This is one of my favorite weekday dinners: Easy Weekday Pizza!  You can purchase pizza dough in the frozen food section of your favorite natural food market or if you are feeling adventurous, make your own!  Either way it will be delicious with these ingredients :)

Missy Palacol Photography

Pizza stones are the best for cooking pizza but if you don’t want to store the heavy stone, you can buy a lightweight perforated pan than does a great job of balancing the heat for a perfectly cooked crust.

Easy Weekday Pizza

Ingredients

• 16 oz (1 lb) store-bought pizza frozen dough (follow thawing instructions)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• Himalayan sea salt
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce (or fire roasted crushed tomatoes)
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella or burrata cheese
• 6 to 8 slices of spicy salami or cured sausage (you can substitute a vegan option .. or fruit!)
• 8 to 10 sliced cherry tomatoes
• a few roasted garlic cloves*
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
• fresh basil for garnish
• 1 Tablespoon of honey (optional)

Process

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  On a lightly floured surface, stretch your pizza dough into a large circle, leaving the outer edges thicker to help contain your toppings. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle salt on your dough.  Bake for several minutes or until your pizza dough starts to bubble up.  Remove from oven and add your toppings!  Spread your red sauce over the dough with the back of a spoon.  Tear up the cheese

Flip a baking sheet upside down and lay the dough on top.  Brush generously with olive oil, paying special attention to the outer edges.  Sprinkle entire surface with dried oregano and flaky salt. Bake in the oven for about 3 minutes, until crust just starts to puff.  Reduce oven to 400 degrees.

Remove your crust and add your toppings!  Use the back of a spoon to spread your red sauce over the crust.  Tear of the buratta and arrange on the pizza.  Add slices of sausage or salami and sliced tomatoes to the dough and cheese.  Top with cooked garlic and a sprinkle of parmesan.  Return the pizza to the oven and bake 1 out of the oven and spread on the crushed tomatoes using the back of a spoon.  Tear the burrata into chunks and arrange on the pizza.  Add the sliced of salami and nestle the cherry peppers into the dough and cheese.  Return pizza to the oven and bake about another 20 minutes or  until the crust is a deep golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

*to make cooked garlic cloves, take one head of garlic, slice off the top, drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and bake in a closed container (foil or parchment paper) for 25 to 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and squeeze the cloves out of the head of garlic.  Add to your pizza!

Remove from oven and add basil leaves and a drizzle of honey.  Allow to cool for a few minutes, slice, and devour!

xoleslie