Greek Pizza

Happy Friday all!

I really did try to blog yesterday, to ensure I got my normal 3-a-week in. However, yesterday was a morning (or rather afternoon) that I got one of those steroid shots in my back. And I'm not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight before the procedure. That includes coffee. 

So I sat down to write yesterday and was heartily displeased to see all the existential, angsty sentences that my caffeine challenged-creativity managed to cough up. Whiny, here. Gloom and doom, there. All because Jessica's brain was without it's normal amount of coffee. Eventually, I erased everything I wrote and said, "Tomorrow then!"

I'm feeling much better today, as I'm sitting here with my 2nd cup of coffee :-)

But in all seriousness, this round of steroids feels better all ready.  Sure, I felt sore, yucky, and full of chemicals yesterday. I also battled the insomnia last night. But....... no hot flashes! I'm pretty happy about this. The hot flashes last time were almost the worst part. I'm feeling some muscle soreness today, but overall, I'm feeling pretty good.

I'm sure you didn't stop by my corner of the Internet to read about how much I detest going without coffee or my steroid-induced hot flashes, so we are going to talk about one of everybody's favorite foods...

Pizza!

The hubby and I's favorite date spot is our local brewery. We love to stop by about once a week to feast on wings, crispy pizza, and beers. Lately, however, we've been on a real red wine kick. So when the hubby suggested heading down to the brewery for pizza and brews this past Saturday, part of the deal sounded good- the pizza part! I told the hubby I just didn't feel like beer, and he admitted he felt the same. After we became stumped about what to have for dinner, the hubby suggested making pizza. Duh! I can't believe I didn't think of it. 

As luck would have it, I actually had some dough that was ready to go in the freezer-

Now we only had to decide what to put on it. I guess my idea-generator was on the fritz that day, because the hubby came up with Greek Pizza too. Maybe he should be the food blogger... Just kidding hubby! 

We decided on a garlic-olive oil "sauce", kalamata olives, tomatoes, red onions, spinach, red onion, and mozzarella cheese and then headed to the store to pick up the few ingredients we needed. Which was where the hubby decided he wanted meat on the pizza. And what better for Greek Pizza than a little ground lamb?

I truly used a little. We bought a pound, but I only used about a quarter of it for the pizza. 

Lamb Ragu, coming soon!

Fresh veggies, beautiful colors. I love colorful food.

Kalamata olives are hands-down one of my favorite olives. 

We used this for the "sauce" on the pizza. I always keep these little mixes on hand (you can find them at most grocery stores) since the hubby and I love to snack on bread and dip it in flavored olive oil. These mixes usually come with 4 flavors and are some variation of basil-garlic flavored. I believe they are simply called "bread dipping seasonings". This particular mix came with a Italian blend, a Spanish blend, a Californian blend, and a Greek blend. 

Can you guess which blend we used? 

I bet your first guess was "Greek". And you'd be right, ha ha.

I used my tried-and-true "super-hot oven/broiler" method to make the pizza, and like usual, it came out perfect.

I guess I forgot to mention that the hubby and I sprinkled fresh parsley and feta cheese all over the pizza after it came out of the oven. You definitely need the feta!

The hubby was very impressed with his creation :-)

I'm a little disappointed in myself that I only posted twice this week, but it was a tough week. On top of feeling the blues, I had someone go out of their way to be passive-aggressively rude to me yesterday. I'll never understand what makes people do that. It made me feel like I was back in middle school again, being bullied. You know that anxious, knotty, pit in your stomach you get when someone hurts your feelings? Actually, I don't know if everyone gets that, but I do. It was a feeling I came to know well throughout my youth. The feeling therefore reminds me of childhood, and it's a pretty awful feeling that I loathe getting. Well, that's how I felt. This person was just being mean. And then I got mad. As an adult, I hate that anyone would try to make someone feel like that. We aren't in high school anymore. I wanted to lash out and say something. 

I didn't. This is progress.

As a child (or even a bullheaded young woman in my 20's), I would have impulsively lashed out. I did that a lot when my emotions were flamed intensely and fast. It is the curse of being highly sensitive. And 99% of the time, it was a mistake to respond as I did. If I could have taken the time to cool down, think things through, and make a sound decision, I would have been better off.  This is something I've only come to see and realize since starting therapy. It's something I have to actively practice, and I'm proud to say, I'm getting better at it. 

Here's the thing that I finally realized when I cooled down- this person's passive-agressive comments weren't about me. They were about that person, and their anger and their bitterness. If I feed that, by lashing out, I'm giving that person what they want. A reaction. Some form of drama. In some cases, this could even lead to continued or future drama. The best response in this instance was not to respond with anger, but with indifference. 

And that's what I did. 

Now, I'm going to do as Taylor Swift instructs, and "Shake It Off"! Cuz' the haters gonna hate, hate, hate...

Ain't that the truth!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ingredients (makes 1 pizza, 8-10 slices):

Basic Pizza Dough (you can substitute store-bought pizza dough, or crust!)

cornmeal (for sprinkling on pizza stone)

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 lb ground lamb

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp oregano flavored bread seasonings (substitute 1 tsp Greek seasoning here)

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 cup fresh spinach

2-3 tbsp kalamata olives, halved

1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. Prepare Basic Pizza Dough through Step 4. 

2. Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. When warm, add lamb. Sauté lamb, stirring to crumble, about 5-6 minutes, or until browned. Add onions, and saute for another 3-4 minutes, or until onions begin to soften. Remove from heat, set aside.

3. After placing the raw pizza dough on the pizza stone, combine 2 tbsp olive oil with bread seasonings in a small bowl. Using a basting brush, brush oil over the whole crust. Top with lamb mixture, spreading evenly. Top with cheese. Top with tomatoes, spinach, and olives. Place in oven, and broil for 5-8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the pizza is beginning to blister in areas. Remove from oven, and slide pizza onto a cutting board. If pizza doesn't move, slide a thin knife between the pizza and the stone. 

4. Sprinkle feta and parsley over pizza. Slice, and serve!

Printable Recipe 

If you liked this recipe, you may enjoy these-

Arugula Prosciutto Pizza

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Linked to: Create It Thursday, Thank Goodness It's Thursday, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party