Ham & Veggie Pizza

This is one of our favorite pizzas. It's a Ham & Veggie pizza, and it's oh-so-good. I adapted this from a recipe my friend, Christina, gave me. I usually bake my pizzas on a pizza stone, but once in a while I'll use a metal cookie sheet if I know I'll have enough pizza dough and toppings for a bigger pizza. (Leftovers are yummy for lunch the next day.) The crust still turns out fine. You get a picture of the corner of the pizza because we couldn't wait to eat... this was all that was left after dinner. :)

Ham & Veggie Pizza
submitted by Erin

1 recipe pizza dough, below

3 T. ranch salad dressing (or bleucheese)
2 c. mozzarella cheese
1 c. Monterrey Jack cheese
4 oz provolone cheese ($1 at the deli) (I add this when I have it; when I don't, it still turns out great)
3 medium Roma tomatoes
1 medium green bell pepper (or slightly less)
1 small onion
½ of a 6-oz can olives, sliced
4 or 5 fresh mushrooms, sliced
3/4 of a 8-oz package of John Morrell cubed ham, or the whole pkg :) (Don't substitute lunch meat ham.)
1 tsp garlic salt
½ tsp basil
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp pepper

Spread ranch salad dressing over dough. Combine cheeses, reserving a few tablespoons of the mozzarella, and sprinkle over pizza. Evenly distribute tomatoes, green pepper, onion, olives, mushrooms, and ham. Combine salt, basil, oregano, and pepper and sprinkle evenly over pizza. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese over top. Bake at 400° for about 18-19 minutes on a preheated pizza stone sprinkled with cornmeal, or ~25 minutes in an oiled cookie sheet. Take out when the crust is golden around the edges.

White Pizza Dough
(This is my favorite pizza dough recipe that I always use when I am feeling like a white pizza dough rather than whole wheat. I have to confess I do like a white pizza crust better than a wheat crust. But I usually end up making whole wheat anyway.)

1 c. warm water
1 tsp sugar
2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast (equivalent of one ¼ oz. pkg)
3 T. canola oil
2 ½ - 3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt

Put warm water in a bowl and stir in sugar and yeast. Let proof for a few minutes, until the yeast has produced a foam on the surface of the water. Stir in remaining ingredients; mix to form a ball and knead for approximately 10 minutes. (I use a standing mixer, so I don’t have it mix this long.) Let rise in an oiled bowl for 1 ½ hours. (I am not too concerned about letting it rise this long. This time I allowed it to rise on the counter for 30 minutes and it turned out delicious. So you can cut the time if you need to.)