone or baking sheet
• Top dough with pizza sauce, cheeses and vegetables, except fresh spinach
• Add fresh spinach half-way through cooking (after roughly 5-6 minutes)
• Bake for 10-12 minutes on top rack, or until golden brown

Makes 8 Slices
Happy Feasting!

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Leave it to a significant other (men more than likely) to casually forget to tell you something. Something that might be as important as "Oh yeah, so we have this party to go to tonight and I said that we would bring an appetizer".

 

Key word = we

 

Well, most women know that we actually means you. Now, I know that there are some lucky ladies out there who have significant others who are wonderful cooks (you are very lucky)! I, on the other hand, was left to fend for myself. I wanted to make something that was relatively quick and was sure to be a crowd pleaser. I had remembered seeing a Spinach and Artichoke recipe on one of my favorite blogs, In Good Taste , and it seemed like a pretty solid appetizer with rave reviews. This dip definitely did not disappoint. I served it alongside Fritos Scoops and Pita Chips which seemed to be a success since there was nothing left to bring home!

You Will Need:

• 8 oz reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 8 oz fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup far-free or reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 15-oz can artichoke hearts, rinsed and roughly quartered
• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of excess moisture
• 1/2 cup parmigiana reggiano cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Here We Go:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Combine first six ingredients by hand using a wooden spoon or spatula
• Add 1/4 cup of parmigiana cheese and spread dip into a baking dish (I used 8x8)
• Top with the rest of the parmigiana
• Bake 40-45 minutes or until cheese on top is brown and bubbly
• Serve with crackers, french bread, Fritos Scoops or Pita Chips

Happy Feasting!