Whole Grain Shrimp Pizza with Spinach, Tomato and Broccoli

I have a confession to make: I'm a planner. I like to plan my day in advance. What I'm going to wear to work the next day, what I'm going to cook for dinner, when I'm going to go to the gym... These are common thoughts prior to 9 in the morning. Despite my best efforts, occasionally I'll hit the grocery store with absolutely no clue what I'm looking for and stumble across one ingredient (usually a special) that jumps out at me. From there, my mind races with possibilities and somehow an entire meal falls into place. I came across some beautiful, pinked-up cooked shrimp at Whole Foods and decided to make seafood pizza for a dinner in with Dylan on Saturday.

I love making homemade pizza just the way my mom does, on a rectangular baking sheet with a thick, soft crust and loads of veggies. I stole a few tricks from my Aunt Deb for this pizza as well (or, as my Uncle Tim refers to it, "-za"). She bakes the pizza dough with olive oil and garlic for 10 minutes on its own to get it slightly crispy on the ends. Then, instead of using pizza sauce, she lays down paper-thin slices of tomato under the cheese and toppings. I've made plenty of homemade pizzas for Dylan before, and damn good ones too, but he raved that this was the best. Cooking the broccoli and shrimp in a lemon-lime creamy dressing before topping the pizza gave it an extra punch, and a mahi mahi dip with water crackers accompanied it perfectly. This was one of those meals that you throw together at the last minute and unexpectedly surprises you. I guess a little spontaneity can go a long way.

Whole Grain Shrimp Pizza with Spinach, Tomato and Broccoli
Serves: 4  Prep: 30 minutes  Total: 1 hour

Ingredients
1 whole grain pizza dough
1 tbs olive oil
1 garlic clove
1/2 large tomato, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded 3-cheese blend (asiago, fontina, and parmesan)
3/4 cup spinach
1/4 pound cooked shrimp
1/3 cup broccoli
1 tbs lemon juice
1/2 tbs lime juice
1/2 tbs mayonnaise
1 tsp coarse ground pepper
1 tsp chili powder
Additional cheese if desired

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. On a greased baking sheet, stretch and lay out your whole grain pizza dough. Drizzle olive oil and minced garlic in the middle of the pizza where the toppings would go and spread evenly with the back of a spoon. Place dough in the oven for ten minutes until the crust browns slightly.
In the meantime, chop broccoli into small pieces and cook in a lightly oiled pan. Peel the cooked shrimp and cut each shrimp in half. In a small bowl, combine lemon and lime juice, mayo, pepper and chili powder and mix well. Once the broccoli is almost cooked through, add the shrimp and this dressing and heat for several minutes until the shrimp and broccoli have absorbed most of the dressing. Remove from heat.
Remove the dough from the oven. Slice tomato from the horizontal center into paper-thin slices and lay on your dough. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the tomato, and pile spinach on top. Carefully pour the shrimp mixture on top of the bed of spinach, drizzling any extra dressing on top of the pizza. Add a handful of additional cheese if desired and cook for 30 minutes. Let cool, cut into four large pieces and serve.