Animal, Nature, and Travel: Taste-bud Journey: Sloppy Joe Mini Pizzas

During the pandemic, I am taking taste-bud journeys as I self-isolate rather than physical journeys. Here is my adapted recipe for Sloppy Joe Mini Pizzas. It was inspired by a recipe for a fifteen-minute pizza recipe from Bigger Bolder Baking. A link to that recipe will be included toward the end of this blog. As for the Sloppy Joe topping, I utilized a recipe found many years ago plus a few creative touches of my own.

Recipe for Pizza dough

2.5 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup + 1 tbsp water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
Flour for rolling dough

Recipe for Sloppy Joes

6 oz. ground beef
1/8 cup chopped peppers
½ cup ketchup
2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp Worcestershire
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp brown sugar

Please note: Since I live alone, I decided to make my pizza as miniature pizzas rather than one large one. That way, I would have an easier time storing leftovers in the limited space in my refrigerator.

Procedure to make Pizza dough

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400° F.

Step 2: Whisk flour, salt, and baking powder in large bowl.

Step 3: In measuring cup with pouring spout, mix water and olive oil. Stir.

Step 4: Gradually, add water mixture to dry ingredients until dough is formed while only using as much of water mixture as required.

Step 5: Roll out dough and fit into pizza pan. In my case, I made the base for four small miniature pizzas.

Procedure to make Sloppy Joe topping for pizza

Step 6: In skillet, cook crumbled-up beef 7 minutes over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.

Step 7: In measuring cup, stir together ketchup, water, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, onion powder, salt, cornstarch, and chia seeds. Set aside.

Step 8: Stir in chopped green bell peppers to wet.

Step 9: Stir in wet ingredients into drained ground beef. Bring to a boil. Then, take off heat.

Step 10: Sprinkle liberal amount of cheese on pizza dough.

Step 11: Spoon meat mixture on next. Top with additional cheese.

Step 12: Bake 17-22 minutes at 400° F until golden brown.

Please note:
Recipe Source
15-Minute Pizza Dough Recipe (No Yeast) from Gemma's Bigger Bolder Baking Site
I mostly followed Gemma's recipe for the pizza dough but used a recipe found long ago for the Sloppy Joe mixture.

Cooking Sites that have inspired me:

Books written by Debbie Dunn:

Here is the Amazon Link to all anti-bullying curriculum books plus all children’s books written by Debbie Dunn (both paperback and Kindle). It will open up in a new window.