Amped Up Goat Cheese & Asparagus Pizza

My best friend Suki lives in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area in Minnesota. One glorious weekend I was able to get away, sans husband and child, and pay a visit to said BFF. It was glorious!! We went out to eat at nice restaurants, we slept in (me only until 8am of course), leisurely got ready, and even went dancing! Not to mention it was my bestie's 30th birthday!!!

As we were lounging in our pj's on Saturday we wanted to make a yummy but healthy and not too heavy lunch. Suki had suggested this Goat Cheese and Asparagus Pizza and I jumped on the chance to eat it! We ran to the grocery store and got the few ingredients needed to make the yummy pizza. We basically watched it bake and as soon as that timer went off we cut it and dove in. Unfortunately I think that meant we burnt our tongues but well worth it.

I've taken the original recipe and added a few things to up the veggie count and make it more filling. I also added a little mozzarella on top to up the cheese factor (I am a Wisconsin girl after all)! This was delicious!! Honestly, the tangy white sauce, the crisp and fresh asparagus, the woodsy mushrooms, and the sweet onions are SUCH a great combination. I would give this a 9.7 out of 10. The next time I make it I am going to add some cooked and crumbled bacon and it will be a 10 for sure! I think if you want a quick and fresh pizza, definitely just make the original Goat Cheese and Asparagus pizza. If you want to make it more of a dinner and add some extra ingredients, go with my edited version. As usual, I'd love to hear how it turned out for you and if you made any substitutions that turned out delicioso!!!



Can you say YUM-O?!!!

Amped Up Goat Cheese & Asparagus Pizza

Source: RealSimple.com

Ingredients:

flour for work surface

1 or 2 pre-made thin pizza crusts

4 ounces goat cheese (although more is always good too)

4 ounces sour cream

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (I didn't have fresh so I used about 1 tsp. dried)

1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

1 pint sliced mushrooms, baby bellas if possible

1 small sweet onion, chopped

bacon (optional)

1/4 cup white wine

kosher salt and black pepper

EVOO

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425°F, or as directed on pizza crust.

2. Add EVOO to a pan and saute the onions so they start to sweat. As they are close to becoming translucent, add the white wine finish cooking until the wine has been absorbed/cooked off.

3. While cooking the vegetables, in a small bowl, combine the goat cheese, sour cream, salt & pepper, and thyme. Spread over the dough, leaving a 1/4 inch border.

3.Top with the asparagus, mushrooms, and onions (and bacon bits).

4.Bake until golden and crisp around the edges, around 15-20 minutes.

ENJOY!