Mediterranean Mini Pizza with Cannellini Beans and Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus

I made a hummus pizza a few days ago and I felt like recreating a sandwich version of the dish with a bunch of Mediterranean ingredients. The problem was that I only had pita bread at home. I could have created a pocket in the bread and stuffed it, but I decided to place the ingredients on top of the pita bread to create a meal that resembled a pizza.

Following the Mediterranean theme, I made a cannellini bean and roasted red bell pepper hummus-like spread and topped it with Greek feta cheese, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, arugula, pickled shallot, black olives and marinated artichoke hearts. For the meat lovers out there, I would add some cubes of lamb kebabs.

I'm sure you've heard of 30-minute meals, but this took me 10 minutes, tops. Try this recipe the next time you're in a hurry. Beat that, Rachael Ray!

Summer Vegetables and Hummus Pizza

Hummus pizza breaks the traditional rules by using a garbanzo bean spread instead of the standard tomato sauce. I added some Mediterranean ingredients to keep the flavor fresh, such as asparagus, garlic, roasted red bell peppers and artichoke hearts.

It's the perfect recipe for a light summer meal; the few shavings of parmesan cheese is the only sinful ingredient in an otherwise very healthy pizza.

Easy Olive and Cheese Pizza

The hard part of making pizza at home is preparing the dough, but with this recipe, you'll be making pizza all the time.  The toppings for this pizza are olives, tomatoes and basil, but you can use whatever you like.  That combination is popular at my home because my father is allergic to mushrooms. He can't eat the Mango Mushroom Pizza that I always prepare for our "pizza nights".  The little one is obsessed with olives, so this one is her favorite as well.

Mango Mushroom Pizza

Our favorite pizzeria is a local chain called Pizz'a Chicago.  The pizzas are named after Chicago landmarks and notable personalities, and are made with a wide range of ingredients.  I'm sure there's an Obama-inspired pizza in the making.  I had so much fun recreating the Inaugural luncheon that maybe I should try my hand at it as well!

Our favorite pizza there is the Joliet Jake. It's a vegetarian pizza with shitake, portobello, button and cremini mushrooms with dried apricots. Instead of apricots, I substituted dried, cubed mango, papaya and pineapple that I had leftover from my holiday fruitcake baking. When I make this pizza at home, I typically substitute dried mango in for the apricots.  It's a common snack food in my house, and I think it tastes better than apricots. 

My father-in-law is allergic to mushrooms, so there was more for everyone else!  Just kidding.   I always make a separate olive and cheese pizza just for him.  I'll put that recipe up soon.