Spinach-Artichoke Flatbread

Since discovering Cauliflower Pizza Crust, I've been experimenting with all sort of different toppings. I came across this recipe and it originally called for a store bought pizza crust. Pfft! We don't buy those anymore, its cauliflower all the way at my house. I did some tweaking, to make this more points friendly and I was shocked at how delicious the final product was.

This is a mixture that you could use as a dip if you wanted, or you could just eat it with a spoon. You should just eat it with a spoon. My husband, who is always very candid about his feelings for my cooking (which I appreciate!) told me that this tasted just like spinach dip from a place like Outback. He gets to stay! So whether you try this as a flatbread or just as a dip, you won't be disappointed either way!

Spinach-Artichoke Flatbread
(8 servings @ 3pts a piece if you use the cauliflower pizza crust)

• 1 cauliflower pizza crust, prebaked (or store bought pizza crust if you prefer)
• 1T chopped garlic
• 10oz frozen, chopped spinach - thawed and drained/squeezed dry
• 14oz can artichoke hearts, chopped
• 4oz reduced fat cream cheese
• 8oz fat free sour cream
• 1/2C parmesan cheese

Directions:
Prepare pizza crust and prebake.
Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray.
Saute garlic for 3-4 minutes, then add spinach and artichokes, cook for another 5 minutes.
Add in parmesan cheese, cream cheese, sour cream and salt/pepper to taste.
Allow mixture to come together for about 10 minutes.
Spread the mixture evenly over the crust and bake for 8-10 minutes. You can add extra shredded cheese on top if you wish, but I personally don't think it needs it!

Linked: Monday Mania

Bacon and Blue Cheese Pizza

Let me start out by saying I hate blue cheese. I want to like it, I really do, but every time I order anything containing blue cheese I am sorely disappointed, and kicking myself because I knew better Alas, I never seem to learn my lesson and I keep ordering the stuff figuring one day I'll force myself to like it. Don't ask why I feel the need to like something I don't really like, just keep reading.

While on our honeymoon in the Bahamas last month, there was a little outdoor pizzeria (I know, pizza in the Bahamas?) where you could sit on comfy sofas and look out at the ocean while eating. Aside from the killer view, the pizza was amazing! We were shocked! Every day they had a new special, or you could just order whatever toppings you normally like. It became one of our favorite lunch spots for the week we were there. Who couldn't get used to this? Sigh...

On our last day there, about thirty minutes before we had to catch the bus back to the airport I decided we should get one last pizza to go. It was right around lunch time and airport food is crazy expensive, so I stepped up to place my order and was told that bacon and blue cheese was the special of the day. Awesome, I hate blue cheese, sign me up! So we got our pizzas, headed to the airport and after checking in we sat there eating our pizzas waiting for our flight. I was reluctant and positive that after one bite I'd have to find a second, more palatable lunch, but it was honestly one of the best pizzas I'd ever had! I was so bummed that I could have been eating those all week long! So of course I had to come home and recreate the masterpiece.

Bacon and Blue Cheese Pizza
Your points will be determined by what size crust you use and how much of the toppings/sauce you put on the pizza. Get your calculator and measuring cups out!

• personal pizza crust (you could use cauliflower pizza crust, store bought, or Naan which is what I used here. Its higher in points, but one of my most favorite pizza canvases. Calculate points accordingly!)
• blue cheese
• bacon bits
• fat free sour cream
• mozzarella cheese
• marinara sauce

Directions:
Spread marinara sauce over pizza crust.
To soften the strong flavor of the cream cheese, I mix a little sour cream in with the crumbled blue cheese, mash it together with the back of a fork, and drop small spoonfuls onto the pizza crust. Spread around.
Top with bacon bits and mozzarella cheese.
Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted.




Linked:
http://www.foodonthetable.com/blog/
http://kellythekitchenkop.com/category/real-food-wednesdays

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Ladies and Gentleman, I'm about to blow your mind. I know you probably think I've totally lost my marbles at this point after reading the post title today. When I first heard about this recipe from my friend Jamie (go say thanks to Jamie on her blog!) I thought it was impossible. No way will that be good. Well, it is. Really really good. Like, the week I first tried it, I ate pizza every night for dinner. Don't judge.

Now, I'm not going to lie. You're going to have to want this one. It takes a tiny bit of effort, and a food processor. I know, you're very confused. This blog is supposed to be filled with recipes you can make in your sleep. The bonus is that if you rice a whole of head cauliflower (I had a huge one), you could potentially get six to eight cups of "dough" to work with. That means you could potentially get four or five pizzas out of this recipe! You could even freeze it for future use.

Sometimes (okay, fine, most of the time) when I make this, I eat the entire pizza by myself. The points are phenomenal, the crust by itself is a mere 1+2, if you know what I mean, and topped with zero point veggies its a huge bargain. Although at those points you can afford to put just about anything on it! I am just over the moon with excitement about this recipe and I really hope that even though it sounds weird, you guys will give it a chance. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

• 2C riced cauliflower
• 1t garlic salt
• 1/2t italian seasoning
• 1 egg white
• 1/2C reduced fat mozzarella cheese
• toppings of your choice, also remember if you add more cheese on top to count it!

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425.
Cut cauliflower into small chunks and pulse in food processor until rice like consistency is met. It should look almost identical to rice.
Place in microwave safe bowl (after ricing) with plastic wrap on top and microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Mix cauliflower with remaining ingredients.
Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray and form mixture into desired shape (spray it WELL, it has a tendency to stick).
Make sure its not too thin, somewhere around 1/4 an inch thick.
Bake for 15 minutes until slightly browned.
Remove and add your sauce and toppings.
Bake for another 5-10 minutes to melt cheese and cook toppings. You can also broil it at this stage if the edges of the pizza are looking too dark.

Portabello Pizza

Do you like eating a lot of food and still having little pants? Then today is for you! I made these one night for myself when the rest of the family was having pizza. Homemade pizza, but still more points than I wanted to spend on dinner, so I made these pizzas instead. I really love portabello mushrooms, they are so versatile and delicious! Be on the lookout for more points friendly portabello recipes soon.

This meal is so filling and delicious and I think you will be pleased with its points value. Make sure you only use zero point veggies as a topping unless you want to count the extra points. I can't tell you the exact points or the WW police will come after me, but I can tell you that by my calculations (and with the specific brands I used) for the recipe as written (BOTH pizzas!), the points value rhymes with hive. And dive. Wink.

Portabello Pizzas

• 1/2C reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup marinara or pizza sauce (I used Prego Traditional)
• 2 portabellos
• toppings (unless you are using 0 point vegetables, make sure you count any additional points added by your toppings!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.
Scoop out stem and gills from the inside of the mushroom cap.
Spray a foil lined baking sheet with cooking spray.
Place mushrooms top side down on the sheet and divide marinara sauce between the two caps.
Finish with cheese and toppings.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted.

Nutella S'mores Pizza

Let me put it to you this was, if knew I was going to be stranded on an island and I could only take one dessert with me (the horror!), I would take this...provided the island had ovens because I have no clue how to start a fire. I would also prefer that it have a private cabin as well, I'm really not the sleep outside kind of girl. So, maybe I'm defeating the point of my deserted island metaphor, but you get my drift: this dessert is really, really good. Like, choosing between my children and a slice of this pizza would be difficult, kind of good.

I am always shocked at the number of people I run across who have never tried Nutella. A life without Nutella is a sad, sad existence. If you're one of those people who have never had it, Nutella is a chocolate-hazelnut spread, much like the consistency of peanut butter. Its absolute perfection. This would be the perfect recipe to get you hooked on try Nutella for the first time. You'll thank me later!

Nutella S'mores Pizza

• 1 mini pizza crust
• 1/2C mini marshmallows
• 2 graham crackers
• Nutella
• chocolate chips
• chocolate syrup

Directions:
There is no exact science here, you just throw it together!
Preheat oven to 425.
Spread Nutella on pizza as base, top with marshmallows.
Bake for 10-15 mins until marshmallows are golden brown.
Top with crumbled graham crackers and chocolate chips, drizzle with chocolate syrup.

Turkey, Bacon, Ranch Pizza

I'm not sure whether to be ashamed or proud of the fact that my turkey leftover recipes are better than the actual turkey was on Thanksgiving. Seriously, if you are all out of leftover turkey, you should go buy another one and roast it so that you can try out some of the turkey recipes I'll be posting over the next few weeks. I have had so much fun creating them and they are all delicious!

I'm kicking off my turkey leftover recipes with my favorite one of the bunch. If there is a way to turn something into pizza, I'll figure it out (look for Nutella S'more's Pizza coming soon!). We are serious pizza lovers here and its so simple and fast. I made this as a mini pizza but if you are inclined to make a whole pizza, be my guest. It would be just as easy. The measurements I give are mostly estimates, there are no exacts with pizza. You just throw on your toppings and lots of cheese and you're done! So if you're making a whole pizza, just make sure you have extra of all the ingredients listed below. I promise you can't mess this up, the combination of the turkey, bacon, ranch and provolone is a winner!

Turkey, Bacon, Ranch Pizza

• 1/2C cooked turkey, shredded or cut into bite size pieces
• 2 slices cooked bacon, broken into small pieces
• 1/4C ranch dressing
• 1/2C shredded provolone cheese
• 1 mini pizza crust

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425.
Spread ranch dressing on pizza crust.
Top with turkey and bacon.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake for 10 - 15 mins until cheese is melted.

Breakfast Pizza

I hate to toot my own horn, but holy crap this pizza is completely amazing! That was considered "tooting" wasn't it? Well, this creation deserves it! All three of my kids scarfed this down, and anyone who has three kids knows that getting them all to enjoy the same meal happens about as often as Halley's Comet.

When I was creating this recipe my hang up was on the "sauce." Traditional pizza uses a marinara sauce, or sometimes alfredo, or even olive oil. But none of those seemed to jive with eggs and bacon. Then a light bulb went off...Velveeta! I actually found a cheese similar to Velveeta in my grocery store (Kroger) called "queso blanco," its a white cheese like Velveeta that's infused with jalapenos. If you can't find something similar to that, regular Velveeta will work just fine, but the queso blanco was out of this world. It added a nice kick, but wasn't too spicy because even my toddler loved it.

You can customize this to your preferences. If you prefer sausage to bacon, use that. If you want to add some sauteed peppers and onions, have at it. The possibilities are endless!

Breakfast Pizza

• 1 mini pizza crust
• 2 eggs, scrambled
• 1 slice turkey bacon
• 1/4C mexican blend shredded cheese
• 1 inch thick slice of Velveeta type cheese (I used a Queso Blanco with Jalapenos)

Directions:
Cut the queso or velveeta into small chunks and microwave until smooth.
Spread on the pizza crust.
Arrange eggs and bacon on top of the pizza.
Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
Bake pizza according to directions on the crust package.

The Calzone

No, this is not an episode of Seinfeld. But I do love that one!

Being Italian, I have always been a lover of all things bread and pasta, which you will probably notice if you stick around for a while. I often find when I'm meal planning, that I have inadvertently chosen pasta or bread based meals for every single dinner. What can I say, its in my DNA! Who am I to argue with science? I have always been very fond of calzones, but unlike most other common Italian dishes, I've never attempted to make them myself. I should have tried sooner because they were super easy and absolutely delicious!

 The beauty of a calzone, especially if you live with picky people (yes family, I'm talking about you) is that you can cater to everyone without having to be a short order cook! All you need to do is round up everyones favorite ingredients and throw them in. This is a great meal to involve the kids in too, its so easy they can fill their own calzones. That's what I'm talking about, earn your keep! ;-)

  

I made a basic pepperoni calzones, but other suggestions for fillings are ham, sausage, hamburger, chicken, peppers, mushrooms, spinach, a variety of cheeses...basically the possibilities are endless. Be creative!

Calzones 

• 1 can store-bought pizza dough, thin crust
• 2C mozzarella cheese
• 1C ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4C parmesan cheese
• pepperoni or other fillings
• marinara sauce for dipping

 Directions:

Unroll pizza dough (it will be rectangular) and cut into 4 equal sections.
Mix together cheeses and egg in a bowl.
Scoop about 1/2C of the mixture onto each square of dough, keeping it contained mostly to one side.
Add your fillings.
Fold dough over, lining up the corners.

Starting on one side, pinch the dough together and use your fingers to fold the bottom layer slightly over the top and press down.
Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.