Homemade CPK!

   We love, love, love California Pizza Kitchen... the variety and quality of pizzas and salads they serve is unbelievable. Our favorite kinds of pizza from this place are the ones with a fresh and crispy salad/slaw on top, especially the "burger pizza". It has ground beef, pickles and fresh lettuce tossed with dressing on top. It's so amazing that we got really addicted to it (and I mean a serious obsession) and the second we got addicted ... they took it off the menu! I think we cried for 3-4 days straight and thought that life will never be the same, until I decided to make my own! It may not be exactly the same (I've yet to crack the CPK secret), but it's pretty damn good and that's all I care about! Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

*  Pillsbury Refrigerated Thin-style Pizza Crust
*  1lb lean ground beef
*  2 tbsp grill seasoning (I use Weber Gourmet Burger)
*  1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
*  1 cup of sliced pickles
*  2 cups chopped or shredded lettuce
*  2 tbsp fat-free mayo
*  2 tbsp fat-free Thousand Island dressing
*  1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat a non stick skillet and brown the beef with grill seasoning and Worcestershire sauce for 5-6 minutes. Drain the fat.
2. Roll the pizza dough on a baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil and brush it onto entire dough. Prebake at 400F for 3-4 minutes.
3. Take out pre-baked pizza dough, spread the browned meat on the top of it and bake at 400F for about 10 more minutes (until the crust is golden brown)
4. When the pizza is ready, top it with sliced pickles and lettuce tossed with mayo and thousand island dressing.
5. It's ready to enjoy!

   If you want to you can drizzle it with a little bit of ketchup (you know I did that!) to make it more burger-like. The crust is crispy, meat is hot and flavorful, and pickles and lettuce are fresh, crunchy and tangy. Delicious, interesting and "different" kind of pizza!

Enjoy,
Magda