Carmelized Onion and Arugula Pizza

I've had a pizza crust in my freezer since the week we moved into our house for a while and I decided that I needed to use it. We're not huge pizza people, and we live a ways from the nearest "town" so good pizza is not something we can just order. We're also from a city that is famous for its pizza, so we're a little picky and a tad judgmental.

Needless to say, when we want pizza, we usually fly home and have the good stuff, haha, I wish! Okay, so we just buy a store bought crust (yes, I know you can make your own, but I'm lazy) and load whatever toppings we can find on top. Pop it in the oven and (depending on which brand of crust you bought) 8-22 minutes later, its ready to eat!

So anyway, last night we had "pizza" on the menu and I just was not feeling the usual red sauce, onion, green pepper, sausage, cheese combo we normally do (plus we don't have any sausage). I ventured over to my trusty friend, Google, and did a little searching. After that came a little mixing and matching, followed by some praying.

Here's the result:

Caramelized Onion and Arugula Pizza
snippets taken from Pete Bakes! and Everyday with Rachael Ray

1 whole wheat thin pizza crust
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
caramelized onions (recipe below)
white sauce (recipe below)
1-2 c arugula

1. Preheat oven according to directions on pizza crust.


2. Spread white sauce over crust.



3. Place caramelized onions on crust and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top.



4. On a pizza stone, bake for time specified on crust packaging.



5. Remove pizza from oven and pile arugula on top of hot pizza. Slice and enjoy!

White sauce

2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 c milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp fresh basil, minced
1/2 c parmigiano-reggiano cheese, shredded

1. Heat the butter in a small saucepan. Add the flour and stir until thoroughly mixed.


2. Slowly whisk in milk, adding gradually. Stir in remaining ingredients.


3. Sauce will thicken upon standing.

Caramelized Onions

3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-1/2 pounds onions, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
2 tsp sugar

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.



2. Stir in the sugar and cook, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan frequently, until the onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes.

We had arugula in our farm box this week, so we used that, but I'm sure that it would be just as good with fresh spinach or even omitting the greens all together! You could also add Italian sausage to the pizza if you wanted some extra protein.