Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Rosemary

It's Friday! My favorite day of the week. Not only because I have the day off, but because I get to team up with Gaby, from What's Gaby Cooking!

Today for Fall Friday, we are sharing a pizza and pasta recipe. I made Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Fresh Rosemary. Gaby created a festive squid ink pasta dish with tomatoes, I can't wait to try it.

When I told Josh my pizza idea, he turned up his nose. He thought butternut squash pizza sounded weird and not too tasty. I know it is not your traditional pizza, but I still wanted to try it, so I pressed forward. Josh wasn't thrilled, but still helped out. He made whole wheat pizza crust while I worked on the toppings.

I diced up a butternut squash and roasted it in the oven. I also caramelized red onion slices. I love the little tricks you can do in the kitchen to maximize flavor. Roasting and caramelizing made the squash and onions so flavorful. I didn't use a sauce, I just drizzled the crust with olive oil. I also topped the pizza with garlic, fresh rosemary, feta, and mozzarella cheese.

When the pizza was cooking, I knew it was going to be a winner. Our house was filled with the most amazing aroma. We didn't let it cool for long, I was too excited to wait. Josh was still skeptical, but after the first bite, he said no more. He loved it and so did I. We splashed on a little balsamic vinegar and it was the perfect finishing touch. All of the flavors worked so well together. This is the perfect fall pizza.

If you think this pizza combination sounds weird, I still urge you to try it. It really is amazing! And don't forget to check out Gaby's pasta! Have a great weekend friends.

Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Fresh Rosemary

(Printable Recipe)

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (or use your favorite crust)
Roasted Butternut Squash
Caramelized Red Onion Slices
Olive oil
Garlic, minced
Feta cheese
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Fresh rosemary, chopped
Balsamic vinegar

1. To roast the butternut squash, place peeled, diced squash on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 40-50 minutes, at 400 degrees. Stir occasionally.
2. Caramelize the onions. See this post from Simply Recipes for directions.
3. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees, or as hot as it will go, with a pizza stone inside.
4. Make your pizza dough. We used our favorite whole wheat crust. You can use store bought crust if you wish.
5. Roll out your pizza crust. We sprinkle our pizza peel with corn meal and make the pizza on the peel. Drizzle the crust with a little bit of olive oil and spread it around the crust.
6. Add the garlic, butternut squash, onions, cheese, and rosemary.
7. Slide the pizza onto the stone that is in the hot oven.
8. Cook the pizza for about 12-15 minutes. Just watch it. You want the cheese to be melted and the crust to be golden brown.
9. Cool and slice. Sprinkle balsamic vinegar on slices of pizza if you wish.

If you like this pizza, you might also like:
Pizza with Potatoes, Thyme, and Rosemary from Baking and Books
Jim Lahey's Pizza Bianca from Smitten Kitchen
Buffalo Sweet Potato & Blue Cheese Pizza from BitchinCamero
Pizza Roll Up from Two Peas and Their Pod

Recipe for Fruit Pizza

Today is my sister's birthday. Happy Birthday Crissy! We had her family over for dinner last night and had a great time celebrating. My niece and nephew always put a smile on my face. They are just too cute! Aubrey is three and quite the entertainer. We grilled shrimp because they are her FAVORITE. She loves "shrimpies." We also had sweet corn, watermelon, and grilled lemon basil potatoes.

Like me, my sister is not a huge cake fan, so I made her favorite dessert, fruit pizza. The crust is basically one big sugar cookie. I added lemon zest to the dough and cream cheese frosting to enhance the flavor. I used strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and kiwi to decorate the pizza. It was almost too pretty to cut! Everyone loved it.

Fruit Pizza

Adapted from All Recipes

(Printable Recipe)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

Zest of one lemon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/4 tsp. salt

Frosting:

1 package of cream cheese, (8 oz.) we used reduced fat

2 T sugar

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 T fresh lemon juice

Zest of 1 lemon

Fruit:

Strawberries

Blueberries

Peaches

Kiwi

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a pizza pan with cooking spray and set aside.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together with a mixer. Add the egg, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix until well combined.

3. In a bowl, add flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Whisk.

4. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture on low speed, using the mixer. Mix just until combined.

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes. You want the crust to be light golden brown. Let the crust cool.

6. Make the frosting. Mix the cream cheese, sugars, lemon juice, and lemon together untilsmooth. Spread over cooled cookie crust.

7. Arrange fruit on the cookie pizza. Chill until ready to serve. Cut in wedges.

Grilled Mediterranean Pizza

Is everyone ready for the holiday weekend? What are your plans for Labor Day? We are going to Illinois to visit my family. I am beyond excited! I haven't been home since Christmas.

The highlight of my trip will be meeting my new little niece, Ramona. She was born in April and I am finally going to meet her. We don't have set plans but I know good food will be part of the trip. My dad is a fantastic baker so I want to learn from the master while I can.

I know we are having a bbq on Saturday. I am not sure what we will be grilling up, but I wanted to share one of our favorite grilled meals-PIZZA! I posted about grilled pizza before, but we can't get enough.

I really loved this Mediterranean version. We topped the pizza with a little bit of olive oil and then loaded on the veggies-artichokes, peppers, zucchini, eggplant, yellow squash, tomatoes, and fresh basil. We used mozzarella and feta cheese. You can see Josh's side has way more cheese:) We didn't use any sauce, just the olive oil and after we sliced it we drizzled balsamic vinegar over the top. It was so fresh and tasty. One of my new favorite pizzas.

Here is the recipe for our whole wheat pizza dough. We usually use that because it is easy and good for us. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day also makes great pizza dough. Take your pick and try grilled pizza this weekend.

Have a safe and fun Labor Day!

Grilled Pizza

We are still loving life on the beach. Our resort is really nice. Our room has a full kitchen, living area, bedroom with a king bed and jacuzzi tub! There are also four pools, hot tubs, a great fitness center, and great access to the ocean. We are having fun with Josh's brother, Ben, and his wife, Whitney. We don't leave until Thursday! It's nice not having a schedule. I think I could get used to this beach bum thing, ha!

Florida is very hot and humid though. I grew up in Illinois, but I have been living in Utah for nine years. I forgot what the humidity is like. Let's just say I haven't missed it. It is pretty brutal! At least we can cool off in the pool or ocean!

I haven't done any cooking or baking. I am on vacation:) We have made sandwiches, cut watermelon, poured bowls of cereal, and Josh grilled out last night, but that is it. I thought I would share with you the grilled pizza we made before we left.

We used the pizza dough recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day. Instead of cooking it in the oven, we grilled it! It was very tasty. I loved the grill marks on the bottom of the pizza, it had great flavor. Of course, we loaded our pizza with tons of veggies, but you can use whatever toppings you like.

If you haven't grilled a pizza before, I hope you will this summer. It is so easy and fun! The flavor is great and there is no clean up! Why heat up the house when you can make an amazing pizza outside?







Grilled Pizza

(Printable Recipe)

Pizza dough-we used ABin5 dough for our crust, buy the book for the recipe:)
Sauce
Toppings
Cheese

1. Roll out your pizza dough. Homemade is best, but you can use store bought. We love our ABin5 dough or our whole wheat pizza crust.
2. Prepare your pizza with sauce, toppings, and cheese.
3. We preheated our pizza stone on our grill. I don't think you need the stone though, you can oil the grill and place the dough right on the grill. I will try that next time. It was really good on the stone though. Either way will work. If you do use a stone, make sure it is really hot.
4. Grill pizza until crust is done and cheese has melted. If you are using a stone, take the pizza off about 5 minutes before it is done and place it directly on the grill. This will give it the great grill flavor and grill marks.
5. Enjoy!!

Artisan Bread in Five Pizza Party!

Thanks everyone for your well wishes. I do appreciate all of your kindness and support. I am feeling a little better, still not back to my "normal" self yet. I have lost my love for cooking, baking, and eating. So sad!! I might need Josh to take over for awhile if this week doesn't get better. 

But today is all about partying with pizza! We recently invited some friends over for an Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day pizza party. Josh made the master recipe a couple days prior to the party. This made hosting so much easier. The day of the party we made a homemade sauce, collected a bunch of toppings, and pulled out the dough from the refrigerator. Talk about simple!

When the guests arrived Josh rolled out the dough for everyone. We let our friends create their own pizzas. We had a bunch of toppings to choose from: peppers, olives, tomatoes, onions, pepperoni, canadian bacon, fresh basil, and of course mozzarella cheese. It was a ton of fun! 

Our friends were amazed at the ABin5 crust. It really is SO easy and SO delicious! Next time you are in the mood for pizza, give it a try. And if you are looking for a fun dinner party idea, try an ABin5 pizza party. It was loads of fun! My pizza sauce recipe is below and if you want the dough recipe buy the book: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day.

Pizza Sauce Recipe

Olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

Fennel seeds, a dash

Crushed red pepper, a dash

2 cans of petite diced tomatoes, drained

1 can of tomato sauce

Salt/pepper, to taste

Fresh basil, a small handful, chopped

Italian seasoning (I use a blend by Emeril)

1. Heat a little olive oil in a large sauce pan. Saute onion until tender. 

2. Add in garlic, fennel seeds, and crushed red pepper. Saute for a minute or two. 

3. Add in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. 

4. Season with salt, pepper, fresh basil, and Italian seasoning. 

5. With an immersion blender, puree the sauce until you get the consistency you are looking for. I do this to make it more of a "sauce." If you don't mind the tomato chunks, you can skip the blending part. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can transfer the sauce to a regular blender and puree. 

6. I let my sauce simmer for at least 30 minutes to bring out the flavor. 

7. Spread on pizza dough when ready. You can freeze leftover sauce! 

Artisan in Five Calzoni

Here I go again, raving about Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day. I just can't get enough! We had the dough in the fridge, so we decided to try calzoni this time. Of course they were amazing!

I made a veggie spinach calzone with just a little cheese and my homemade sauce, it was very tasty! I loved the nice crusty calzone. Josh wanted his "man meat," so he cooked up some sausage with fennel and added roasted peppers and he always loads on the cheese:)

We were both pleased with our calzoni. They were so easy to make and it was fun making our own. They were huge so we had leftovers for lunch. Oh wait, I had leftovers for lunch, Joshua ate the entire thing. He REALLY enjoyed his:) I forgot to take photos of the veggie calzone. Sorry! I promise it was good.

Go buy the book! You will understand my addiction once you do!

Artisan Bread in Five's Pizza Crust

Ok, I am sure everyone is sick of me talking about how amazing the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is, but in case you missed that memo I will remind you today:)



We made the master boule recipe and had huge success! We made a big crusty rustic loaf, 2 French baguettes, and 2 pizzas with just one recipe. It was so nice to have the dough in the fridge, whenever we were craving fresh bread or pizza, we just cut off a portion of the dough. This method really is magic.

Josh is a pizza fanatic, so of course we had to see if the dough lived up to our high pizza standards. We made 2 thin crust pizzas and the results were outstanding! The crust was perfect and again, it was SO easy!

So if you still haven't tried this method, get moving! You will be so glad you did! I love that you can make bread, pizza, calzones, sticky buns, bagels, etc. Your choices are endless! So get the book and get baking!! Anyone can do it, I promise!

French Bread Pizza and a GIVEAWAY!

Josh was begging for pizza AGAIN, he never gets sick of it. I was not in a creative or cooking mood, so I let him take charge in the kitchen.

He decided to make French Bread Pizza. This has to be the easiest meal ever! We bought a loaf of french bread from our local market. I recommend buying a big fat loaf instead of a little french baguette. The baguettes are a little too crusty and chewy for pizza!

We cut the loaf in half lengthwise and then into four portions. We tore some of the bread out of the middle so the pizza wouldn't be too bready! Then we toasted them under the broiler for a couple of minutes. While the bread was still warm, we took a fresh garlic clove and rubbed the bread down. I love this trick. It really adds a lot of garlic flavor.

Luckily, we had leftover homemade pizza sauce in the freezer, so we used that for the first layer. Josh piled on the pepperoni for his pizza, but I stuck with lots of fresh veggies. We topped the bread with some mozzarella cheese too!! We baked them in the oven for about 15 minutes!

I actually liked this meal. It was quick and easy...and I liked the nice crunch of the bread. It was fun trying a different type of pizza!

And now for the big giveaway!! This is our first blog giveaway...yahoo!! Cait, from Crabbybags, has donated one of her trendy bags to give to our readers! I adore her bags!! They are so fun! They are perfect to take to the grocery store. You can shop in style and save the environment!

Cait only uses high quality home decor weight fabric and reinforces them with thick interfacing, so these bags are very durable. They make wonderful reusable grocery bags, but of course they can be used for just about anything!!

To view Cait's other bags visit this site: www.crabbybags.etsy.com
I am sure you will want one of each! Thanks for a fabulous giveaway!!

To enter the giveaway, please answer the following question, "Where is your favorite vacation spot?" Please comment on this post, the deadline is Sunday at 12:00 a.m. (MST). We will announce the winner on Monday!! Thanks!!

French Bread Pizza

1 loaf of French bread
1 clove of garlic
Pizza sauce, of your choice
Pepperoni
Veggies
Mozzerella cheese
Italian seasoning

1. Slice the loaf of French bread in half, lengthwise. Then cut it into four pieces. Tear out some of the bread so the pizza isn't too bready:)
2. Place the bread on a cookie sheet and put it under the broiler for about 4-5 minutes.
3. Take the garlic clove and rub it all over the bread. This will add a nice garlic flavor.
4. Spread your sauce on all four pieces of bread.
5. Next, add your toppings. Josh used pepperoni, I used veggies.
6. Cover with cheese and Italian seasoning if you wish.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, just until the cheese melts.

Recipe for Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza

Josh is a pizza fanatic! He would eat it for every meal if I let him:) I usually convince him to eat something else, but the other night I gave in and we made pizza!

This time we made a whole wheat crust. We used half whole wheat flour and half all purpose. The best part about this dough is that it really doesn't have to rise, you only let it "rest" for 15 minutes!! We made it in our food processor too, so it was a breeze!! I was amazed at how quickly we put together a homemade pizza. Faster than any pizza delivery boy could get to your door, I promise!!

I made a simple homemade sauce and we topped our pizza with cheese and veggies. We used green peppers, red onion, tomatoes, and zucchini. I love making my own pizza so I can load it with veggies and limit the cheese. I always put more on Josh's side because he loves it!

We made a salad to go with and were eating healthy delicious pizza in no time!! We really enjoyed the whole wheat crust. It was thick, chewy, and had a nice nutty flavor. We will for sure make this one again!! Oh, and we got to use our cool new pizza cutting tool from Williams and Sonoma! Another reason to keep making pizza:)

Next time you are craving pizza, give this recipe a go! You will be amazed at how fast everything comes together!!









Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough
Source: EatingWell.com

To make 1 pound dough:
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 package quick-rising yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup hot water (120-130°F)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Use whatever toppings you wish! I made a homemade sauce and we topped ours with mozzarella cheese and veggies!

1. Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Combine hot water and oil in a measuring cup. With the motor running, gradually pour in enough of the hot liquid until the mixture forms a sticky ball. The dough should be quite soft. If it seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water; if too sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour. Process until the dough forms a ball, then process for 1 minute to knead.
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Coat a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it, sprayed-side down, over the dough. Let the dough rest for 10 to 20 minutes before rolling.
3. Place a pizza stone or inverted baking sheet on the lowest oven rack;preheat oven to 500°F or highest setting. Roll and top the pizza as desired(we suggest a 13-inch circle) and bake the pizza until the bottom is crisp and golden, 10 to 14 minutes. Serve immediately.

Make Ahead Tip: Store in a plastic bag coated with cooking spray in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before using.

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

When we went to Illinois for Christmas Josh fell in love with deep dish pizza. We helped my dad make it for dinner one night and Josh has been talking about it ever since. Utah has some good pizza places, but we haven't found a good deep dish place, so Josh decided to try it on his own.

There is no way we could eat a huge deep dish pizza on our own, so we cooked dinner for the Dewey family. It was great fun! Josh did most of the work, I was his assistant. He used the same recipe my dad used. This time we did a veggie section for me...and the rest had veggies, sausage, and pepperoni. I made a homemade pizza sauce and we loaded it with cheese too!

The pizza was down right delicious! The crust was thick, tasty, and crusty, like it should be:) It held all of the toppings together. We had one monster pizza going on. Josh's craving was satisfied...and the Dewey's enjoyed it as well.

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

Dough

• 4 Cups Flour
• 1 Cup Milk
• 1 Tbsp. Butter
• 1 Tbsp. Sugar
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 Package Instant Dry Yeast
• About 1 cup of water-add a little at a time until you get the right dough consistency

Scald milk. Add butter, sugar and salt. Allow milk mixture to cool to "warm." Add yeast and mix thoroughly.

In a heavy-duty mixer (e.g., KitchenAid), add milk mixture. Slowly add flour until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and forms a ball. Add water, a little at a time, until the dough combines. Knead dough for 5-10 minutes. Cover and allow dough to rise for 2 hours. Punch down the dough, knead briefly, and allow to rise and additional 2 hours until approximately doubled in bulk.

Sauce

• 1 Can (16 ounces) Tomato Sauce
• Salt to taste
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Black pepper
• Fresh basil
• Garlic

Simmer sauce for 1/2 hour.

Toppings and Cheese

Use whatever toppings you like: sausage, pepperoni, veggies, etc.

Shred a lot of mozzarella cheese! We use a lot!

Assembly & Baking

Grease a 10" deep-dish pizza pan or cast iron skillet. Roll the crust to fit the pan. The edges should come to the top of the pan. Take a little bit of sauce and put it on the bottom. Put some cheese on the bottom. Take some of the sauce and spread it on the cheese. Add whatever toppings you like. Take more of the cheese and spread a layer. Add a lot of sauce to the top. Sprinkle with extra cheese if you wish.

Bake 45 minutes at 425 degrees F or until bubbly!

Family Pizza Party

When we were in Illinois we made Chicago Style Deep Dish pizza for dinner. It was so much fun. The whole family got in on the action! My dad makes the best pizza ever! He normally does a regular thin crust pizza, but this time he did his regular AND deep dish! What a treat for us!!

He made the deep dish pizza in his cast iron skillet that he has had forever. It is a family heirloom. It was the perfect dish for the pizza! The dough took four hours to rise, but it was well worth it! So plan ahead when you want to make this style of pizza!

The guys adore their meat, so my dad did an "All Meat, All the Time" pizza...and a veggie for me:) I didn't sample the meat version, but I am guessing it was fantastic since it was gobbled up in no time! The crust was extra thick..it had to be to hold all of the meat, sauce, and cheese! My dad doesn't hold back when it comes to toppings!

If you haven't tried Chicago Deep Dish pizza...either go to Chicago or make this version at home! It is ultra thick and ultra delicious!
















Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

Dough

• 4 Cups Flour
• 1 Cup Milk
• 1 Tbsp. Butter
• 1 Tbsp. Sugar
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 Package Instant Dry Yeast
• About 1 cup of water-add a little at a time until you get the right dough consistency
  

Scald milk. Add butter, sugar and salt. Allow milk mixture to cool to "warm." Add yeast and mix thoroughly.

In a heavy-duty mixer (e.g., KitchenAid), add milk mixture. Slowly add flour until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and forms a ball. Add water, a little at a time, until the dough combines. Knead dough for 5-10 minutes. Cover and allow dough to rise for 2 hours. Punch down the dough, knead briefly, and allow to rise and additional 2 hours until approximately doubled in bulk.

Sauce

• 1 Can (16 ounces) Tomato Puree
• Salt to taste
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Black pepper
• Sweet basil
• Garlic

Simmer sauce for 1/2 hour.

Cheese

Using a coarse grater, grate mozzarella cheese. I am not sure how much we used, I just know it was a lot! My family likes their cheese!

Toppings

My Dad used Italian sausage. He seasons it with fennel, salt, and pepper. You can use Whatever topping you like. I used mushrooms, peppers, and zucchini for the veggie pizza!

Assembly & Baking

Grease a 10" deep-dish pizza pan or cast iron skillet. Roll the crust to fit the pan. The edges should come to the top of the pan. Take the sliced cheese and layer it on the bottom. Take some of the sauce and spread it on the cheese. Take more of the cheese and spread a layer. Continue, but try to end up with mostly sauce on top. (The cheese will overcook if it's exposed on top.)

Bake 45 minutes at 425 degrees F or until bubbly!