Pizza Burgers

This week I decided to make pizza burgers. I wasn't sure Ross would like the idea or think it was wrong.  He liked the idea.  The burgers ended up being open-faced.  I tried to make them as pizza as possible.

Pizza Burgers
ground turkey (20 oz.)
turkey pepperoni
shredded cheese
oregano
basil
black pepper
pizza seasoning
mushrooms
pizza sauce
provolone cheese
pizza dough

For the actual burger I mixed 85/15 ground turkey, shredded pizza blend cheese, julienned pepperoni slices, pizza seasoning, oregano, and basil.  I made the mixture into 6 patties and cooked them on the stove.  I sliced and sauteed the mushrooms.  I made a full batch of pizza dough.  I added oregano, basil, black pepper, and pizza seasoning to the dough.  It smelled really good.  I was able to make 5 mini pizza crusts out of 1/3 of the dough.  I probably could have made 6 though.  I think I cooked them--with the pizza sauce on--for about 15 minutes.  I assembled the burgers and served them with oven fries.

Thinking back I could have made the mini pizza crusts without the sauce on top, then sliced them in half so the burger would have a top and a bottom. But I kind of like the open face burger.  It's more like a pizza.

Special Surprise Pizza

I had some leftover home made pizza dough in the freezer from a couple of weeks ago, so I decided to surprise Ross with a Swiss chard and goat cheese pizza. I bought the chard at the farmer's market and the goat cheese at Trader Joe's. The pizzas were so tasty that we have no leftovers. We got this recipe from bon apetit ages ago.

Swiss Chard and Goat Cheese Pizza

pizza dough

one bunch Swiss chard

olive oil

garlic

chili powder

pepper

comino

mozzarella cheese

goat cheese

1. Mix 3 tablespoons olive oil with some garlic (minced fresh or powder), chili powder, and pepper. Microwave for 30 seconds and allow to sit for at least half an hour.

2. Rinse chard and remove ribs.

3. Boil chard for 3 minutes.

4. Drain and rinse chard.

5. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible from chard.

6. Coarsely chop chard.

7. Heat one tablespoon oil in large pan with some comino and chili powder.

8. Add chard to pan and cook for 3 minutes.

9. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

10. Roll out pizza dough--a little on the thin side.

11. Coat edges or entire crust with olive oil from step 1.

12. Sprinkle mozzarella onto pizza.

13. Add chard to pizza.

14. Crumble goat cheese onto pizza.

15. Drizzle any remaining chili oil over pizza.

16. Bake for 15 minutes.

Smoked Cheese Pizza

With leftover smoked provolone from the mac and cheese and some smoked mozzerella we made smoked cheese pizza tonight. I thawed some pizza dough and rolled it out while Ross shredded the cheese. We used 4 cheese pasta sauce and turkey pepperoni. Ross loaded so much cheese on the pizza that it melted and overflowed in the oven. It was very tasty. The cheese was just browned and very yummy.

Home Made Pizza

This losing weight thing isn't going so well. Yesterday I made pizza for dinner and had to fight the urge to eat more than my two allotted slices. The crust turned out really well this time. I left it a little sticky, so it was more fluffy than usual.

Pizza Crust
2 packages active dry yeast (16 g)
2 c. warm water
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbl. olive oil
2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour

1. Proof yeast with water and sugar 10 minutes.
2. Stir in salt and oil.
3. Add flour, mixing after addition of each cup. Add up to 1 c. extra flour if dough is too sticky.
4. Kneed dough for 2-3 minutes.
5. Cover and let rise 1 hour.
6. Punch down dough and divide into thirds.
7. Roll dough out into round for pizza.

I make this pretty easy by doing it in the kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook. The extra dough can be frozen for future use ... defrost at room temp. The dough doesn't keep in the fridge....it will continue to rise.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Add whatever pizza sauce and toppings you'd like. Last night we used garlic/onion pasta sauce, oregano, turkey pepperoni, and lots of mozzerella cheese. Cook the pizza about 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and starts to brown. Yum.