Holiday Pizza

 

Red, green, white, silver, gold. These are the only colours I recognize right now. Call it holiday colour-blindness if you want, but this is all I really want to surround myself with. I makes me feel festive. Makes me feel sparkly. It makes me feel like a holiday. Wow, do I ever need a holiday. Sometimes, I really do feel too tired to cook and it would be great to have leftovers to heat up, or something that was actually quick and easy to cook. It's ok, it's just how it goes sometimes. Sometimes all I want is to order pizza. Yes, I love to cook, and I like healthy things, but sometimes I really just want to not have to do anything and just order a nice crispy thin crust pizza. Unfortunately, being gluten free doesn't always make that super easy. Plus, what's with this 40 minutes business to pick-up a pizza now?! If I had everything ready to go, I could make that same pizza at home, in 15 minutes. Flat. Can you say pre-made pizza crust anyone?

Before I start gabbing on about a pizza crust, can I ask you a question? If you are eating a thin crust pizza, is there really a difference between pizza and flatbread? Flatbread isn't covered in cheese necessarily, so I think that could be the only distinguishing feature. Is this right? I don't actually know, so I thought I would ask everyone else out there. Thoughts?

Regardless if it is a pizza or a flatbread, using a pre-made crust can create a fast dinner, or even a simply great appetizer for the holidays.  I tried out the Udi's gluten-free pizza crust and this is what I found: super thin, nice and crispy and it holds a TON of toppings. My Engineer loaded (and when I say loaded, I truly mean loaded) his with leftover pulled pork, hot peppers and red peppers and then covered it with lots of cheese. I was totally impressed with how the crust gracefully handled all the weight of the toppings, and was still crispy on the outside. Udi's did provide their products for this post and I was very grateful for that! I also now have a great go to pre-made gluten free pizza crust to use when I don't feel like making my own.

To keep the theme festive I topped my crust with red pepper, spinach, fresh rosemary and cheddar (Red, green, and white. Phew!) I also used some spicy salsa instead of traditional sauce to add a different flavour. The crusts would be perfect for bite size appetizers over the holiday, or are great for Friday night pizzas!

Mine is on the left, my Engineer's is on the right. I wish I had take a picture from the side so you could have seen the height difference!

Sprinkle some love on top.

Nicely crispy and browned. Yum.

 It just hits the spot, anyway you slice it.

Holiday Pizza

1 Udi's pizza crust

1/4 cup hot salsa

1/2 cup baby spinach

1/4 of a medium red pepper, sliced thinly

1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped

1/4 cup cheddar, grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Spread salsa over pizza crust until there is even coverage. 

3. Top your pizza with spinach, red peppers and rose,ray. Sprinkle grated cheese over the top. 

4. Place pizza directly on the oven rack. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted in the middle. Broil for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the edges have browned. 

5. Slice and serve immediately. 

Thanks again to Udi's for letting me try out your products!