Spinach-Tomato Pie

I was feeling really motivated last night and decided to try out something that at first sounded a little too difficult. I found the recipe for this pizza online yesterday and thought it looked amazing. I am obsessed with pizza of all forms but deep dish is my all time favorite. I am a huge crust girl so I guess it makes sense.

Well last night after I pulled it out of the oven I could hardly WAIT to try it! It smelled soooo good! Boy did it live up to my expectations! It tasted just like a deep dish pizza you would get from Chicago...only healthier. The fresh tomatoes and the spinach went very well together along with the awesome crust...I felt like I was in heaven :)

You must try this if you are a pizza lover like myself and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:
Serves 6
1 10-oz. can refrigerated pizza crust
1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
2 Tbs. minced shallots
1 cup evaporated skim milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
2 ripe medium-sized tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/3 cup shredded low-fat Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350F. Coat 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.
• Shape dough into 4-inch circle; cover with kitchen towel; let stand 5 minutes. Roll into 11-inch circle on lightly floured surface. Fit into pie plate, and flute rim.
• Mix spinach, sour cream and shallots in mixing bowl. In separate bowl, whisk together milk, salt, pepper, egg whites and egg. Stir 1/3 cup milk mixture into spinach mixture.
• Spoon spinach mixture into bottom of prepared crust. Add layer of tomatoes, and top with cheese. Pour remaining milk mixture over cheese. Place pie plate on baking sheet.
• Bake 45 minutes, or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information:
Per Serving: Calories 230, Protein 14g, Total fat 5g, Saturated fat 2g, Carbs 33g, Cholesterol 45mg, Sodium 590mg, Fiber 3g, Sugars 9g

Pissaladière Pizza Recipe

You may not know what Pissaladière is and to be honest I didn't before reading Vegetarian Times either. Pissaladière is a type of pizza made in southern France, around the Nice, Marseilles, Toulon and the Var Districts. I am always up for something new so when I came across this recipe I thought it would be something fun and different to try. It was different from anything I have made before but I love a good challenge every now and then. Making dough from scratch was not as easy as I thought it would be but a lot more fun than expected! If you have some free time this weekend and feel like going outside of your comfort zone go ahead and try this out and you will not be disappointed!

Ingredients:

Serves 6
3 Tbs. olive oil
4 lb. sweet onions, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 recipe Quick Whole Grain Dough (see below)
1/2 cup roasted red pepper strips
20 black olives such as kalamata, pitted and halved

Directions:

• Heat oil over medium-low heat in large skillet. Add onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 35 to 45 minutes, or until onions are very soft. Meanwhile, prepare dough.
• Uncover pan, increase heat to medium and cook, stirring, 10 minutes, until liquid has evaporated and onions are brown. Discard thyme and bay leaves.
• Place an inverted baking sheet on oven rack set in lowest position. Preheat oven to 450F.
• Divide dough into 2 balls. Place 1 ball in center of 15-inch piece of parchment paper. Flatten into a 10-inch circle.
• Spread half of onions over dough, leaving 3?4-inch border. Arrange half of red pepper strips in crisscross pattern. Dot with half of olives. Repeat with remaining dough and toppings. Slide parchment papers with tarts onto baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes, until crust is golden.

Nutritional Information
Per Serving: Calories 370, Protein 8g, Total fat 13g, Carbs 57g, Sodium 620mg, Fiber 5g, Sugars 16g

Quick Whole Grain Dough
Makes 2 10-inch tarts Vegan

This dough takes under 2 minutes to mix and knead. If the dough is ready before you are, you can punch it down and let it rise again, or even make it ahead and refrigerate it, covered, overnight. Bring it to room temperature before shaping.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. instant yeast
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. olive oil, preferably extra virgin
3/4 cup warm water (105—110F)

Directions:

• Combine both flours, yeast and salt in food processor; pulse to combine. With motor running, add olive oil and warm water through feed tube, and process about 15 seconds, or until dough forms a ball.
• Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface, and knead just until smooth and manageable, about 1 minute. Place dough in greased bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with damp kitchen towel, and let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. (Dough is ready when fingerprint on surface fills in slowly.)

What's your favorite kind of pizza?

Pizza For Everyone!

I love pizza, but it can be so high in calories and greasy that you feel guilty for the rest of the day. Although pizza lovers rejoice! I have 3 different versions for any mood you are in! I have always loved pizza and was extremely excited when I got to go to Naples Italy, the birthplace of this amazing food. It was definitely not the kind of pizza I was used to but it was great none the less. The dough was hot, fresh and a little gooey with all this amazing cheese on it! Even though it was pouring rain and we had to go back to Rome on a train that smelled horrible with a ton of rude locals I wouldn't change it for the world!

As for these pizza's remember you can add any toppings you like, the ones I have are just suggestions. Make these whenever you have a craving for something warm, chewy and tasty.

English Muffin Pizza!

Ingredients:

1 serving

1 light english muffin (100 calorie whole wheat or white your choice)

2 tbsp. your favorite tomato sauce with added spices, salt and pepper to taste

1-2 oz Shredded Fat Free Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

• Split english muffin and spread sauce on both sides. Top with cheese and any other ingredients you want (meat-free pepperoni, tomato, mushrooms, meat-free chicken strips).
• Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 140, Fat: 1g, Sodium: 875mg, Carbs: 24g, Fiber 6.5g, Sugar: 2g, Protein: 2g

Meaty thin crust pizza

Ingredients:

1 La Tortilla Factory Whole Wheat Low-Carb/ Low-Fat Tortilla; Large Size (or any large tortilla about 80 calories)

1/2 cup fat-free tomato sauce

1/2 cup Morningstar Farms Sausage Style Recipe Crumbles

1 1/2 oz. shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven 375 degrees and thaw crumbles in the microwave for 30 seconds
• Bake tortilla for 5- minutes on each side or until slightly crispy. Remove tortilla from oven and spread tomato sauce to the edge.
• Sprinkle crumbles evenly with cheese.
• Return pizza to the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese has melted
• Cut and serve

Nutritional Information:

1 serving

Calories: 260, Fat: 5g, Sodium: 1,2000mg, Carbs: 35g, Fiber: 20g, Protein: 25g

Rice cake pizza

Ingredients:

Serves 6

6 lightly salted rice cakes

1/3 cup pizza sauce

1/4 cup sliced ripe olives

1/4 cup diced green bell peppers

1/4 cup sliced mushrooms

1/3 cup fat-free shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• Place rice cakes on a baking sheet as the oven preheats to 400 degrees
• Spread sauce evenly on each rice cake and top with remaining ingredients with the cheese last
• Bake for 10 minutes and serve

Nutritional Information:

1 cake

Calories: 73, Fat: 3g, Chol 6mg, Sodium: 171mg, Carbs:10g, Protein: 3g

Tell me about the different pizza combinations you love!