Before we get to the recipe for Spicy Mango Pizza with Black Beans and Zucchini, I have something really important to share with you. Are you ready?
I'm writing this post while sitting at a desk.
And fine, maybe that doesn't sound all that important to you, but it is to me. Because for the year and a half that I've been blogging, I've been writing most of my posts while sitting on the couch. And, more often than not, I'm half-watching episodes of Real Housewives or Mob Wives while writing. ("Oh," you're saying to yourself, "that explains a lot.")
But I've decided I need to be more professional with my blog. I need to have set hours for it. I need to have a place for it. I need to treat it like a business, not as a hobby.
And not because I'm raking in big bucks as a blogger (ha!), but because when I treat it as a hobby, it has a way of encroaching on my free time. If I treat it like a business, my hope is that I'll be able to set better boundaries with myself.
(Although I neglected to mention I'm sitting at my desk writing this on a Saturday afternoon—well, one step at a time, right?)
A Taste-Testing Tale
Another necessary step in being more professional about food blogging is having a taste-tester. Luckily, I've had mine since I started my blog: my husband. If a recipe just doesn't cut it, he lets me know—often before I even attempt to make it. After I made this Spicy Mango Pizza, I remarked to him that I really liked it and his response was, "Yeah, it was awesome! I'm shocked."
"You're shocked? Gee, thanks."
He explained that he wasn't sure the black beans would work on pizza before he tried it. And honestly, I had the same thought, which is why I only used ¼ cup. That really is the perfect amount—the mango is the star here and adding any additional black beans would take away from that. As they are, the ingredients work together perfectly—sweet, spicy, and fresh, this pizza is a nice change of pace from the usual tomato-sauce-and-mozzarella standard.
Ingredients
- 1 prepared pizza crust
- ¾ cup medium or hot salsa if the salsa is chunky, you may need a full cup
- ¾ cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
- ½ cup thinly sliced zucchini
- ½ cup sliced mango
- ¼ cup cooked or canned black beans rinsed
- 1 green onion sliced
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to temperature indicated on pizza crust package.
- Place crust on baking sheet and spread salsa onto it, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides.
- Top with cheese, zucchini, mango and beans.
- Bake according to crust instructions (usually 12–15 minutes).
- Top with green onions and cilantro prior to serving.
Kelly @ Texas Type A Mom says
Yum - put almost anything on a pizza and I'm there! I might have to use your idea and actually set blogging hours instead of trying to fit it in wherever I can. It definitely sounds like it would increase productivity.
Kiersten says
Well, here I am replying to comments on a Sunday, so I'm a huge hypocrite, but having a set time really helps. Because when I know it's a set time, I'm concentrating on blogging, not trying to multitask or switching from working on my blog to doing other things.
Mexico Clara says
I LOVED this pizza ... and so did my hubby! Thank you for being daring and creative with your recipes. I've been making quite a few of them lately. I'm looking forward to some overnight oatmeal on our sailing weekend trip.
Kiersten says
Thank you for the kind words--I'm so glad you liked the pizza! 🙂 I hope you'll enjoy the overnight oatmeal (and your sailing trip!) too.
Hilary says
Hey Kiersten! I saw one of these pictures on Tastespotting and instantly fell in love. I have my own food blog and am making this for supper tonight - would it be okay if I post the recipe at the end of my post if I give full credit to you and link back to this page? The pizza is in The oven now, I cant wait to eat it!
Kiersten says
I hope you like it! I'm sorry, though, I really prefer that my recipes stay on my blog--I ask that if other bloggers make my recipes, they write about their experience cooking them and then link to me for the full recipe. Oh My Veggies is my job and I spend a ton of time developing and testing my recipes. When they're posted elsewhere, I lose income! Hope you understand...
Hilary says
The pizza was UNREAL! Probably the best pizza I have ever had! And no problem - I just wanted to check with you, just in case 🙂 I'll include the link in a few different places in the post. I'm really happy I discovered your blog, too. It's beautiful - keep up the good work!
Kiersten says
Thank you! And I'm glad you liked the pizza! 😀