Homemade Pizza Party for 100th Post...& a GiveAway!

Summer has officially been crazier than ever.  But in a good way.  Dick's little brother (if you can call 16 years old "little") has been up here visiting from the Red Rock part of UT, staying between our house and Dick's sister's house.  When he took a break from our couch, some of our BFF's - The Haws family - came to take his place & crash in our living room between family reunions.  Our little one-bedroom apartment was quite cozy for 7 people, but it was a blast!  Amidst all this craziness I did do some cooking...the blogging thing just didn't follow like it usually does.  And I've been a little antsy about it because...

This is my 100th post!

In just over 1 year I've published 100 posts, and shared more than 100 recipes!  All of them were tested in my very own kitchen, and most of them were experiments for me.  I've come a long way from making crunchy/inedible baked potatoes for dinner, thank goodness.  This is something that I absolutely LOVE, so as my favorite sports-caster (Craig Bolerjack) says, buckle up!  Because there's a lot more where that came from.

I've been looking forward to this 100th post for quite some time, and I wanted to make something special.  I turned to my go-to-guy for a request, and I should've known exactly what he'd ask for.  Dick wanted pizza.  So pizza is what I made.  Its not fancy by any means, but it is something I'd never done before.  Plus, I knew it would make his day.  I made my own version of our favorite veggie pizza from Papa Murphy's.  But the best thing about homemade pizza is that you choose your toppings, so if you're a meat-lover, then make a meat-lover's pizza, my carnivorous friends!

Thanks for tuning in & cooking along with me this past year!  Check the bottom of this post to see how you can receive a Thank You gift!

Homemade Veggie Pizza

Ingredients

1 pizza crust (recipe below makes 2 12-inch pizzas)

tomato sauce of your choice

1 1/2 c. fresh spinach, roughly chopped

6 oz. white mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/2 c. black olives, sliced

1 c. artichoke hearts, drained & roughly chopped

2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Crust

From Betty Crocker's Cookbook, Bridal Edition

Ingredients

2 1/2  to 3 c. all-purpose flour (I used half wheat flour w/ great results!)

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 package regular or quick-active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)

3 Tbsp. olive or vegetable oil

1 c. very warm water (120 - 130 degrees)

Directions

1. Mix 1 c. of the flour, the sugar, salt & yeast in a large bowl.  Add 3 Tbsp. oil & warm water.  Beat with electric mixer on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl frequently.  Stir in enough remaining flour until dough is soft & leaves sides of bowl.

2. Place dough on lightly floured surface.  Knead 5-8 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy.

3. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.  Continue as directed below.

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Grease 2 cookie sheets or pizza pans with oil.  Divide dough in half & pat each half into 12-inch circles on the sheets.  Partially bake 7-8 minutes, or until crust just begins to brown.  Remove from oven & go on to step #2.

2. Spread sauce evenly over the 2 crusts.  Not too much so your crust doesn't get soggy.

3. Layer your toppings over the sauce to evenly cover the crust, leaving the cheese for last.  Leave a border of bare crust about an inch thick.

4. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly & crust is just browning at 425 degrees.

Wild Bill's Gourmet Seasoning Give-Away

To say a big THANK YOU, I want to give someone the gift of gourmet seasoning!  I found this little treasure at my local Farmer's Market last summer, and Wild Bill's is now a staple in our kitchen.  We love sprinkling some on our eggs for breakfast, popcorn at night, or on tasty skewers for a summer BBQ!

In order to win you must...

Tell me 2 things:

1. What flavor you want

2. What you're going to make w/ it

&

Be a follower of my blog

(Doesn't matter how long you've followed - you can start today!)

I'll choose a winner one week from today - Good Luck!