Stovetop Spinach and Mushroom Pizza

Tired of takeout from Papa John's, Domino's and Pizza Hut never getting our order right, we decided to just make some pizza at home. This time, we made an unusual style pizza using mushrooms and spinach. I'm not a huge mushroom fan. In fact, growing up we never ate mushrooms. Our parents used to tell us it was "meat"! So, I still have that association in my head. I have tried it since then, and I do not mind eating it as long as they are not BIG chunks. Thus, I finely chopped the mushrooms that we will be topping this pizza. Here's the recipe:

1 readymade pizza base (Sorry, you're on your own if you are making the dough from scratch!)
* You may notice in the picture above, we used a tortilla instead of a pizza base. That is because we had the pizza again for breakfast this morning on the tortilla, and it tasted a bit lighter.

For Tomato Based Pizza Sauce:
4 tomatoes, crushed
1 onion, chopped finely
2 red/green jalapeno peppers, chopped finely
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Sugar to taste (optional)
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro

For topping:
1/2 cup Mushrooms, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup spinach
Generous amount of shredded cheese (Pepper Jack or Montery Jack will do.)

Step 1: Make the pizza sauce.
1. Heat olive oil in pan. Sautee the garlic and onions first.
2. Once onions are turning golden brown, add the jalapeno peppers and sautee them for just a few minutes.
3. Add the pureed tomatoes next. Cook the tomatoes until oil begins to separate.
4. Add salt, sugar, Italian seasoning, red chili powder, black pepper and cumin powder. Mix well.
5. Let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes on medium low heat. Then, garnish with chopped cilantro. Keep aside.

Step 2: Cook the mushroom topping.
1. Heat oil in pan. Sautee the garlic and onions first.
2. Once onions are turning golden brown, add the mushrooms. Sautee for just a few minutes. Keep aside.

Step 3: Assemble your pizza.
1. Heat up griddle. Toast one side of the pizza base on medium low heat until it turns a nice golden brown. Flip over.
2. On the topside, spread the tomato sauce on the base. Layer the cooked mushrooms, followed by the spinach and finally CHEESE, lots and lots of cheese. Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top and cook pizza covered on low for about 5 minutes until the bottom turns golden brown.
3. We then broiled the pizza in the microwave so that the cheese turns a nice golden brown. (This step is optional.)

If you have an oven, this pizza gets even easier. Just assemble the pizza and stick it in the oven for about 10 minutes, and you are set. I made extra sauce so that we can maybe whip up a bell pepper and onion pizza tomorrow. Otherwise, that's it for now! Enjoy your homemade Italian pizza!