Chilli Pizza, on a Thin Crust - Leftovers Ideas

My posts are a little different. I like to use up the ingredients we have on hand, rather then waste  small portions of food which are perfectly good to eat. This is an excellent way to use up Chilli, especially if you don't have enough to make another complete meal. Chilli Pizza.

I had made a Mediterranean Chilli a couple of months ago, it was made with Lamb and Chick Peas, and I added a Mediterranean Spice blend rather then a true "American" style Chilli, but that's me playing with flavours, I love mixing things up. I had pulled it from the freezer for one lunch this week. I had some leftover, and didn't have enough to make a complete meal with what was left. There are several ways to use this ingredient to create a full meal, but I chose Pizza.

We make a Pizza approximately every other week, so this was good timing. I used it as a Pizza "sauce" and Topping and made a "Mediterranean" Chilli Pizza.

I don't have a recipe for the Chilli written out yet, but you can use your own Chilli and add the additional ingredients listed in this recipe, or, you can make the Vegetarian Chilli I posted HERE. It will also do the trick. The big thing with this post, is not the type of Chilli you use, but how to use it if you only have a little left.

Thin Crust Pizza - Dough
Vegetarian Chilli or use regular Chilli

This Pizza Recipe made 12 slices of Pizza on a 15" x 10" baking tray. The additional slices can be frozen, or used in a different meal the next day. I prefer re-heating leftover pizza in the oven, versus a microwave, though the choice is up to you.





Pizza is an excellent way to use ingredients you have at hand and It doesn't need to be a complicated process. I usually make the dough on a weekend, freeze half of it,  and make another Pizza with the other half, the next time we want one.

When you freeze the dough, let it defrost in the fridge for a day. Pull it out in the morning, and it should be ready to "roll" when you get home.

Pre-heat ove 450 F

Pizza will take approximately 20 minutes.

Ingredients

6 - 7 Fresh Spinach leaves, stems and all, Chopped
2-3 Sprigs of Parsley, Diced
2 Slices of Onion, Chopped
1/2 Red Pepper, Chopped
1/2 Green Pepper, Chopped
1 small Tomato, Chopped
1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese, Grated

1 Cup Chilli, or, what you have available.

I used Cheddar rather than Mozzarella, since I usually serve our Chilli with Cheddar. You can substitute if you wish.

In previous Pizza  recipes, I have added a full layer of Fresh Spinach Leaves, in this one, I'm chopping the Spinach and all of the vegetables, so they emulate a finished "Chilli" when you bite into it.

With the Vegetables, pat them dry after cutting with a paper towel, it will absorb the extra moisture and keep the crust crispy.

With the Tomato, unless you use Roma, wrap the chopped Tomato in the paper towel and let sit for a minute or two before using. The Tomato has far more moisture.

When making a Thin Crust Pizza, you want a Crispy Crust. You only want to use a little of the Chilli as a base, and add it sparingly to the top. Please see pictures.

I spread a small portion of the chilli base on the dough, but did not saturate it. Use just enough so you get a very thin coating on the base of your dough. You still want to see the dough through the "sauce".





Evenly spread your Chopped Vegetables of the base.

Add a teaspoon of Chilli, evenly distributed, over the Pizza. The distribution will depend on the amount you have available.

Place in the oven for 18 to 24 minutes. Ours took 20 minutes.

There you have it. One Chilli Pizza. An excellent way to make a meal when you have some Chilli left over, and enough to make 12 portions.

Pizza ideas, just like soup, stews and savoury pies, are really some of the best ways to use up the ingredients in your kitchen, and the tastiest. Using the ingredients creatively also gives you some pretty amazing meals. My husband loved this idea and the final result, as did I.

We are using many of the items I have been posting about over the last two and a half months, for some of our dinner and lunch ideas at the moment. It would be very unwise to create all of these ready made meals, and let them sit in the freezer for months. Like I rotate meal ideas, I also rotate the contents of the freezer, to ensure the food we have is being used effectively and in a timely fashion.

I have a few ideas in the works though. We have company coming over Easter Sunday, nothing formal, just some friends getting together, and I have some thoughts on what I'll be serving up for our visitors. I'll be playing with a couple of ideas this week, to ensure what I serve is not just creative, but tasty too. Experimenting is fun, but a finished product is best to serve to guests...unless you don't like them very much.

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