Shaped Pizza

Valentine's is usually a time when people go all out with dinner. Some people who never cook are suddenly inspired and attempt a 5 course meal or at the very least a fancy dessert. The other option is the over crowded restaurant. Seeing as I make dinner every single night of the week, from scratch, I thought Valentine's was the perfect day to make something a little different and get into the spirit of things.

This recipe is really more of a guide. Just like ordering a pizza you can put what ever toppings you enjoy on the pizza. A store bought crust is the perfect base for this dinner along with some salad and a dessert. Any shape pizza could be cut out of the crust but the large heart wastes the least crust and the mini ones maximize the crust as well.

Shaped Pizza

• 1 store bought crust, cut into a large heart or into mini ones using a cookie cutter
• tomato sauce, usually provided with crust
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• veggies of your choice
• olives (optional)
• meat choice (optional)
• 1 tsp butter
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove garlic
• oregano to taste

*  Spread sauce in a thin even layer on the crust, we only use half the package
* Finely chop all vegetables and put in microwave safe bowl with butter and garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes, veggies should be slightly softened and dried (this prevents the crust from getting soggy, since when fresh veggies cook the release water)
* Put veggies on crust, with olives or any other toppings you choose, top with cheese. Alternatively you could put the veggies on top of the cheese, I just find the cheese on top prevents anyone from picking any veggies off and I think it tastes better
* Sprinkle with oregano 
* Bake in oven as package directs, usually 425 for 12 minutes