Whole Wheat Cracker Pizza Snacks

You will need some whole-wheat crackers.  (I love the Back to Nature brand because it's got a very short ingredient list.)

You will need some pizza sauce.  (I used Muir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce.)

You will need some freshly grated mozzarella cheese.

You will need some fresh veggies.  (I used some blanched broccoli.)

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees. Lay out the crackers on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Spoon about 1 heaping teaspoon of pizza sauce on each cracker.  Top with a few bits of veggies.  Sprinkle each with a hefty pinch of cheese.  Pop them in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese melts.  I placed them under the broiler for a couple of minutes to brown them up a bit after baking.  (You could certainly use a toaster oven, if you wish.)

Here are the ingredients all ready to go.  The kids can help with the assembly.

Pizza Dip

Recipe by My Baking Addiction http://www.mybakingaddiction.com

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Yield: 16 servings

Our good friends, Sandy and Jeremy, invited a bunch of us over for the New Year celebration.  This is what we brought to share.  It was gone in no time.  If you have kids/teens, they’re going to LOVE these.  At your next party, make the dip in advance and then pop it in the oven just before your guests arrive.  Serve this with toasted crostini.  Directions for these are at the end of this recipe.

8 ounces cream cheese, softened


1/4 teaspoon garlic powder


½ teaspoon dried oregano; ½ teaspoon dried parsley; ¼ teaspoon dried basil
 or 1 teaspoon pizza seasoning

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese


1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


1 cup pizza sauce
(I used Local Folks Pizza Sauce.)

1/4 cup minced green bell pepper


1/4 cup minced onion


2 ounces sliced pepperoni
(I chopped the pepperoni to make it easier to serve.)

2 tablespoons sliced black olives, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, garlic powder and dried herbs.

Spread cream cheese mixture into a 9-inch pie pan, and sprinkle ½ cup of mozzarella and ½ cup of Parmesan on the cream cheese mixture.

Top with the pizza sauce and sprinkle the remaining cheeses over the pizza sauce.

Top with bell pepper, onion, pepperoni and black olives.

Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes or until cheese is fully melted and bubbly.

I served this with toasted crostini (sliced baguette).  Here’s how to make them:

You will need one baguette, some olive oil, a large clove of garlic, Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

Cut the baguette into ¼ inch slices.  Place on a baking sheet.  Brush with olive oil.  Place under the broiler.  Watch carefully so they do not burn.  When the crostini is golden brown, remove from the oven.  Rub the toasted sides with the garlic clove.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Turn the crostini over.  Repeat the above steps.

Serve these along side the Pizza Dip.

Breakfast Pizza

Husband-Tested Recipe from the Kitchen of Alice Wootton

Oh, Ma Ma! Was this ever good!!

There were some lovely quail eggs for sale at the Orange County HomeGrown Farmers Market this season. I purchased some because they were just so beautiful! (See photo of the eggs I bought.) The rest of the ingredients I purchased at my favorite store in the whole world, Lost River Market & Deli. I had some Whole Wheat Pizza Dough in the freezer, so I decided to make a breakfast pizza on the grill. I thawed the dough in the fridge the night before, then all I had to do was roll it out and top with the ingredients. You could certainly use regular hen eggs for your breakfast pizza too. The measurements are approximate because pizzas are pretty forgiving. If you are lucky enough to find quail eggs, here's a little advice. Crack the quail egg on the side of the bowl. Then carefully poke the tip of a sharp knife through the crack to break the membrane (which is pretty tough...tougher than a hen's egg membrane) and then the egg will slip right out without breaking the yoke.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (recipe follows)
4 Tablespoons olive oil

3 hen eggs or 6 quail eggs, break the eggs into small individual bowls or cups so that they will easily transfer onto the pizza
1 fresh tomato, thinly sliced
2 cups shredded mozzerella cheese
1/4 of a small onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup small red pepper, thinly sliced
2 cups fresh baby spinach, sliced
a few Tablespoons of Local Folks Pizza Sauce or your favorite pizza sauce
a few slices of Capocolla ham or Proscuitto, or substitute a few bacon strips. If using bacon strips, cook them until crisp.

Prepare pizza dough in advance. (I made this dough about a month ago, put it in the freezer and then thawed it in the fridge the day before making this pizza.)

Brush grill grate with olive oil. Preheat grill.

Sprinkle a board or the counter with flour. Roll out the pizza dough. When the grill is hot, carefully lay the dough on the grill. Meanwhile, prepare the pizza toppings (chop, slice, shred and measure out topping ingredients.) Place the toppings on a tray and set the tray next to the grill.

When the dough is browned and crisp on the bottom (which is actually the pizza top) flip the dough over using tongs. Brush the dough with olive oil. Spread the pizza sauce in a thin layer over the dough. Sprinkle with cheese. Add the rest of the ingredients. Slide the eggs onto the pizza.

Close the grill lid and allow the pizza to finish cooking. The pizza is done when the bottom of the dough is brown and crisp, the cheese is melted and the eggs are cooked sunny side up.

Using tongs, slide the pizza onto a cutting board. Use a large knife or pizza wheel to cut into serving pieces.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough:

1 cup warm water (100-110ºF)

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 envelope dry yeast

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

½ teaspoons salt

Combine water and sugar in food processor. Sprinkle yeast over; let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add oil, then flour and salt. Process just until dough comes together. Knead on floured surface about 5 minutes. Add flour if needed. Lightly oil a large bowl. Add the dough; turn to coat with the oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then a towel. Let the dough rise in warm place until doubled, about an hour. Punch down dough. Knead in the bowl about 2 minutes. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll and stretch out dough (dough will be very elastic) on a floured surface to a 9” shape. (*Dough can be made ahead frozen. Just spray PAM inside a large Ziplock bag. Place the dough inside the bag and seal shut. Thaw in the refrigerator. It will rise in the fridge.) When in a pinch for time, you can use store-bought refrigerated pizza dough.

Grilled Pizza with Fennel, Onions, Mushrooms, Zucchini, Kalamata Olives and Gruyere Cheese

Husband-Tested Recipe from the Kitchen of Alice Wootton
Dough Recipe makes 2 large pizzas.
Topping Recipe makes enough for 1 large pizza.

I've been making grilled pizza for years. It's fun and the pizza tastes better than anything you'd get at any pizza joint. You don't need a pizza pan or a pizza stone....just a grill, good pizza dough (homemade or store bought) and your favorite toppings. This dough is done very quickly in a food processor. It's flavored with a bit of oregano and marjoram. Rolled out thinly and grilled, it's cracker-like on the outside and chewy on the inside. Yum! Here, I topped it with gruyere cheese, caramelized fennel and onions, added some mushrooms and diced zucchini (what I had left in my fridge) and then gilded the lily with Kalamata olives. Sweet, salty and gooey altogether on a pizza. Yum! Make the dough in advance. Divide it and place one in a gallon size freezer bag that has been coated inside with cooking spray. Freeze it for later. Thaw in the fridge. Grill and top the other half. All of the ingredients can be found at Lost River Market & Deli. There is another post for grilled pizza with different toppings on this blog.

Pizza Dough (Makes 2 large pizzas)
1 cup warm water (105-115ºF)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 envelope dry yeast
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ Tablespoon each of dried Oregano and Marjoram

Combine water and sugar in food processor. Sprinkle yeast over; let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add oil, then flour, salt and dried herbs. Process just until dough comes together. Knead on floured surface about 5 minutes. Add flour if needed. Lightly oil a large bowl. Add the dough; turn to coat with the oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then a towel. Let the dough rise in warm place until doubled, about an hour. Punch down dough. Knead in the bowl about 2 minutes. Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll and stretch out dough (dough will be very elastic) on a floured surface. (*Dough can be made ahead and frozen. Spray the inside of a gallon size freezer bag with cooking spray. Place dough ball in the bag and freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator and then bring to room temperature before grilling.) When in a pinch for time, you can use store-bought refrigerated pizza dough.

How To Grill a Pizza
Before beginning, be sure to have your topping ingredients prepped and ready to go. Grilling the pizza takes a short time. Brush the grill with olive oil. Heat the grill to medium. Place the pizza dough directly on the grill. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil. When the bottom of the dough is brown and crisp, use tongs to flip it over. (Now the bottom is the top.) Don’t be alarmed if the dough bubbles, it’s normal. You can easily “pop” the bubbles with the tip of a knife. Brush the top with olive oil and top with your favorite toppings.*** When the bottom of the dough is brown and crisp and the cheese is melted, slide the pizza off the grill with tongs onto a cutting board. Use a large knife or pizza wheel to slice into servings.

Pizza Toppings (Enough for one large pizza.)
2 Tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, cored and thinly sliced
½ sweet onion, thinly sliced
About 6 cremini mushrooms, sliced
¼ to ½ large zucchini, diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 heaping Tablespoons of your favorite pizza sauce (I use Local Folks. You could also use crushed tomatoes.)
Scant ½ cup pitted Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
Approx. cups shredded gruyere cheese

Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a non stick skillet. Add fennel and onions. Season with salt and pepper. Cook at low heat until translucent and tender. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add 1 Tablespoon to skillet. Add mushrooms and zucchini. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until tender. Remove from heat and add to the fennel, onion mixture. (This part can be done several hours ahead.)

***After flipping the dough and brushing the dough with olive oil. Spread the two tablespoons of pizza sauce over the pizza dough thinly. Sprinkle the gruyere cheese evenly over the dough. Sprinkle with the fennel, onion, mushroom and zucchini mixture. Sprinkle with olives. Close the grill lid to allow the bottom of the crust to brown and the cheese to melt. Using tongs, slide pizza from the grill onto a cutting board for slicing and serving.