Beet, Apple, and Cheddar Pizza

Hello!  I'm trying to be back on track and post more during the week, so I thought this would be the perfect time to share a bit about the Valentines Day dinner Mike and I had last month.  I have to be honest, we don't usually celebrate Valentine's Day.  But I wanted Mike to make me brownies, so I figured I better find something to contribute to the meal too!

And Valentine's Day was on a weekday, so I knew it would have to be something that was quick and easy but still seemed special.  I searched for vegetarian Valentines Day recipe ideas on Pinterest but they were all a bit more labor intensive than I wanted.  There were a couple things that looked good, including a beet and cheddar tart as well as a caramelized onion and beet naan pizza.  But making a tart crust or caramelizing onions was going to be too much work for a weeknight, and I hadn't had time to do it in advance over the weekend either.  So I made my lazy girl modifications and kind of combined the two.

Modification number 1 - I took the tart toppings and made them into a pizza instead.

Modification number 2 - As already noted in the second recipe, I just bought pre-made naan from the grocery store for the pizza crust.

Modification number 3 - I bought the pre-cooked beets from the grocery store instead of roasting them myself.

Modification number 4 - I wanted to have a salad on the side so I just bought one of those salad kits from the grocery store, complete with all toppings and even the dressing.

 

So this is all I had to do on Valentine's Day after we got home from work.

Pre-heat the oven to 425.  While the oven was pre-heating, I brushed the naan with some olive oil.  I thinly sliced the pre-cooked beet and the apple.  One beet and one apple was enough for both pizzas.  I layered them on the naan, sprinkled a bit of salt on top, and then shredded some really good cheddar to sprinkle on top of the pizzas.  I put them in the over for 7-10 minutes, just long enough for the cheese to melt and get bubbly.  While the pizzas were cooking, I assembled the salad.  And voila, done!

Mike was kind of doubtful about beet on pizza but he ended up loving it too.  It tasted delicious,  the earthiness of the beets and the sweetness of the apple combined really well with the sharpness of the cheese.  I think this is definitely going to be a go-to option for when I'm looking for a quick and easy meal that still feels special.

I'd love to hear about any tips you have for speeding up weeknight dinners!