Smoked Pork Pizza

I love food and I hate throwing things away, especially food. It’s wasteful and brings on a ping of guilt every time I throw out goopy lettuce or fuzzy lasagna. That’s what I just had to find something delicious to make with our leftover smoked pork.

You know when you buy an ingredient to try a new recipe and the rest of the jar/bottle/box/can sits in your fridge or pantry because you only know how to use it in the one recipe. Or when you make WAY too much of something and the leftovers sit in the fridge, crying out to be worthy of a fresh, new meal.

I look forward to those instances (usually) because it means I get the opportunity to bring new life to an ingredient (or leftover) that would otherwise be destined for a dull, lonely life after being shoved to the back of the bottom shelf in the fridge to a point where it’s growing colorful, fuzzy friends to keep it company.

Another reason I love working with leftovers is it simplifies your grocery list (and cuts down on your grocery bill). If you purchased an item for one recipe, you might as well use what’s left for another delicious meal. Or just keep making that same recipe over and over again. What’s good is good.

I also love the simplicity of using leftovers. When you’re using precooked meat, using up the veggies in your crisper drawer or revitalizing the precooked pasta or rice, you’re trimming down your prep and/or cook time and with a spunky toddler who’s favorite place is right at my feet when I’m working in the kitchen, anything that cuts down on the time I spend making a meal is a godsend.

So, on to one of my favorite go-to, weeknight leftover recipes…

Remember our 4th of July hog roast I told you about? Well, this is one of two recipes when I was able to use that tender, mouth-watering leftover smoked pork. The smoky meat, zesty barbecue sauce and tangy peppers, gives this Smoked Pork Pizza unique and delicious flavor.

You’ll notice one half of the pizza looks a little different than the other. That because I have a picky eater in the house and it’s not my one-year old. It’s my cattle-producing, guys-guy husband who thinks all meals should just consist of beef and potatoes (and sweet potatoes don’t count). Sometime’s if he’s feeling like something a little lighter, he’ll throw in a fresh salad, but only if that salad consists of iceberg lettuce, ranch, shredded cheese and croutons.

That is why my half has sliced fresh mini bell peppers and his half has sliced pickled banana peppers (I guess he’ll count those as his vegatable). That’s another beauty of this meal – if you have finicky eaters at home like I do, it’s easy to customize a half or quarter of a pizza with everyone’s favorites.

I used a Betty Crocker pizza crust mix so all I needed to do was add water and let it rest before assembling. Whether you’re using a store-bought crust or your favorite homemade pizza dough recipe, all you have to do is top your pizza and bake according to the package or recipe instructions and voilà, you’ve got yourself a tasty Smoked Pork Pizza.

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