Sausage Spinach Mozzarella Ball Pizza

Crumbled Italian sausage, fresh spinach, marinated mozzarella balls and artichoke hearts top this welcoming pizza

The subtitle on this pizza is Homecoming Pizza, and not the dance/football game kind.  If you're interested in the reason behind the subtitle, enjoy the recipe and meet me on the other side.  But first, here's how to make this yummy pizza.

Sausage Spinach Mozzarella Ball Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 pound pizza dough (please refer to my Visual Pizza Recipe Index for dough options)
• oil for brushing the crust (I used the marinade from the mozzarella)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, torn into bits
• 1/2 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts
• 1/2 cup crumbled cooked Italian sausage (mine was a mix of mild and sweet)
• 1 1/2 cups marinated mozzarella balls

Instructions

1. Making pizza at home for the first time?  Please check out my Pizza Primer for all sorts of hints and tips to make your homemade pizza a successful experience.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  If you've got a pizza stone--fist bump!--preheat it as well.  If you don't, a gentle pat on the shoulder and a suggestion to use a cookie sheet.  
3. On an oiled piece of parchment paper (which will save your sanity, and I used the mozzarella oil for all my oiling needs this time) spread out the dough to a rough circle. Set aside while you do some cleaning or drink a hard cider, about 30 minutes, or go straight into the topping portion of the recipe.  
4. Brush the dough with oil, and top with spinach, artichoke hearts, and sausage.  
5. Carefully place mozzarella balls around the perimeter (not too close to the edge) and center of the pizza.  I didn't put enough in the center this time, and will remedy that situation next time.
6. Bake, with the parchment, on the pizza stone for 5-8 minutes, then shimmy the crust directly onto the stone to finish baking and allow the cheese to get bubbly, another 3-5 minutes.  
7. Cool on a rack, then slice (Amazon link to my favorite slicer) and serve.

What kind of person picks up her spouse from the airport after a 4 day journey of over 7,000 miles, brings him home to meet the recently-adopted elderly wiener dogs (whose photos he fell in love with on the Warren County Animal Shelter website), feeds him leftovers for dinner, then puts him to work processing photos because it's Thursday night and there's a pizza recipe that needs to be posted?

You decide what kind of person I am.  I'm so happy to have my spouse back any uncharitable thoughts will bounce right off my glow.

I'll probably feed him a slight variation on this pizza--with kalamata olives and bell peppers added--or we'll order take out and he'll pick and choose which focaccia bread he wants. Because I keep a bag of cooked crumbled Italian sausage in the freezer and preserved vegetables in the fridge, it's easy to see spinach in the farm share and whip up a pizza combination like this.  I like the yeast shown in the photo (coupons for it in the Sunday papers this time of year) because it's a great last minute pizza crust that doesn't fight you.

This post is shared on the From The Farm Blog Hop, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays, What's Cookin' Wednesday, the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up.

I'm sorry, comments are closed on this post due to excessive spam.  If you are not a spam bot, I'd love to hear from you!  If you'd like to share your thoughts, please go to my FB page.  Thanks!