Meatball Pizza

I made this one up to use all of the leftovers from our Baked Ziti dinner the previous weekend.

And it worked out perfectly: I had mozzarella, extra sauce and an odd handful of meatballs left over, just all hanging out homeless together in the fridge. I even had some fresh spinach because I convinced Mark to make me one of those amazing Greek Omelettes again!

So toss it together with garlic, which I’ll assume you have hanging around BECAUSE WHO DOESN’T, and pretty much any seasonings or cheeses you feel like throwing in there. I figured, what the heck, I’ll finish off the feta and fresh oregano from said omelette too, and you know what? It was damn tasty. I suspect it would be just as good if you used frozen spinach, vegetarian meatballs, another type of green, any cheese, and so on. Customize to your heart’s content.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pre-bought pizza crust (or a ball of fresh dough)*
• 1 cup (max) tomato sauce, canned or homemade
• 2 or 3 cooked meatballs, broken up/crumbled into pieces**
• 1 cup any cheese, such as mozzarella
• 1 handful of fresh spinach
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced or diced
• fresh oregano (optional)
• feta cheese crumbles (optional)

* I get fresh dough at Trader Joe’s, packaged individually in plastic bags in the fresh produce section, or at a pizza shop. They will usually sell a ball very cheap if you ask nicely. I get pre-made Archer Farms crusts at Target.

** This recipe really comes in handy if you have a leftover ingredients from a pasta dinner like my baked ziti to use up, but if you don’t, you could always buy frozen meatballs and heat them in the microwave or stovetop. My favorite frozen meatballs also come from Trader Joe’s.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven per the pizza crust package directions, or a good rule of thumb is about 400F.

Place your crust on a round pizza baker (or a square pan if that’s easier, particularly if you’re rolling out fresh dough. In which case, brush the pan with olive oil and dust the ball of dough with flour so you can work with it more easily. No need to coat a non-stick pizza pan).

Assemble the pizza: sauce on bottom, followed by garlic, then meat, then greens and then finally cheese.

Pop in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is just starting to brown and crisp.

Let cool, then cut with kitchen shears and serve. Enjoy!

Did you like this pizza recipe? There are lots more where that came from!

• Cheesy Spinach & Artichoke Pizza (just like the tasty dip)
• Pizza Rustica (aka the one that made me go into labor!)
• Heirloom Tomato & Mesclun Pizza (fresh from the farmer’s market)

Plus this handy tip for working easily with pizza dough.

I hope you enjoyed this one and that you’re all enjoying the summer weather as it unfolds. Get out and plant your garden — I’ll live vicariously through you, since we’ve been too busy (or plagued by day care viruses) to get ours in the ground! 

By the way, I’m going to be moving the blog to a new server soon — hosting myself through WordPress.org instead of using the free WordPress.com domain. While I’m still finalizing the details, it shouldn’t cause any interruptions to readers, and may eventually include a new design. But I am wondering if you can help me with one thing: what’s the one thing you would change about this blog if you had a chance? Where can I improve — is it the name? Making it easier to print recipes? Better topics? Tell me! I’m all ears, and I really want to know.