Fresh veggie pizza

Making my own pizza is something that I enjoy very much, but I hardly have the time to do it well. Today, however, I spent less than an hour preparing two very, very good pizzas.

I bought a two-pack of pizza crusts at the grocery store. This particular store carried only one brand of prepared crus, so I didn't have the opportunity to pick a specific brand or style. It resembled a hand tossed crust and cooked very well. It was thick and crispy when I took it out of the oven.

The toppings were fairly simple, too. I chopped two Roma tomatoes, half a zucchini and some mushrooms. I slathered them with olive oil, garlic and basil. I also added ground Italian seasoning (black pepper, rosemary, thyme, oregano, fennel and basil). As I tossed the vegetables, they began to glycine and produced a beautiful garlicky aroma. I used half of the vegetables on the first pizza and saved the rest for the second pizza. To the second one, I added two links of chopped sweet Italian sausage and tossed them with the veggies and olive oil.

The sauce on the vegetable pizza was simply a can of (red) pizza sauce. Then, approximately four ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese and the seasoned vegetables went on. I shook some grated Parmesan cheese and more Italian seasoning over the top.

I skipped the red sauce on the sausage pizza. I drizzled olive oil over the crust and rubbed it into the dough. I also sprinkled basil and garlic over the top before adding the cheese, vegetables and sausage. Again, it was topped it with Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.

Each pizza baked separately in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until the cheese was golden brown. The sausage also became blackened on top - a must with sausage pizza. I let them cool for a few minutes before cutting them and I was pleasantly surprised by how crispy and crunchy the crust was. It was perfect for these two types of pizza. It felt like I was eating a pizza in a restaurant on the streets of Rome. Delicious.

I love making pizza because it comes out of the oven tasting so fresh. The vegetables were extremely succulent and the sausage was so sweet and juicy. The basil and garlic gave it a high quality restaurant taste, but it was obvious that it was homemade. Delectable, palatable and anything -able are tremendous adjectives for this pizza. I'm even excited for the leftovers.

Ingredients:
2 prepared grocery store pizza crusts
2 Roma tomatoes (chopped)
1/2 zucchini (chopped)
1/2 cup mushrooms (chopped)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Garlic and basil seasoning (to taste)
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese

Music: Shawn McDonald - Confess
Weather: 42-degrees, balmy