November 22, 2024

Fruit Pizza

May 15, 2015 by

Fruit Pizza Close

My daughter turned four last week, and we had her friends over for an old-school birthday party:  pizza, some play time, and cake.  Except…instead of cake…I presented her with another pizza:  this Fruit Pizza!  All the kids thought it was hilarious – and then the glorious silence of small children who are too busy eating to talk!

This is incredibly easy.  Just make sure you give yourself enough time for the cookie to cool before you frost it.  You can use homemade sugar cookie dough, but a log of store-bought cookie dough saves time and is just as good.  Decorate with any fruits you like – the more colorful the better! – but if you think you might have a lot of leftovers, save really delicate or juicy fruits – like kiwi, mandarin oranges, or bananas – until you are ready to eat it.

Fruit Pizza

Ingredients:

  • 1 tube of refrigerated sugar cookie dough
  • 6 ounces softened cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 – 4 tablespoons milk (optional, to thin out the frosting)
  • squeeze of lemon (optional, but I like a more balanced frosting)
  • 2 cups sliced fruit of your choice – berries, halved grapes, sliced kiwi, mandarin oranges, whatever you like – the more colorful, the better!

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350*F.  Cover your largest baking sheet (or a pizza stone!) with parchment paper.  Spread out the cookie dough into a big circle.  (I put a plastic baggie over my hand because the dough was sticking and it worked well.)  Flatten to about 1/4″ thick.  Bake until lightly golden – it took about 22 minutes for me.  Keep in mind – the dough will spread a lot!  If you don’t have a very large baking sheet, you may want to make your pizza oval-shaped, just so it doesn’t climb up the sides of your baking sheet when it spreads.  Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese,  vanilla extract, and powdered sugar.  If you would like a smoother frosting, add a tablespoon of milk at a time, until you reach your desired texture.  Also you can add a squeeze of lemon (it balances out the sweetness.)
  3. When the cookie crust is cool, cover with the frosting, but leave a border around the edges (so you can see the pizza “crust”).  Decorate with sliced fruit and serve.  Keep refrigerated.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Sweet Potato Pizzas

June 7, 2013 by

Sweet Potato Pizza

My husband is a big inspiration to me.  He made a resolve to take his fitness seriously, and keeps me on the right track when I am tempted to go off the rails.  As I was searching online for dinner inspiration, he looked over my shoulder and said, “OOH, I want THAT!”  It sounded weird and unappetizing to me, but I humored him and made it anyway.  What was it?  Sweet Potato Pizzas!

And boy am I glad I listened to him!  Whether you are craving pizza or just want a healthy, fun side dish, this is the way to go!  For the sweet potatoes, choose medium-sized ones that are not too skinny.  They should be about the size of your hand.  I recommend using Italian sausage, because the fennel seed adds a fantastic contrast to the sweet potato.  Use any toppings you like – kids love pepperoni!  In the summer, I microwave the sweet potatoes and then finish them in the toaster oven, but you can do the whole thing in your regular oven if you like.

We eat these as a side dish, with a salad and baked chicken breasts.  Take a chance, like I did, and try this tonight!

Sweet Potato Pizzas

(Makes 2 servings)

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium — large sweet potatoes
  • 1 cup tomato sauce, canned or homemade
  • 1/2 pound ground Italian sausage
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 small can sliced black olives

Directions:

  1. Wash the sweet potatoes.  Scrape off any eyes or weirdness on the outside, then poke several times with a fork.  Wrap in a slightly damp dish towel and microwave until done.  (My microwave takes about 6 – 10 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes.  You’ll know they’re done when you can squeeze them and they yield to your hand – kind of squishy inside.)  Remove from the microwave, unwrap and let cool a bit.
  2. While the sweet potatoes are cooking, crumble the sausage into a frying pan.  Cook until no longer pink.  Drain away any grease, then add the tomato sauce.  Heat over low heat until the sauce is hot.
  3. Slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise.  Place them on a foil-lined baking sheet, and mash up the insides.  (I kind of cut-and-fluff them.)  Spoon half the sausage-sauce mixture over each potato.  Cover with shredded mozzarella, then sprinkle with black olives.  Bake or broil until the cheese melts.  Serve hot!

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipes, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,