You can’t imagine how excited I was to discover Tom’s Bread now offers pizza crusts. Two, 12-inch freshly baked crusts in a pack! It’s twinsies! I love an excuse to save time on dinner and this was less expensive than frozen or take-out, not to mention a healthier alternative.
Shopping Lancaster Central Farm Market, or any farm market for that matter, often means buying “a handful of this” or “a bag of that” as the spirit moves. This recipe is just that, based on my whim of the day. I didn’t want dinner to involve time over the stove. We don’t have central air and the unnecessary heat and humidity makes a mess of my curly hair. The 2 pizza crusts provided the perfect solution for quick dinner and great hair. My market shopping inspiration sprang from there, a mushroom white pizza for me and a meatball pizza for Dan.
With a well stocked pantry I only needed a few other ingredients from market. The white pizza only required ricotta cheese, mushrooms (Groff’s Vegetables) and arugula (Meck’s Produce). I picked the rest of the ingredients (meatballs, sauce and ricotta) from DelGiorno’s Italian Specialties. You only need 3 meatballs for one of the pizzas and ask for sauce with them. It will be enough for the recipe. I am told a great substitute for ricotta is Oasis cottage cheese. I’ll be trying it next time.
The point of this recipe is this…do not follow the recipe! Pick up a pack of Thom’s Pizza Crust, find inspiration based on your appetite and what’s in season. Grill it if you like or bake it in the oven. I prefer to know the ingredient list of what we consume and this pizza gives you the room to control the amount of fat, beef up on vegetables and, as a healthy side effect, take care of yourself. The cost for each pizza was less than $4.
Lest you forget or have never tried it, hummus on pizza crust topped and baked with crumbled feta (or chèvre) is wicked good when served with a handful of lightly dressed mixed greens and cubed summer tomatoes.
- 1 Thom's Pizza Crust
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 3 Delgiorno's Italian Specialties meatballs with sauce, sliced
- 5 ounces Delgiorno's Italian Specialties ricotta cheese
- 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 4-5 large basil leaves, julienned
- 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella, based on your cheese preference
- Pinch of sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Place the baking rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Brush the crust with olive oil and spread on the minced garlic.
- If you prefer an extra crisp to your crust, pre-bake for 5 minutes. If not go to step 4.
- Spread the sauce on the crust and dollop with ricotta, sprinkle with parmesan and basil. Spread the meatballs and top with shredded mozzarella. Top with a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Bake on the rack (for a bit of extra crunch) or on a pre-heated baking stone or baking sheet for 10-18 minutes.
- 1 Thom's Pizza Crust
- 2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small garlic bulb, minced
- 1 cup sliced onions
- 1 quart Groff's Vegetables baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
- 5 ounces Delgiorno's Italian Specialties ricotta
- 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella, based on your cheese preference
- Pinch of sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- Place the baking rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Brush the crust with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and minced garlic.
- If you prefer an extra crisp crust, pre-bake for 5 minutes, otherwise, go to Step 4.
- Sauté 1 tablespoon olive oil and onions over medium heat until soft and lightly golden. Add the mushrooms continuing to cook until tender.
- Dollop the crust with ricotta, sprinkle with parmesan, onion and mushroom mixture. Top with shredded mozzarella, a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Bake directly on the oven rack for a bit of extra crunch or on a pre-heated baking stone or baking sheet for 10-18 minutes.
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