Green Monster Pizza

Do you ever have this happen, where you see just the tail end of a recipe on a cooking show and you find yourself "winging it" in the kitchen to recreate what you think you saw? That's sorta how this came about...

I had seen Giada making what I thought was a pizza with some sort of green cheese mixture for the base. I couldn't get it out of my head and rather than Google it, I decided to just try and make up my own. Besides, it's so much more fun than following a recipe, right?

Problem is, when you "wing it" it tends to be more experimentation than getting it right the first time. And sometimes it means that things happen that you don't expect. It can also mean that you end up with a giant mess in your oven of burnt, molten cheese mixture. Yum.

I should have photographed the oven after this venture. Actually, it's probably still there...ehm. I don't clean my oven. I just wait for it to burn away. Sad but true.

Although, the mess was so bad I had to scrape the pizza stone of some of the bigger bits, so I didn't set the smoke alarm off. You know it's bad when you are opening your windows in 10 degree F weather to air out the kitchen. My poor little children were shivering like Oliver Twist in an alley way.

So anyways, the problem was that this cheese mixture, although thick and dense when cold, turned into a river of cheese pouring over the sides of the crust when hot. Part of the messy problem was that I applied way to much. When I put less, it was much better.

The cheese mix

Strewn pizza dough awaiting rolling and baking in a 550 degree oven. Looks a little scared.

Delicious little bits of chicken Italian sausage, also awaiting searing hot oven heat.

I think this was the third pizza that Bubba and I made. It grew a tumor of sorts while baking and of course, it's grotesque physique found it's way into Bubba's heart and stomach.

Proud owner of the pizza tumor.

Tackling it...

Boo is on an anti-pizza run. She used to like it. None of us know where it all went wrong. So she was eating a turkey sandwich- a dismembered turkey sandwich that is.

Who needs teething toys? In this family our babies cut their teeth on stainless steel mixing bowls, guaranteeing a foodie future.

Tiny's transferring all his cubed pizza bits into the bowl and back onto his plate and not eating much of anything...ah, toddlers.

Either the last one or first one of anything you make seems to be the best. This was the last of 4 pizzas and it turned out pretty nice.  How I love making pizzas...I could make pizza all day long.

Green Cheese Mixture

*Note: Since, like most foodies, we are in the business of "winging it" these are approximate measurements, so use your best judgement. Taste and taste again, until it's how you like.

1 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan, grated

1/2 cup low-moisture mozzarella

1 good fistful of fresh basil leaves

3 roasted garlic cloves

Salt and pepper

Throw it all in the food processor and make into a paste.

Toppings:

Go wild, but I used the browned chicken Italian sausage bits and fresh tomato. Use the cheese mixture as the "sauce" and don't use too much, if you know what's good 'fer ya.

For the pizza dough recipe and video, CLICK HERE! Its super duper easy. I know the recipe says it makes enough for 2 pizzas, but I got 4 smaller ones out of it as well. My oven is smaller than my last one, so I had to adjust it.

Love ya, Foodies!