Friday Favorites: Top 5 Frozen Pizza

 In last month's Friday Favorites post, Top 5 Breakfast Cereals, I noted how my daughter, when seeing the question online of what food reminds you of your father, said that cereal and pizza are the foods she thinks of when she thinks of me. I gave you my top cereal, so here are my Top 4 Frozen Pizzas. 

Before giving my top 4 though, I did want to establish some expertise.  Not only do I eat an unusually high amount of frozen pizza now, I always have.  In high school and college, my pre-dinner was a pizza, not some pizza an entire frozen pizza.  In college, being budget conscious, I always bought the cheapest or best sale pizza I could find.  I mention that to establish that I have tried dozens of different kinds of frozen pizzas.  I will acknowledge that when it comes to the regional pizzas, I will be limited except for the region in which I live.

I have so many stories to share about frozen pizza, but I will leave you with this one that pretty much summarizes my experience with frozen pizza and how I consume it.  In high school, I was spending the night with a friend, and late at night, we cooked a frozen pizza.  My friend, who was getting the pizza out of the oven, asked me if I wanted to just split the pizza.  I said sure, that's what I was thinking.  I heard him cut the pizza and come into the living room where we were watching Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.  He walked over to me and literally handed me half of the pizza.  This was a new one for me, but there we were, each holding half a pizza, and eating it like watermelon.  It was great!  

Another reason why I claim expertise with this topic is that years ago I worked in the field.  I sold and drove a truck for Tony's Pizza Service.  As part of my training, we discussed what makes a good frozen pizza and I sat with my colleagues and taste-tested our pizza with national competitor pizzas.  We discussed many things from toppings to sauces and crust.    

With all that, here are my Top 4 Frozen Pizzas: 

Red Baron Four Meat:  The rest of the frozen pizzas on this list I would consider "craft" pizzas.  Red Baron is the best of the "mass-produced" pizzas.  There is no question it is a frozen pizza when cooked in the kitchen, but it is a good frozen pizza.  I like the healthy dose of meat on the "Four Meat" version of this Red Baron brand.  

Calipower Uncured Pepperoni:  This is the one pizza that I can actually eat, and I mean that in a couple different ways.  First, it is gluten-free and I don't have to worry about how it might impact me. Second, I have tried a whole bunch of gluten-free pizzas and this cauliflower crust is the most un-cauliflower and crunchy crust of them all.  It is more than just tolerable, it is tasty.  I highly recommend this pizza for anyone who is gluten intolerant or like me, just needs to limit gluten.  

Brew Pub Lotzza Motzza Breakfast Pizza:  My wife came home and thought she had purchased a sausage pizza for dinner.  When we realized our error, there was some disappointment for that dinner, but when we popped this pie in the oven the next morning, we were blown away!  This is an awesome breakfast pizza!  It has a crispy crust and generous toppings for a frozen pizza.  This is a special breakfast treat around our house.  

Home Run Inn Sausage: Hands down, this is the best frozen pizza on the market.  It has a yeasty "bar-like" crust that is filled thick with cheese and the best pizza sausage out there.  It is light on sauce, so if you like a lot of sauce, this won't be for you.  I like it because all parts of the pie are filled with flavor.  If you have this frozen pizza in the market in which you live, it is definitely worth cooking in your kitchen.