Summer Squash Pizza

I can be so inappropriate.  Seasonally inappropriate, that is!  In all other aspects of life, I am a perfect angel. And if you believe that, I have some oceanfront property in Arizona.  All jokes aside, yes, I posted pumpkin recipes this Spring, and I am now, in mid-October, posting a summer squash recipe.  Guilty!  But let's just go with it!

If you are someone who has already consumed an entire bumper crop of summer squash, and you feel you might gag if you see another one, fight back the urge and hang in there!  If nothing else, you are going to want this recipe for next summer.  Poor summer squash is always the bridesmaid, and never the bride.  Until now!  Summer squash's day has finally arrived as the star in one of my all-time favorite foods--pizza!

This scrumptious pizza is bursting with fresh flavor and is a great new way to use summer's bounty of garden crops.  It features simple, wholesome ingredients and is really easy to prepare.  I was a little concerned about the fact that there's not sauce on this pizza, because I'm a sauce girl, and I even considered adding some.  But I didn't, and I was pleasantly surprised with how great it turned out without it.  I never thought I would like a sauce-free pizza!

To make this pizza the perfect dish for a busy week night, use a pre-made crust, or prepare your own crust the day before and refrigerate it so you're ready to go.  I also even cut up and cooked my squash the day before so that was out of the way as well.  I used my own previously made pizza dough.  So I was able to spread out my dough and put on my toppings while the oven was preheating.  That meant that I had an amazing, fresh, delicious, veggie-rich, homemade pizza ready to enjoy in under 30 minutes.  And that is always appropriate!  

I am probably done with summer squash for 2012 (sad face!), but I guarantee I will be busting this pizza recipe out again in the summer of 2013.  My taste buds are already looking forward to it!

Summer Squash Pizza
Ingredients:
1 whole grain pizza crust
2 large plum tomatoes, sliced
3 Tbsp light Italian dressing, divided
2 summer squash, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
Directions:
Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Place pizza crust on baking sheet.  Arrange tomatoes over crust; brush with 1 Tbsp dressing.
Heat remaining dressing in large skillet on medium-high heat.  Add squash; cook and stir 4-5 minutes or until tender-crisp.  Arrange over tomatoes; top with cheese.
Bake 10-12 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and mozzarella is melted.  Sprinkle with rosemary.

Recipe adapted from kraftfoods.com (I love this site!)