spinach and ricotta pizza

Homemade pizza is a staple dinner in our home. While I love a good margarita pizza, it's always nice to mix it up a bit. The Spinach and Ricotta recipe below is one of our favorites. So tasty and extremely quick + easy.

Spinach and Ricotta Pizza

1 package frozen spinach {cooked and drained by squeezing}

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 tb. garlic {I sometimes just dash in garlic powder}

1 tsp. salt

2 tb. fresh parsley or basil {chopped}

1/3 cup grated pecorino romano cheese

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1 tb. olive oil

After squeezing spinach, mix with ricotta, garlic, salt and parsley or basil. Spread evenly over dough. Top with grated cheeses and drizzle with olive oil. Bake on a lower rack 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Note: I make my own dough in the breadmaker. But, I've included a "basic pizza dough" recipe below as well. Trader Joe's sells balls of pizza dough for $1 too if you're not up for making one yourself. I use the Trader Joe's refrigerated pizza sauce as the base sauce as well. You could easily make your own!

Basic Pizza Dough

1 tb. dry yeast

1 cup warm water {warm to the wrist}

2.5-3 cups flour

2 tb. olive oil

scant tsp. salt

grease bowl with olive oil

Mix yeast in warm water and let set for 10 minutes. Add 1.5 cup flour and mix well. Add oil, salt and the rest of the flour to make a manageable dough. Turn onto a well floured surface and knead for 5 minutes adding more flour if dough is too sticky. Grease bowl with olive oil and put dough in bowl to rise. Cover with a clean kitchen cloth and let rise 1 hour.

After 1 hour, preheat oven to 475 degrees. Punch down the dough and roll out to pizza pan size. Spray pizza pan with spray oil and put dough onto pan. Add toppings.

Enjoy!