dinner was YUM today

In between classes, I took some pizza dough out of the freezer to thaw on the counter and rise a bit. (I make my own using a Barefoot Contessa recipe--it's fairly easy and it makes a TON, so I freeze it in individual serving sizes.) Then, when I got home, all I had to do was thaw out some pesto (I also make it in big batches and freeze it), shred some mozzarella, and chop roasted red peppers.

Pesto Pizza with Roasted Red Peppers


This is the pizza just out of the oven. I preheated a pizza stone in the oven, so I used the parchment paper so that (a) I could easily slide the pizza on and off the stone and (b) I wouldn't have to clean the stone after using it.




As a side dish, I used some white beans and a few mushrooms leftover from the soup I made this week, plus some spinach I had in the freezer. (I can never eat a whole bag of spinach before it goes bad, so I always blanch and freeze leftover spinach. It is WAY better than boxed.) I cooked the mushrooms for a bit in some olive oil, added the beans and a little chicken stock, and let that cook for a bit. Then I added chopped, drained spinach.



I topped it with scallions and parmesan. The idea for this dish came from a recipe I saw in a magazine that had potatoes, bacon, spinach, and white beans with scallions and parmesan. I just used what I had with the same method.

Here's the final version:



And, finally, one more picture of pizza: