2 ingredient dough

Pizza Pot Pies

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I very rarely sit down and watch a TV show.  About the only time I watch a show, in its entirety, is when I’m on the treadmill.  My favorite channel?  Food Network.  I am aware that it’s odd to watch cooking shows while exercising but I love them.  Not long ago, I watching a show where chefs recall their favorite dishes they’ve ever eaten.  This particular episode featured a restaurant that served pizza pot pies.  Ooey, gooey cheese, meat, and veggies, all covered with a warm crust… I knew I had to recreate it for myself.

These pizza pot pies are a fun variation on regular pizza.  There’s just something about getting your own little dish to yourself that you can turn upside down.  Seeing the melty cheese stretch as the filling piles high on top of the soft crust is about as much fun as dinner gets. YUMMY!  ͂ Erin

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Ingredients:

  • 1 c. self-rising flour
  • 1 c. non-fat plain Greek yogurt
  • ½ lb. mild turkey breakfast sausage, browned & drained
  • 1 medium bell peppers, diced
  • ½ medium onion, diced
  • 4 oz. baby portabella mushrooms, diced
  • 2 oz. turkey pepperoni, chopped
  • 2 oz. fully cooked Canadian bacon, chopped
  • 1 1/3 c. low-moisture part-skim mozzarella, divided
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp. garlic salt
  • 1 tsp. dried basil
  • ½ tsp. onion powder
  • ½ tsp. oregano
  • ½ tsp. paprika
  • ¼ tsp. black pepper
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • Non-stick cooking spray
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Italian seasoning, optional

Instructions:

  1. To make the crust, mix the Greek yogurt and the self-rising flour in the bowl of your stand mixer for a couple minutes on low until well mixed.  I used my paddle attachment.  You can also mix it by hand.  Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface (flour your hands too) and knead it a few times.  Set aside while you prepare the filling.
  2. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  3. Spray 4 6-ounce ramekins inside and out and place them on a sheet pan.  (If you don’t have ramekins, see note below.)  Fill each ramekin with 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese.  Set aside.
  4. Spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray; sauté veggies over medium heat until crisp-tender.
  5. Add cooked sausage, chopped pepperoni, chopped Canadian bacon, minced garlic, tomato sauce, garlic salt, basil, onion powder, oregano, paprika, black pepper, and sugar.  Simmer on low about 5 minutes.
  6. Disperse meat filling evenly on top of cheese in the ramekins.
  7. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces and pat into discs.
  8. Top each ramekin with a piece of dough, stretching over the sides a bit.
  9. Brush the dough with egg and sprinkle with Italian seasoning, if desired.
  10. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
  11. Using an oven mitt, turn out on your plate for serving. Careful, it might be slippery!

*This can easily be made in an 8×8 casserole dish, layered in opposite order:  crust on the bottom, filling, then cheese on top.

WW Freestyle Info.: Each serving (one full ramekin) is 10 points.  Makes 4 servings.  Without the dough, each serving is 7 points.  I wanted you to have this information in case you want to substitute a pre-packaged refrigerated pizza dough.  I understand that sometimes we don’t all have time to mix up our own pizza dough!

 

Life Changing Chicken and Dumplings

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I don’t know about y’all, but when I’m trying to eat healthier, it’s the comfort foods that I really crave. What is it about trying to eat well, that makes us crave all of the things that are so bad for us?  One of my favorite comfort foods is chicken and dumplings.  Tonight, I decided to try the current two-ingredient dough craze that’s gone viral in the Weight Watchers world to see if I can make a chicken and dumpling recipe that would satisfy my craving without crashing my diet.  I’m here to tell you folks, that this recipe is light done right.  Try this recipe and think of your grandma in her kitchen as you’re cooking!  ~Tracy

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Ingredients:

½ c. yellow onion, finely chopped

5 c. fat free chicken broth

3 c. cooked white meat chicken (I like to use shredded chicken breasts from rotisserie chickens)

1 ½ c. self-rising flour

1 ½ c. plain, non-fat Greek yogurt

1 t. kosher salt

Instructions:

In a large soup pot (approx. 3 qt.), sauté the onions in 3 or 4 T. of your chicken broth, just until the onion begins to become translucent.   Add in the remaining chicken broth and cooked chicken.  Bring to a heavy simmer (no need for a full boil, you want the mixture to be lightly bubbling).

While the chicken and broth are heating, mix together the flour, salt, and yogurt until they form a sticky dough.

Once the chicken broth is simmering heavily, spray two small spoons with cooking spray.  Drop dumplings by spoonsful into the simmering broth mixture until all of the dough is used.

Allow dumplings to cook in the broth for approximately 5 minutes.  Remove a large dumpling and cut open to test doneness.  When the middle of the larger dumplings appear cooked through, remove the pot from heat.    Allow the pot to sit for approximately 5 minutes before serving so that all dumplings finish cooking within the hot broth.

Weight Watchers info.:  Makes approximately 8, 1 cup servings at 2 Weight Watchers Freestyle points each.