Appetizer Pizza

(This recipe was first posted in conjunction with the Meijer Ad 6/17/12 - 6/23/12)

This pizza is a nice change of pace from traditional pepperoni or supreme.  It can be served as an entree, but the flavor is extremely rich, so I cut it into strips and serve it as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

1  14" unbaked pizza crust
olive oil, for brushing
1/2 of a 10 oz container of Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme
1/2 of a 9 oz container of turkey deli meat, diced
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh portabella or white mushrooms
1 1/2 cups diced mixed sweet peppers (red, yellow, and/or orange)

Directions:
Brush crust lightly with olive oil and let it rise 30 minutes.  Spread cooking creme over pizza crust.  Sprinkle chopped deli meat over cooking creme.  Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and top with mushrooms and peppers.  Bake at 450 degrees 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is slightly browned and bottom of crust is crisped to your liking.  Let cool 5 minutes, then cut into slices or strips.

Options and Tips

• I like the flavor of this ingredient combination, but you can get creative and use different flavors of Cooking Creme (Southwest, Savory Garlic, and others).  You could also substitute different vegetables or meat (chicken would be good!).
• You can use any store-bought crust instead of making your own. 
• If you only have a 12 inch pizza pan or stone (and not a 14 inch one), try making this pizza on a cookie sheet instead.  OR, just cut back on the toppings to compensate for the smaller size.
• Remember I said that this pizza crust recipe was forgiving?  This is proof!  Last week Thursday night, I rolled out two pizza crusts, but then realized we really only needed one pizza (we had kids gone overnight).  I pulled one of them off the counter, formed it back into a ball, and refrigerated it (covered) overnight.  Friday afternoon I rolled it back out to make this appetizer pizza for our Friday night company.  I let it rise for an hour instead of 30 minutes since it had been in the fridge...and the crust turned out perfectly again!

This is an original recipe.