Pizza

Personalize these pizzas after cooking them by adding your favorite toppings, such as prosciutto, basil, arugula, or roasted vegetables. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min

Rosemary Leicht of Bethel, Ohio, writes: "I've been a finalist in the Pillsbury Bake-Off three times, so I'm something of an expert at cooking with prepared doughs and bread mixes. Even though these items are simple to use, many people don't venture beyond the package directions. For each contest, I experimented with dozens of recipes, and some of my favorites have been breakfast dishes and desserts. Nowadays I don't enter as many competitions as I used to, but my family still looks forward to my latest creations." A quick breakfast using prepared dough.

It doesn’t look or taste like it, but this pizza is low-fat. Each slice has just 346 calories and 4 1/2 grams of fat.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Marinated peppers, mushrooms and eggplant make nice accompaniments to these Mediterranean-style pizzas. Finish up with almond cookies and mixed berries.

A beautiful, colorful and delicious appetizer. Open a bottle of Sangiovese with dinner.

"At the Manhattan law office where I'm a legal secretary, it seems as though the phones are always ringing," writes Lisa Caiazzo of Franklin Square, New York. "And if it isn't the phones that have me occupied, then there are lots of documents that need my attention. By the time I get home from the city, I usually have only about 45 minutes to put together dinner for my husband, Angelo, and myself. Still, that's enough time to make something filling and delicious, like a salad and a hearty pasta or soup." Three cheeses make this a delicious appetizer or a nice partner for soup, salad, or pasta.

Healthy bonus: Vitamin A and lycopene from the red peppers

Saturday night is typically pizza-making night for my family, and one of the standard features of these evenings is pizza with pesto and fresh tomatoes. I use a good store-bought pesto, and, although I once made the dough in my bread machine, I now purchase excellent dough at our local Bertucci's restaurant and keep plenty on hand in the freezer. The dinner is simple and delicious. A pizza stone is a worthwhile investment if you're partial to pizza with a crisp crust that doesn’t droop. For this recipe we used a large pizza stone (about 14 inches across). But don’t despair if you don't have one; we also achieved good results when we baked the pizza on a baking sheet.

This dough is part of the recipe for Robiola and Truffle Pizza .

Purchased Boboli crusts make these pizzas a snap to prepare. Offer prosciutto and melon as another appetizer.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

These small pizzas from Indigo in Honolulu feature sweet caramelized onions, spicy chicken, and mozzarella, Swiss and provolone cheeses. Refrigerated pizza dough is used here to simplify the recipe. Chili-garlic sauce can be substituted for the Thai chili sauce if necessary.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The deep hollow created by emptying the bread is filled with lots of goodies, and this becomes a deep-dish pizza.

"Many of the everyday dishes I made when I was raising my daughters are recipes I learned from my mother while I was growing up in the suburbs of Paris," writes Fanny Carroll of Eugene, Oregon. "She was quite a cook, and with a husband and seven kids to feed, everything had to be fast. She's the one who invented the recipe for the quick pizza. It's nice that the dishes I learned as a girl are enduring favorites in my own family. The quick pizza now spans three generations: My daughter Emily makes her own version of it today." France meets Italy in this clever dish that uses a ready-made crust.

Serve with: Three-bean deli salad spooned over arugula. Dessert: Ice cream bars.