Smoked Salmon and Avocado Pizza

We needed a little pick me up here in the South because of the cabin fever we have been getting due to all the rain. Thankfully, the rain held off long enough for me to take the kids on a walk while Garrett worked on a project. We came back just in time to miss getting caught in tonight's downpour and started to work on our pizzas. We typically eat dairy and egg free at the McMullin house, but slowly I am adding small bits of dairy back into my diet. Much to Garrett's delight, last night was one of those nights.

Homemade pizza nights are fun all around. Sometimes we let the kids help throw on toppings and some nights we don't - but they are always thankful for their cheeseless treat. When we make pizzas, we pick up Whole Foods' unshaped pizza dough for about four dollars each. The kid's pizza usually looks like pizza sauce and topping choices comprised of meats and veggies. Garrett and I decided to make a fun, new pizza that was a nod to a favorite at a local restaurant and inspired by the many recipes we viewed online.

Smoked Salmon and Avocado.

This was not intended to be a blog post, but we both felt like it was too good to keep to ourselves. We will spare you loads of stories and photographs and get to what you want - the recipe!

Smoked Salmon and Avocado Pizza

You will need

-a pizza crust of whatever variety you enjoy.

-olive oil

-1/2 block of cream cheese

-salt

-four springs of fresh dill

-tablespoon of diced garlic

-mozzarella cheese (not shredded, get the good stuff)

-about 2 ounces of salami

-1/2 red onion sliced thinly

-1/2 avocado

-2 4 oz smoked salmon filets

-handful baby arugula

-lemon pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Soften the cream cheese and mix in about four sprigs of dill. We like a lot! Add in garlic and mix it together. Salt to taste.

Drizzle olive oil over pizza. Spread cream cheese mixture over the dough. Next, add the mozzarella cheese. We try to get a piece in just about every bite. We sliced the salami in strips and laid them out similarly. Do the same with the red onion. Put pizza in oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until mozzarella is melted.

Top with sliced avocado and salmon. Sprinkle with lemon pepper. Put back into oven just long enough to heat the two additional toppings. Add arugula, plate, enjoy.

NOTE: We took one of the Whole Foods pizza dough balls and split it to make two separate crusts. One of our's was EXTRA cheesy because one of our's had minimal cheese. Otherwise this would make one very large pizza. If you are using smaller crusts, I would divide all of these ingredients between two!

We hope you enjoy this treat as much as we did! Garrett said he wants to make it a regular on our list of indulgent foods. We really LOVED it. I would recommend accompanying it with a salad, wine, and good company. :)

From our hearts and homes.... and bellies,

Cindy