Breakfast Berry Pizza

I know I’ve talked about this before, but breakfast is my favorite meal ever. It’s just so versatile! Sweet or savory? Hot or cold? Sit down and enjoy or grab on the go? Little or large? Healthy or ridiculously packed with sugar and fat? There are just so many options.

This Berry Breakfast Pizza makes a great summer breakfast. If you’re up early enough you can bake the base before the day gets too hot to avoid turning your house into a sauna.

I’m not one for berries and fruit, unless they’re smothered in chocolate. But this is a berry recipe I can get behind.

Breakfast Berry Pizza

Makes two small pizzas

Ingredients

¼ cup whole-wheat flour

½ cup oats

¼ cup brown sugar

½ cup raisins

¼ cup chocolate chips

1/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup yogurt

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Various berries

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, raisins and chocolate chips. Pour in the milk, melted butter and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and stir until all the liquid has been absorbed.

2. Form the oat mixture into two balls and place them on a baking tray. Flatten with the palm of your hand to make pizza shapes and bake for around 20 minutes or until crispy. When cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt ½ teaspoon vanilla and powdered sugar. Spread the yogurt mix on top of the cooled pizza bases and decorated with your favorite berries.

Happy Friday! I hope you guys have a great weekend doing whatever you non-me people do. J

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BBQ Chicken Pizza on a Garlic Bread Crust

You know what goes well with a slowly roasted, deliciously sweet red pepper? Everything. Need to add more flavor to your one-dimensional pasta dish? Add some roasted red pepper. Searching for something to stuff your couscous into? Try a roasted red pepper. Want to make your dull cereal taste less like cardboard? Throw a roasted red pepper in the bowl, guaranteed to turn your milk a peppery-red.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit far. But do you know what else a roasted red pepper makes so much better? BBQ Chicken Pizza on a Garlic Bread Crust. A thick, cheesy, garlic crust topped with mountains of chicken, sweet red onion, roasted red pepper and a generous sprinkling of cheese – so so good.

Roasting peppers is very simple. Pre-heat the oven to 400°F/200°C, wash your whole red pepper, place it on a baking tray and put it in the oven, turning it every 15 minutes or so. Roasting time varies according to size, but for a 1-portion pepper, you’re looking at about 40 minutes. Remove the pepper from the oven, and pull the stalk off, which should create a small hole. Shake out any remaining juice and seeds and you’re done!

I was going to attempt a thin and crispy base for this BBQ chicken pizza, but I couldn’t get the idea of a garlic bread crust out of my head, so I ditched the thin and crispy and went full steam ahead with a thick and chewy crust loaded with a cheesy garlic topping.

I’m so glad I did. I’m not sure what it is about garlic but as soon as the tiny vegetable (It is a vegetable, right? I’ve counted it as one of my ‘five-a-day’ for as long as I can remember!) goes anywhere near heat, it releases one of the most beautiful smells in the world. Add the garlic to the cheese and butter needed to create the crust topping and I promise your nose will think it’s in heaven.

In case you’re wondering, this is (apparently) what my Official Treat Taster’s “yummy pizza face” looks like.

BBQ Chicken Pizza on a Garlic Bread Crust

Pizza crust adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients

Crust:

2 ¼ teaspoons yeast

¾ cup warm water

1 cup whole wheat flour

¾ cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon honey

½ tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

3 cloves crushed garlic

3 tablespoons grated cheese

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter

Toppings:

¼ cup BBQ sauce

½ cup shredded chicken

½ cup diced red onion

¼ cup diced roasted red pepper

¼ cup grated cheese

Recipe

1. In the bowl of your electric mixer with the dough hook attached, mix together the warm water, yeast, honey and oil.

2. Leave to rest for about 15 minutes until foamy then add the flour and salt. Mix on a low speed until just combined then increase the speed to medium and mix for 5-6 minutes.

3. Grease a large bowl and add the dough. Leave to rise in a warm place for about 90 minutes.

4. When risen, punch down the dough and place onto a greased pizza-baking tray. With a rolling pin or your hands, roll the dough so it covers the baking tray, making the dough thicker around the edge of the tray, almost like a shallow bowl. Stab the dough all over with a fork to encourage even baking.

5. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C and combine the garlic, cheese, garlic and onion powders, salt and butter in a bowl. Place in the microwave and cook until melted – this will be one of the best smells you’ve ever experienced. Remove from the microwave and spread all over the pizza dough.

6. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the dough is just turning golden brown. Add all your toppings and bake in the oven for a further 15 minutes or until the crust is a deeper brown and the cheese is melted. 



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Over-Loaded Mini Pizzas

Everyone loves pizza. But which is better – thin and crispy or deep-pan? My Official Treat Taster prefers a thin and crispy base covered in a sea sauce, a mountain meat and coliseum of cheese. I prefer my pizzas to be deep-pan and stuffed with a wonderful tomato filling, with possibly a few vegetables hidden in there, too.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who imagines how perfect and neat a dish will turn out, only to have it come out of the oven looking like a messy disaster. Here’s a tip for any new cooks on the block – don’t apologise! If it came out looking like it has been trodden on, that’s how it was meant to be – especially if you’re serving it to someone who’s never had the dish before.

This is exactly how these mini pizzas were supposed to come out. They weren’t meant to look like beautiful, tiny, perfectly-round Chicago-style pizzas. They were meant to look like volcanoes that had just erupted. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Chicago-Style Over-Loaded Mini Pizzas

Ingredients

Your favourite pizza dough

½ onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

½ cup bacon, chopped

1 cup chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

Salt & pepper

Mozzarella

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C and lightly grease a muffin pan. Roll out your pizza dough so it’s about 1/2 inch/1cm thick and cut 4 circles out big enough to line muffin pan. 

2. Press the pizza dough into each muffin hole and prick the dough all over with a fork. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the dough is golden brown. Remove from the oven when cooked and place to one side.

3. Whilst the dough is baking, fry the onion over a medium-heat for about 5 minutes and then add the garlic and bacon. Cook until the bacon is crispy then add the tomatoes, herbs and seasonings. Reduce to a medium-low heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce thickens.

4. Evenly spoon the filling into the dough cups and top with shredded mozzarella. Bake in the oven for another 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling. 



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Salami Pizza Muffins

These salami pizza muffins are incredibly easy to whip up as a quick snack or a last-minute meal. These are an ideal home-made fast-food because they can be made beforehand and placed in the freezer for months. To defrost, simply place in the oven at 180C for about 15 minutes, or until the muffins are golden and sizzling.

I kept these simply and only added oregano for seasoning. I would have preferred a 'deeper' taste with pepper, but Boyfriend detests pepper with a vengeance and would not have any of it. When I make these muffins again, I would also add another herb - such as basil - and a spice to give them a bit of a kick - maybe a touch of chilli powder. 

Ingredients

100g flour

1 tsp baking powder     

1 tbsp oregano

160ml milk

1 egg

100g mozzarella

100g another kind of cheese – I used Gouda

200g salami in chunks

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease a 12 muffin pan. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, oregano.

2. Beat the egg and milk together. Add the cheese and salami before pouring into the flour mixture.

3. Divide the batter between the muffin cups and bake until golden – around 30 minutes.