Kitchen Clean Up Gourmet Pizza

 I know what you're thinking...this girl makes some great stuff but has a few odd ball ingredients that I'm not quite sure what to do with. Worry no more about wasting that good stuff. For over two years now D and I have been making pizza at home instead of ordering out and this one might just be our favorite. It mirrors similar flavors that we've been cooking up around here, so it's the perfect way to use up the rest of some of those ingredients. 

There's something to be said about spending that thirty minutes or less together in the kitchen, sipping wine and making your own pizza then silently waiting for the doorbell to deliver a box whose contents question the driving skills of America's future. The cost comes in around $10 or less, depending on what ingredients you regularly have on hand, and the taste makes any at home date night seem like a fine(er) dining experience. 

Save a tree...no napkin blotting needed.

Eggplant & Roasted Red Pepper Goat Cheese Pizza

• 1/2 eggplant chopped (small) --(I used the half from this)
• 1 roasted red bell pepper, blotted and cut into thin strips
• 8-10 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped up
• 1 16oz ball of pizza dough* -keep refrigerated until last minute.
• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 4-5 oz goat cheese
• 2 Tbsp flour 
• 1 tsp granulated garlic

*I cheated a bit here and used a store bought fresh ball of wheat pizza dough. While I'm all about 'make your own', this is one of those time savers (and dough can get tricky) that $2 is worth the simplicity for me*

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. In a large skillet heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat and add in eggplant. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes until softened. 

Meanwhile, dust your dough with the flour and stretch until desired size and thickness. (I use a 12 inch deep dish round because that's all that I have, but a pizza stone would work great for this too!.) This pan allows the dough to have a little bit of a crunch and a chewiness on the inside. Spray your pan with cooking spray and fit the dough inside to the edges. Drizzle with the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with granulated garlic. Bake for about 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven, reduce heat to 450 and add eggplant to the dough. Place red peppers on top of the eggplant. Crumble the goat cheese over the pizza to your desired cheesiness (*note: goat cheese won't spread and melt like other cheeses so its best to get a thin, fine crumbled layer) Bake another 7 minutes. Remove again and add on the sun-dried tomatoes. Return to the oven and bake another 3-5 minutes, careful not to burn the sun-dried tomatoes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool a few minutes and the cheese to set a little bit so you don't loose all your toppings (*this is the hardest part!)

Best enjoyed on the couch with your favorite date night movie or tv show (we're obsessed with The Walking Dead right now...)!