Pizza Pizza

You say Pizza! I say pizza! We all cheer for pizza! Pizza is a staple for many families. A friend of mine gave me a pizza dough recipe and we have been making pizza from scratch for almost 2 years. My family loves this recipe and we make it ALL the time. It even tastes better and is healthier than delivery! Below is the pizza we made tonight:


Pizza dough:
1 C very hot water (not boiling)
1 tbsp yeast (1 individual packet)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 1/2 C flour


Mix the yeast into the water until it is dissolved. Add all remaining ingredients to bowl. Mix well with spoon, then need with hand until dough no longer sticks to sides and is smooth (about 30 secs to 1 min). Let dough rest while you gather the pizza toppings (this dough does NOT need to rise).






Grease a cookie sheet pan and roll dough out.


Pizza toppings:
Brush olive oil over the top of the dough.
Layer with sliced cherry tomatoes and broccoli.
Top with shredded cheese and bake for 12 to 15 minutes (until cheese is melted and crust is lightly browned).

No pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce!?!? Has she gone mad!?!?! I know, it's weird but it tastes good! Trust me!

A couple of tips:
1) You may need to add in extra flour until it is no longer "sticky".
2) You may not always need to use your hands to knead the dough, you can sometimes accomplish this with a spoon and it's less messy.
3) No olive oil or "healthy oils"? Easy! Substitute a 1:1 ratio with applesauce. It tastes yummo!
4) As you can see in the picture the pizza is easily made to everyone in the family's liking - part cheese, part pepperoni, part veggie! Everyone is happy!

How could this dish be even healthier? You could use whole wheat flour or mix half white and half wheat. Again, I am not a cheese expert so if anyone has a healthier substitution for shredded cheese - feel free to chime in! Thank you and enjoy!

Pasta Perfecto

As I promised, I would start to share some of the meals that I eat. Today I made this little pasta ditty for lunch. With a serving size of 1 cup it comes in at a slim 312 calories (estimated). The ingredients include, ground turkey, pasta (any will do), spaghetti sauce, and shredded cheese.

                  

First, I preheated the oven to 350 degrees. Second, I boiled the pasta according to the instructions on the package. At the same time, I started browning the ground turkey.

After the ground turkey was browned, I drained it. Then, I added a jar of spaghetti sauce to the ground turkey and cooked until mixture was boiling. Once boiling, I turned off the burner.

By this time, the pasta was done. I drained the pasta and spooned it into a casserole dish. Doesn't it look beautiful!



Then I spooned the spaghetti mixture on top of the pasta. Lastly, I topped the mixture with shredded cheese. I baked the casserole for about 20 to 25 minutes (until warm all the way through and a little bubbly).

 

Ta da!

 

 

So how could this have been even healthier? This dish would have been healthier if I had whole wheat pasta. If you needed to bump up the calories you could add some broccoli or cauliflower to the casserole. Also, the shredded cheese should have been that of a lower fat (think 1% or skim milk when buying cheese). I must admit, I am not "cheese informed"! I imagine there was a very healthy substitute for the shredded cheese. Please let me know what you would recommend! Thank you and enjoy!