Spinach and Ricotta Pizza

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

Ingredients

• 1 portion Homemade Pizza Dough
• Cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup New York–Style Pizza Sauce
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 2 plum tomatoes, cored and thinly sliced

Preparation

1. Remove Homemade Pizza Dough from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 500°.

3. Coat a 12-inch perforated pizza pan with cooking spray.

4. Place dough on a lightly floured surface; roll into a 12-inch circle. Transfer dough to prepared pan, shaking off excess flour. Brush dough evenly with oil. Spread New York–Style Pizza Sauce evenly over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Sprinkle with Parmesan; top evenly with spinach and garlic. Sprinkle mozzarella over spinach. Spoon teaspoonfuls of ricotta over mozzarella. Bake at 500° for 12 minutes or until mozzarella melts and crust browns. Let stand 5 minutes; top with tomato slices. Cut into 6 wedges.

Pizza Crust/BBQ Chicken Pizza

Pizza Crust

3 cups flour (substitute 1 cup whole wheat if you want)
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons oil (usually olive)
1 cup warm water
1 packet of active-dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon sugar

Dissolve yeast in warm water and add sugar. Wait until the yeast starts to foam. Combine yeast mixture and all other ingredients in a bowl. Knead for several minutes until dough clings together and no longer sticks to the bowl. (If you've been kneading for a while and the dough is still gooey, just add a little more flour). Knead for a few more minutes to mix everything together thoroughly. Spread over 9x13 pan or cookie sheet or a pizza pan. Add toppings. Bake at 350 for 20-30, minutes until crust is golden.

For the BBQ chicken pizza (our favorite), we add Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, mozzarella, cooked shredded chicken breast, diced green peppers & red onions, cooked chopped bacon, diced fresh pineapple, fresh cilantro. Delicious!!