I know very few people who don’t love pizza. Dough, sauce, cheese, and whatever else you can dream up, right? It’s a fantastically fun way to eat a meal that’s fairly self contained. Heck, you don’t even need a plate if you’re careful enough :)

I love plain traditional pizza. A slice of cheese will almost always be just what hits the spot if pizza night rolls around. That said, a few weeks ago a slice of cheese just wasn’t going to cut it.

Yeah, that’s what I was looking for.

You’re looking at a two very distinct pizzas that both lack sauce, and are anything but traditional. The flavor combinations are just awesome though! If you want something new on your plate, may I suggest one of these beauties?

Apple, White Cheddar, Spinach Pizza

You’ll need:

Pizza Dough – homemade or store bought (Trader Joe’s has fantastic ready-made dough for less than $2)
Olive Oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 of a tart green apple, thinly sliced
Extra sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded – about 4 oz
Baby Spinach

Musrhoom, Shallot, Gruyere Pizza

You’ll need:

Pizza Dough – homemade or store bought
Olive Oil
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp butter
about 1/4 c white wine
Gruyere cheese, shredded – about 4 oz

For each of these I used 1 package of dough, divided in half to make four long, flat bread like pizzas (two of each). Once the dough is rolled out, brush it with olive oil before layering on the ingredients.

The apple, cheddar, spinach pizza is pretty easy to assemble. On your dough evenly distribute the 2 minced cloves of garlic over the two pieces. Next sprinkle half of your cheese, layer with thinly sliced apples, and cover with the rest of your cheese. We won’t add the spinach until after everything is cooked.  You could add it now, but it’s not very appetizing looking when it’s cooked down.

The mushroom pizza is a little more involved. In a medium sauté pan melt your butter before adding your mushrooms and one of your sliced shallots. As they begin to simmer and cook down add in your wine. Let the mushroom mixture simmer and get soft. Once it’s done (about 5-10 minutes) add half to each piece of pre-oiled dough. Layer on the rest of the shallots, and cover everything with a good layer of gruyere.

Both of these pizzas can go into the oven together – just watch for excessive browning, and rotate your pans as necessary. Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes. I started checking mine around 15 minutes, and every 5 minutes after to ensure I wasn’t burning anything.

Once your pizzas are done, cut in triangles, and try not to eat the whole thing right away – you’ll burn your mouth!

Add the spinach to your apple pizza just before serving.

This was almost as easy to make as it is to order a pizza from your favorite place, definitely cheaper, and MUCH more delicious!

Speaking of your favorite pizza places though – check out this little gem we got last week!

My brother & sister-in-law are expecting their first child in September, and since our families are all spread out they wanted to do something special to announce whether it would be a boy or a girl. My husband and I were lucky enough to have half of our family close by when we wanted to reveal our news about our son, but Trav & Mel (you can find her here or here) aren’t as lucky. They still wanted to include us in their joy though, and they came up with a neat little solution – PIZZA!

The afternoon after their ultrasound Mel got on the phone with local pizza places in three different states to deliver the good news to us. We waited patiently by our doors for 6pm to roll around in our respective time zones (we were last to know!). We also had the absolute joy of opening the box while we video chatted with them so they could see our reactions.

Here we go…

At this point my husband is sick of waiting, and ready to fling the box open even though I’m still trying to snap photos & capture the moment :)

Oh okay, I can’t wait any longer!!

It’s a BOY! Little Tylyn has another boy cousin on the way!

We couldn’t be happier for them, and are so excited for all the little ones that are entering or have already entered our family in 2013. I just had to share our continued blessings with you all. Hope it made you smile, because I still feel like I’m grinning ear to ear just thinking about it!