Thursday, February 5, 2015

California Girl's French Bread Pizza

I love buying the day old french bread from Wal Mart. I pay as little as 60 cents a loaf for this beautiful bread, which is still perfectly delicious. I have to give a shout out to the absolutely lovely girls working in the bakery who do such a wonderful job putting out all the wonderful goodies like it's nothing. My favorite thing to do with it is French Bread Pizza. Out of this world yummy and so simple to make. There's no right or wrong here. Use what you have on hand or like best...Italian sausage, ground beef, pepperoni, peppers, onions, olives...you name it, you can't go wrong. Add a  little cheese and pasta sauce and dinner is done! And next time you're in a bakery, think of all the hard work that goes into all the baked goods we take for granted. I hope you enjoy this idea! xx

Ingredients:
1 loaf French bread (1 pound loaf)
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced 
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, ground beef or a mixture of (or, ground chicken, pork or turkey, also)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
12 to 15 ounces pasta sauce (you favorite, chunky or plain)
 1 8 ounce package shredded mozzarella cheese or your choice

Add your favorites: pepperoni,  mushrooms, black olives, tomato slices, jalapenos, etc.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
Slice French bread into length wise. Set aside. In a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. When oil is hot, add onions, garlic and peppers. Stir and cook until vegetables are tender, but still have a slight crunch. Remove from pan. Set aside. To the same skillet, add ground meat and cook until no longer pink.Return the vegetables to the pan and stir Add Italian seasoning. Add pasta sauce and stir to combine. Let cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes.

To Assemble:
Spoon meat and vegetable mixture on each slice of French bread equally. Add on other toppings as desired. Sprinkle cheese on each slice and bake in a 400 degree oven for 12 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is toasted. To serve, slice each piece of bread into 4 pieces. Serve with red pepper flakes and a crispy salad.