pizza

Three Cheese Steakhouse Pizza

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I’m going to admit that’s it’s pretty darned rare that there is leftover steak at my house.  However, if I’m smart and plan my meals the way I know I should, I cook a little extra so that I can make this pizza.  It’s so easy, so good, and looks like something you’d get at a fancy restaurant (at least the “fancy” restaurants that I go to).  The best thing about it is that you can use almost all pre-made ingredients for a quick dinner that your whole family will love. ~Tracy

Ingredients:

4 naan flatbreads

1 T. butter

1 jar of your favorite Alfredo sauce (I use Prego or Classico Light)

½ of a large onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves minced garlic

2 cups fresh baby spinach, stems removed and sliced chiffonade style

1 lb. steak, thinly sliced

½ c. shredded parmesan cheese

½ c. crumbled feta cheese

1 8 oz. package mozzarella balls

Instructions:

In a large saucepan, melt butter.  Sauté onions in the melted butter until translucent and just beginning to turn brownish/caramelized.  Add spinach and garlic to sautéed onions.  Cook just until spinach fully wilts.  Add the jar of Alfredo sauce and cook all together until bubbly.  Stir in ½ c. of parmesan cheese until incorporated into sauce.

Preheat oven to 425℉.  Place naan flatbreads on a large sheet pan or pizza pan.  Top each with Alfredo sauce mixture making sure to get equal amounts of onion and spinach on each flatbread.  Add an equal portion of steak, approximately ¼ pound to the top of each flatbread.  Finish off each pizza with an equal portion of the feta cheese and mozzarella balls (you can always substitute shredded mozzarella).

Bake at 425 until cheese melts and just begins to brown and bubble.

Pizza Mini Meatloaves

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My husband (Erin’s) has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments for Hodgekin’s Lymphoma. He’s actually doing really well on the treatments so far and has only had minor side-effects, thank God! I pray it continues to go so smoothly. Since he was diagnosed, our family and friends have been amazing and have helped us in so many ways, including filling our freezer with meals. You wouldn’t think home-cooked meals would be that big a deal but, let me tell you, there are days when opening the freezer and choosing a meal to heat up the next day saves a lot of stress and energy. Especially on days he has chemo, it’s nice to be able to come home and heat up a good supper.

Do you ever send meals to family and friends who are ill or having surgery? If so, what do you usually make? I have several go-to recipes to use in these situations but one of my favorites is these Pizza Mini Meatloaves. For starters, they are a recipe everyone will like… what’s not to love about pizza?! They are also the perfect freezer meal because you can freeze them individually rather than in one big pan, like a casserole. The good thing about freezing them individually is that a person can choose to thaw and reheat them all or just a few at a time. Great for lunch for one person or for a family meal! When I make these at home, they rarely make it to the freezer though. My family gobbles them up! -Erin

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Chicken Bacon Pesto Flatbread

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I’m going to come right out and tell you the truth about something.  I like to leave the dinner table feeling full! Doesn’t everyone? I want my supper — do you call it dinner or supper? — to be the most satisfying meal of my day.  I’m not the kind of person who allows a lot of extra time in the morning — hello, snooze button! — so this often means very little for breakfast, and I don’t leave work for lunch.  Supper is my time to relax and indulge in good food. This leaves me looking for ways to feel like the meal was an indulgence without sending it into calorie overload. This Chicken Bacon Pesto Flatbread is so filling and full of flavor that you might even get away with eating half of one, but I think you’ll want the whole thing! ~Tracy

Ingredients:

3 Joseph’s Lavash Bread (I use the flax, oat bran, and whole wheat)

3 cups shredded white meat chicken (I often use rotisserie chicken)

3 medium jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced

½ c. finely chopped purple onion

2 large cloves garlic, minced

4 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Spreadable Cheese 

¼ c. reduced fat pesto

3 T. real bacon bits

¾ c. 2% shredded Colby Jack cheese

1 ½ c. grape tomatoes, halved

3 T. grated parmesan

Cream the Laughing Cow cheese and pesto together in a small dish.  Set aside.

In large skillet, sauté the chicken and jalapenos until onions on medium-low heat until onions become tender.  Add garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Place the three Lavash breads on individual pieces of parchment.  Evenly spread one third of the pesto mixture onto each bread as you would a pizza sauce.  

Sprinkle 1 T. bacon bits over the cheese mixture on each bread.

Top each bread with one third of the chicken mixture, spreading evenly.  Add ¼ cup of shredded Colby Jack to each. Spread ½ c. of tomatoes on each bread and sprinkle on 1 T. shredded Parmesan over each.  

Bake each bread at 325 degrees for 10-15 min. or until cheese is melted and edges of bread begin to turn golden brown.

Each whole flatbread is 11 WW Freestyle Points or 6 WW Freestyle Points for half.

Easy Homemade Pizza Crust

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We are not pizza snobs in our family.  Our table has been graced by so many boxes of Little Caesars $5 pizzas that it’s a little embarrassing.  That being said, I do love to make my own pizza crust and make ‘fancy’ pizza (if there is such a thing).  Homemade pizza crust is actually very easy – this practically foolproof recipe can be the start to some of the best family pizza nights you’ll ever have!  ~Tracy

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Ingredients:  
  • 3 ½ c. all purpose flour
  • ½ c. whole wheat flour
  • 1 package quick rise yeast
  • 1 ½ c. warm (not hot) water
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

Here’s how to make it:

Sprinkle the yeast over the water in a small bowl.  Stir gently to dampen all yeast.

Combine the both types of flour and salt in mixing bowl.

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Gradually add the olive oil into the flour mixture until just mixed together.

Pour the yeast and water mixture into the flour and oil while mixing; preferably with the dough hook of a stand mixer.  If you do not have a stand mixer you can do this the old fashioned way – with your hands (spray them with cooking spray first to avoid everything sticking to your hands).  Dough should eventually form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Swirl a little olive oil (or you can use cooking spray) around the bowl to avoid dough sticking.  Cover the top of the bowl loosely with parchment paper or a lightweight dish towel and allow to rise for approximately one hour or until at least doubled in size.

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Roll out dough on parchment sprayed with cooking spray (helps the dough not to stick) and slide both onto baking sheet or pizza stone.

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Add your favorite toppings and bake at 450 for 12 – 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

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*Makes two crusts approximately 12 x 12 inches.  Adjust the size of your pizza to control the thickness of crust.

*Hint – As dough is rising, you can set your mixing bowl on a heating pad to speed the rising process.

*Hint – If you don’t have wheat flour, using all white flour is perfectly fine.

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!

 

Pizza Dip

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Any time I make this dish, I get numerous requests for the recipe.  It is a true crowd pleaser. What could be better? Pizza, but in a dip! Make this and please the folks at your next get together.  ~Kathy

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Ingredients: 

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

¼ tsp. onion powder

12 – 15 pepperonis, chopped

½ c. pizza sauce

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

2 T. sliced black olives

1 green onion, sliced

Instructions:

Combine first four ingredients in a small bowl. Spread into a small baking dish. Top with chopped pepperonis, pizza sauce, cheese and black olives.

Bake at 350˚F for 15-20 minutes, until heated through and bubbly around the edges. Top with green onions.

Serve with garlic bagel crisps or garlic parmesan pretzel crisps.

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Pizza Pasta

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When my husband I first met, we spent every Tuesday night at the local pizza place with a group of friends.  I got to know him over slices of pizza and pints of beer.  I realized he’s funny, sweet, and maybe worth seeing as more than just a friend.  Pizza is good for getting to know people.

I love pizza in all forms.  This one-skillet Pizza Pasta is all the flavors of pizza in a scoopable form.  What’s not to love?  ͂ Erin

Ingredients:

  • ½ a large red onion, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 2 c. jarred pizza sauce
  • 8 oz. dry whole wheat rotini pasta
  • 4 oz. mild turkey breakfast sausage
  • 2 oz. pepperoni, chopped in small pieces
  • 1 tsp. garlic salt
  • 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
  • 2 c. water
  • Shredded parmesan cheese & crushed red pepper flakes, for serving

Instructions:

Cook and stir breakfast sausage, onion, and bell pepper in a large skillet until sausage is browned.  Drain sausage mixture on a paper towel-lined plate. Carefully wipe out any excess grease from the skillet. Add pizza sauce, water, rotini pasta, pepperoni, sausage mixture, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning to the skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and boil until pasta is tender and sauce is reduced (about 12 minutes). Serve sprinkled with parmesan and red pepper flakes.

WW Freestyle Info.:  This makes 6 servings.  A serving is 1 cup (about 7 ounces by weight).  If you use regular pepperoni, each serving is 9 SmartPoints. If you use turkey pepperoni, each serving is 7 SmartPoints. (If serving with parmesan cheese, be sure to add those points.)