Deep Dish Pizza With a Secret Ingredient

Pardon the posting irregularity. Family comes first. The C side of my family is enduring the challenges of a lifetime right now. It is unbelievably difficult, painful, and more than anyone deserves to have to deal with. Mr. J says it best when he says “we’re a strong family, we can handle anything.” I’m trying to be strong, helpful, and encouraging but I also find myself seeking support. There’s a long road ahead. Food won’t get us through, but good food can’t hurt, right?

I saw an article about some grocery store items for dinner time-prep saving tips. Most of the tips were pretty lame. Umm using jarred salsa? Hello! I realize you can make your own but that’s not really a “tip” in my book. Buying canned soup…that doesn’t even transform the ingredient!

I did think using frozen creamed spinach could have some possibilities. I thought about it as a pizza topping/sauce rather than for pasta.
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Ingredients:
Pizza dough
9 oz package of frozen creamed spinach
3 sweet or spicy Italian sausage links, casings removed
1 tbs garlic, chopped
6 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
1 ½ cups marinara sauce

Directions:
Remove sausage casing and pan fry with garlic until cooked and crumbled. Drain off any grease.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9’ round cake pan with non-stick spray.
Defrost/warm creamed spinach according to package directions.
Spread the pizza dough into the pan, and up the sides.
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Layer mozzarella slices on the bottom, then sausage, then, creamed spinach.
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Lay a few more slices of mozzarella then spread marinara over the top.
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Put pizza onto a baking pan (for any overflow) and bake for 30-40 minutes.
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This was the best deep dish pizza I ever made. When cutting into a piece, a fork could stretch the thick mozzarella slices an arms length. The creamed spinach was such a good trick. It is creamy and decadent while adding some great color.
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This would be good on a regular pizza too, or as a quickie base for spinach and artichoke dip. I just might have to keep some in my freezer for inspired dinner moments just like this!

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