French Bread Pizza #1

Recipe: Spinach and Mushroom French Bread Pizza with Sun dried Tomato Spread

Who didn’t love Stouffer’s French Bread Pizza as a kid? I’d venture to say very few didn’t like them. In the world of frozen pizza where there are hundreds to choose from, Stouffers is in my top three that I will enjoy from time to time. That being said, this idea came from a commercial I saw about a bajillion times on the Food Network for those sandwich thins. The idea sounded good to me, so I ran with it since I had nearly all the ingredients in my fridge that night anyway.

 Spinach and Mushroom French Bread Pizza

These pizzas would be great for a quick dinner, a weekend lunch or snack, or maybe some really big sports game that might be right around the corner…

*Serves 4 (as a meal)
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:
- 1 long French loaf
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 3-4 sun dried tomatoes in oil, depending on size
- 1.5 teaspoons oil from sun dried tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
- 2 cups mushrooms
- ¾ cup fresh mozzarella, cubed

Directions:

1. Melt butter over medium heat in a sauté pan. Add mushrooms and sauté until browned. About 5-7 minutes. When mushrooms are browned, add spinach to hot pan to wilt slightly, and then remove from heat.

2. Meanwhile, slice the bread into 4 even portions and slice into halves. Set aside. In a food processor, combine ricotta, sun dried tomatoes, SDT oil, Italian seasoning and milk. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

3. Place bread on a baking sheet. Smear an even amount of ricotta on each slice, then top with spinach, mushrooms, and cheese.

4. Put in a 400 degree oven for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Thoughts: I loved them. Crispy French bread, slightly salty mozzarella, and a subtle sun dried tomato flavor. I’d make them much more often for dinner if I could convince Brent that a meal without meat can still be called dinner.

Please note that I didn’t put mozzarella all over the pizzas. I figured with using ricotta as a base it might be overkill so I opted to “dot” the pizza with the mozzarella. I enjoyed it like this, but feel free to shred some mozzarella and add it all over if you want!

PS- I’ve labeled this FBP #1 because I’m pretty sure I’ll post more French Bread Pizza recipes one day.