ten-minute custom pizzas

The infamous first dinner that sparked a new food blog.  These things meet every standard I end up making all my meals by:
-cheap
-easy
-fast
-healthy (if you want)
-magically delicious (is that copyrighted?)

Obviously, you could make these however you want, with whatever ingredients you want, which is going to change how healthy, cheap, fast or easy this meal will be.  But I can tell you that my combination worked like a charm.  Here's how it goes.


ingredients
-whole grain flatbread (I use FlatOut, which come in a variety of flavors and are all-around awesome)
-alfredo sauce (I recommend Classico's Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo, gives the perfect little flavor kick)
-Italian cheese blend (or whatever nice melty cheese you like)
-grilled chicken, chopped (I used Tyson's diced grilled chicken here, I've never used pre-cooked chicken unless it was from a rotisserie or something, but I was pleasantly surprised.  like I said, the whole purpose of this meal was minimal prep, so that helped a lot)
-frozen chopped spinach (this one speaks for itself, but I just had to say something)
-fresh tomatoes (I used the little Nature's Sweet ones, they're the perfect size for these little personal pizzas)

The longest part of the prep process is the amount of time it takes for the oven to preheat; and I was using a decent oven, too.  Preheat to 400°. 

Pull out your flatbread (each will make one pizza, which serves one person), and spoon on the alfredo.  Don't load it up too much or your crust won't get crispy and your toppings will slide around and it will just be a goopy mess.

Scatter the cooked chicken over this, then cover with cheese.  My motto has always been, "If it doesn't have cheese, put cheese on it.  If it does, put more on it."  But seriously, don't go overboard here, either.  You want enough for a nice thick layer, and to hold your toppings together, but too much will just be a mess.

Slice your tomatoes and lay them over the cheese.

When it comes to the frozen spinach, I don't bother trying to thaw it. Just grab a knife and chop it apart a bit.  Once you do this you can pull it apart and spread it over the pizza.

I have two reasons for using frozen spinach instead of fresh.  First, it's already chopped!  Come on people, we're eliminating prep.  Second, as much as I love spinach--on pizzas, sandwiches, pasta, in omelets, stuffed with feta in croissants (oops, spoiler alert)--fresh spinach just doesn't keep that long.  This way, I can pull it out whenever I need it and not worry about wasting the rest.  That's called eating well when you make $8.50 an hour.  

So, you've got your pizza all topped and pretty looking, and by now your oven it probably about ready.  If you have a pizza stone, use it.  That will help your bread really crisp up.  If not, just use a cookie sheet (I like to throw some foil on the sheet first, and I just assemble the whole thing on it--hello, easy cleanup).  Leave it in for about ten minutes, or a few more if you like yours really well done.

As a finishing touch, I like a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a dash of parmesan cheese, and boom!  As a quote from one of my roommates, "this looks like something I'd pay ten dollars for!" The whole grocery bill, which included enough supplies for probably about 8 pizzas (except the chicken, which was only enough for 2) cost me about $15.  Say whaaaaaaaaat?!

eat up.

J.