Veggie Green Pesto Pizza

So this is WAY Healthy, so if it's too much for you, just ignore and browse my other recipes. :) But I was impressed by how good it tasted! It's actually from a Vegan cookbook (Vegan Express). Just a new thing I have been trying lately after reading a fascinating book called "The China Study." So I have been trying out a ton of new Vegan recipes.

Hopefully that doesn't scare you away.

Know that they are still way healthy, easy, and fun for the whole fam!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Tbl Olive Oil

Spinach Miso Sauce (recipe below)

1 1/2 C small Broccoli Florets

1 medium Green Pepper Sliced thin

3/4 C thinly sliced zucchini

3-4 Garlic Cloves

One pizza Crust (I used my famous favorite new dough)

1 1/2 C part skim mozzarella cheese (or you could use soy cheese)

(you could seriously go without the cheese as well!)

Spinach Miso Sauce:

4-5 oz. Spinach

1/4 C Fresh Basil Leaves

1/4 C Fresh Parsley Leaves

1/4 Toasted Pine nuts or Walnuts

2 Scallions, green parts only

2 Tbl Miso (found in Asian isle)

1 Tbl Lemon Juice

- Combine all ingredients with about 1/4 cup water and puree in blender until smooth.

Directions:

1-Preheat oven to 450

2- Combine Veggies (including garlic) in bowl and drizzle with Olive Oil. Stir together. Transfer to oven safe pan (or cookie sheet) and put in oven. Stir after 10 minutes. Roast until veggies are touched with brown spots here and there.

3- Meanwhile, spread the pesto on the pizza crust. and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 12-15 minutes. (you could do both things at the same time) Let rest for one minute, and pile on the veggies. You could place the veggies on the pizza and put back in the oven for a minute or two.

Pin It

I'VE FOUND IT! - The BEST Pizza Dough!

I LOVE Pizza! The easiest meal, hands down!

Made with Whole Grains, tons of veggies, it really is a healthy option.

I like to try fun and different pizza's. A few that I have tried lately have been the Thai Pizza and Spinach and Egg Pizza. But if you don't want to get too fancy, just mix together some tomato sauce and paste, with garlic salt, oregano, and basil and spread on dough, then top with whatever you like! Easy as pie! :) Add some fruit or a salad and you are good to go!

I always prepare my dough ahead of time. Doubling it to freeze and have ready for when I want it. I let it defrost in the fridge the night before and take out 2 hours before baking to roll out and let rise. I have made probably over 10 different dough recipes!! Trying to find the best Whole Wheat Dough that isn't too dense.

I think I have found it!

Although my pizza stone cracked in the oven during the process (way sad about this! ), it still turned out really good. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It did take A LOT of prep, but the recipe gave me 4 pizza's! So I made one and froze the dough balls for a later use.

Overnight Pizza Dough Recipe

-I used White Whole Wheat flour in place of All Purpose

-I formed it into 4 balls, (not 8 personal size pizza's)

Pin It

Zucchini Pizza

I love this one. Perfectly fast and easy week night meal. Something different from the norm. I made my own pizza dough. Which does take preparation ahead of time. Or make a few batches and freeze them. You can always buy store bought dough or if you are lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's by you - buy there dough! Its AMAZING! (I miss that place!)

I did a few tweaks to Racheal Ray's recipe to make it slightly better for you. So here is the healthier version:

(oh ya - and if you are wondering if it looks sort of weird, I ran out of mozzarella cheese and had to substitute cheddar. Still good though.)

Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza Dough:

1 teaspoon white sugar

1½ cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups white whole wheat flour

½ cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.

2. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.

(to freeze, throw in freezer safe bags after step 2. When you take it out, let it thaw (take it out in the morning) and then roll it out and let it rise.)

Pizza:

2 Cups of low fat Ricotta Cheese

8 Garlic Cloves, minced

3 Cups of Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese

2-3 Medium Zucchini (I say the more veggies the better)

1. Preheat oven to 425. Roll out dough on a thin sprinkle of cornmeal or flour. Poke a few times with a fork and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in oven for about 5-6 minutes.

2. In a small bowl mix ricotta with garlic. When you remove the dough from oven spread evenly across the top. Bake another 12-13 minutes.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Slice the zucchini into thin strip lengthwise (do the best you can do). Fill dry skillet with thin layer of strips and cook for 5 minutes. Turning once. Remove to cutting board and repeat with all zucchini. Cut the stacked zucchini strips into small matchsticks shapes. Scatter the strips over the pizza the last 2-3 minutes of cooking time. And sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Serve right away! Serve with a simple fruit to make this a meal!

Pin It