I’ve already complained at length about my diet-enforced pizza woes, so I won’t bore you with that whole diatribe again. Suffice it to say that necessity encourages creativity around here if we are ever to enjoy our favorite food group (which would be pizza, in case you didn’t follow that).
And honestly, as much as I love pizza, and as much as I have been goofing off with pumpkin since at least the middle of September, it never once occurred to me to put the two together … until I saw Anne-Marie’s Pumpkin Chorizo Pizza a few weeks ago.
Dude. Pumpkins and pizza.
Together!
This was some serious serendipity here, people.
So I definitely had to try it. Unfortunately, I wanted to par-bake the pizza crust the day before to save a little time, but… ummm… I got a little distracted. It reminded me of the days when I was growing up, and my mom was teaching me how to cook. I remember a few – only a few, of course – occasions when my mom was rather exasperated (to put it mildly) because I had been reading or playing with a friend or reading or maybe even just daydreaming while the food I was supposed to be cooking was pretty much just burning.
I am all grown up now, and that occasionally rarely happens anymore. Hardly ever, anyway. And this time, I was doing something I should have been doing when I was a teenager, which was practicing the piano. (I think my childhood sins are coming back to haunt me.) Moral of the story? Don’t practice piano when you’re par-baking a pizza crust at a high temperature.
Unfortunately, my over-baked crust detracted from the awesomeness of the pumpkin sauce and the sausage. Oh well. You won’t make the same mistake, because you never get distracted like I do, and therefore, your pumpkin pizza will be simply amazing!
The next time, mine will be, too.
Pumpkin Pizza Heaven
Summary: adapted from This Mama Cooks
Ingredients
- 1 pizza crust (I use my artisan bread dough)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/3-1/2 lb cooked chicken sausage (I used al fredo’s garlic chicken sausage), sliced or crumbled
- 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella or other nicely melting mild cheese
- a handful of dried or fresh sage, crumbled, optional
Instructions
- Spread tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. When it’s heated, stir in the garlic and onion, sauteing until fragrant and tender. Stir in spices, pumpkin puree and broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened (this won’t take long.)
- Spread pumpkin sauce on crust. Top with sausage and cheese. Sprinkle with sage if desired.
- If the crust is not baked, bake at 425F for about 12 minutes. If the crust is par-baked (or overdone. ahem), bake just until cheese is melted and lightly browned and pizza is heated through, about 5 minutes.
And look! My Certain Little Someone even had his very first taste of pizza, too! I made some flatbread using my go-to allergen-free artisan bread dough recipe , and used it as his crust. Of course, like me, his pizza was cheeseless, but still! This was a breakthrough, folks!
Homemade pizzas are so QUICK there is rarely a need to order in! Even making this sauce (instead of dumping canned pizza or pasta sauce) takes very little time.
EASY, too! Making your own crust may seem a daunting task, but honestly, it’s one of the easiest and most forgiving bread products you can attempt.
Pizza is a great CHEAP weeknight meal, too, because it’s a great way to stretch your meat and use up lots of vegetables.
This particular pizza is pretty HEALTHY, because I used homemade sauce (made with pumpkin, no less!), all-natural chicken sausage, and a whole-wheat crust.
Special thanks to my DH, who snapped the photos for me while I was giving a piano lesson. That darn piano kept getting in the way of my precious pizza!
Linked to Tastetastic Thursday, Feasting in Fellowship Friday, and…
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This pizza sounds really goood! Can’t wait to make it…
It was very good! I can’t wait to make it with a better crust;)
So….I think I prefer my pumpkin stuff to be sweet (don’t shoot me, please…)..really not convinced about the savory pumpkin stuff. Pardon me as I ask a dumb question – what does savory pumpkin stuff taste like? Does it remind you at all of squash (especially of the butternut variety)? Cause if it does, than I am out of there like a flash – can’t stand that stuff….
Anyways, this is your sister Jen, by the way, if you can’t tell….Don’t mean to rain on your pumpkin parade or anything….
Love ya!
Haha, Jen, you crack me up! I personally think that when pumpkin is cooked, pureed, and cooked some more, its flavor really blends into whatever you’re cooking it with. Like in this pizza, I mostly tasted the seasonings and not so much the pumpkin. I suppose if your palate is really sensitive, you’d notice the pumpkin, but to me it all blended really well. The pumpkin puree just kind of becomes a creamy vehicle for the rest of the ingredients. And I don’t think it’s as squashy as butternut or acorn, no.
very yummy!!..first time here…wonderful blog…i’m ur new follower..
tipsndeals recently posted..One Day Sale @ Macys
Thanks, and welcome!
What a great idea, this looks like an awesome pizza! Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday. Hope you are having a great week end and come back soon!
Miz Helen
Miz Helen recently posted..Safe Journey My Friends
Thanks for linking up at A Little Nosh this week! This was a pretty popular link!
Amy @ A Little Nosh recently posted..Tastetastic Thurs…uh…Friday #5
Made this today! We’ve been low in the veggie department, and I had a can of pumpkin. I was like, “Hey! I know exactly where to look for a pumpkin recipe!”
Haha, I admit I kind of have a thing for pumpkin. Ironically, though, I am completely out!!! I do have sweet potato puree, though, so it works in some of the pumpkin recipes as a decent sub.