The Almost Homemade Pizza Queen

I am the almost homemade pizza queen aspiring to be the homemade pizza queen. I'm queen because I want to be (and because pizza is a passion) and I'm almost homemade because, for now, I don't make my own crust and I don't made my own sauce. I'm getting there, but for now I use:

1 box of Jiffy pizza crust 
1 cup (or more) marinara sauce (I like marinara sauce better than pizza sauce because it usually has chunks in it- we like chunks.)

Sometimes instead of using red sauce for the base, I will infuse garlic into olive oil and use that for the base instead. I put 3-5 cloves of garlic (depending on the size) into olive oil. I slowly bring up the temperature of the oil until it sizzles and the garlic begins to look toasty. At that point, I turn off the heat and paint the olive oil onto the crust. Some people just discard the garlic cloves, but I like them, so I smush them onto the crust. 

As for crust, I prefer a store-bought mix that comes in a box to a pre-made crust. I prefer the mix because it gives me the opportunity to add spices. Before I add the water to the mix, I shake in some

oregano
basil
crushed red peppers

You can add any dried herbs or spices that make you think, "pizza," and it will give the crust a little extra spunk!

The pizza of the night was a grilled eggplant, turkey sausage, onion, and basil pie.  Here is what you need: 

1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced into coins
2 turkey, Italian sausage links 
half of one red onion, sliced
fresh basil
mozzarella cheese, grated & sliced

I prepared the eggplant following this recipe, which I have now used several times. It. Is. Delicious. The marinade makes the eggplant taste so good I could be satisfied with just a plate of this eggplant for dinner. In fact, Eric and I were lucky we had enough eggplant left to make the pizza. We each kept sneaking pieces off the plate. Eric was counting to  make sure I didn't sneak more bites than he did. 

When I use this recipe to prepare eggplant as a pizza topping, the only thing I do differently is peel the eggplant and cut it into coins rather than cutting it lengthwise. You can do this part ahead of time and set it aside. 

Next, prepare the sausage. Remove the casing and break up the meat in a hot skillet. Depending on how lean the meat is, you may need to add a drop of olive oil. To spice up the meat, you can add all your favorite spices, you know, those ones that make you think, "pizza." Completely cook the meat and set it aside.

Take your pre-baked pizza crust and dress it with the base of your choice (we used marinara sauce). Sprinkle a very small amount of grated mozzarella cheese onto the sauce. Place your grilled eggplant coins onto the pizza, add your red onion (which you can caramelize ahead of time if you like, but I like when it gets kinda crispy in the oven), add your sausage. Evenly place thin slices of mozzarella cheese on top of the pie. Bake for about 10 minutes or until cheese is sufficiently melty or bubbly. (Note: if you let your crust get too dark when you pre-bake it, you will not be able to leave the pizza in the oven for as long, be careful not to do that!)

Remove pie from oven and top with fresh basil chiffonade. I learned this term and technique from Eric. It is apparently a fancy word for basil strips, which are easily cut by rolling the basil leaves into a tight tube and slicing them. It makes these little basil ribbons and you don't have to chase the leaves around the cutting board or stand there tearing each individual leaf. 

And no, Eric and I did not devour this whole pizza in one sitting. Okay, maybe we did...