Spinach Artichoke Alfredo Pizza

Spinach Artichoke Alfedo Pizza is like your favorite creamy, hot, bubbly spinach dip morphed into a pizza.

When I was a kid, Friday nights at my house were a special kind of night.  That magical night held the kind of tradition that every kid can only hope for...pizza night!  "Paaaar-tay!  Pizza paaaar-tay", my three sisters and I would chant as we set the coffee table with plates, napkins and parmesan cheese.  It wasn't often that we were allowed to eat dinner at the coffee table, which made pizza night that much more fun and memorable.

I've carried on the pizza party tradition with my family (chant and all), although sometimes I opt for homemade pizza as opposed to take out.  If I have enough forethought and time on my hands I make my own crust in my bread machine, but the tube stuff works just as well.  As far as toppings go, pepperoni is a favorite of ours, but every so often I go all out and dish up this rich, decadent, scrumptious spinach artichoke alfredo number.

It is O.M.G. good.  Imagine the creamy, hot, bubbling spinach dip that you love to order at your favorite restaurant and morph it into a pizza.  It's ingenious, I tell you.  Just try it.  You'll see! 

Spinach Artichoke Alfredo Pizza

Yield: This recipe makes one pizza heavy on toppings or two pizzas lighter on the toppings, whichever you prefer. 

Ingredients  

• ½ pint (1 cup) heavy cream
• ½ cup butter
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1½ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 6 oz of fresh spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 can of artichoke hearts, rinsed and squeezed dry, roughly chopped
• 1-2 tubes/recipes of your favorite pizza crust

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425° if you're using homemade dough.  If you're using the stuff that comes in a tube, follow the cooking instructions on the label.
2. In a medium saucepan over low heat, stir together the cream, butter, and cream cheese until fully melted. 
3. Stir in the parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Continue to cook and stir for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, place spinach in a saute pan with a tablespoon of water over medium high heat and saute until wilted.
5. Once spinach is fully wilted, place it onto a clean kitchen towel and wring out all of the liquid by twisting the towel into a ball with the spinach inside. Once you've squeezed out all of the liquid, add it to the sauce.
6. Spread the sauce over the pizza crust. You might have some left over for dipping depending on how saucy you like your pizza.
7. Place artichoke pieces over sauce then top with mozzarella cheese.
8. Bake for 15 minutes or until you start to see the cheese browning.  Let sit 5 minutes before slicing.