Homemade Pizza!

Friday night we decided to have pizza, and with so many veggies in the fridge, what better than to make our own? Though I have made pizza crust out of my wheat bread recipe, I decided to go with a traditional white crust.

Pizza Dough

• 2-3/4  -  3-1/4 C flour
• 1 package (1 T.) dry yeast
• 1 C. warm water
• 2 T. cooking oil
• 1/4 t. salt

Combine 1-1/4 C. flour with yeast and salt, add water and salt. Beat with electric beater on low for 30 seconds, constantly scraping the bowl. Then continue  beating on high speed for 3 minutes. Slowly stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in as much remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 - 8 minutes total). Divide in half and let rest 10 minutes.

From here you can roll the dough out for a thin crust, or just stretch it out to bake on a stone (follow the directions for your baking stone), or you can spread in a greased pan for a thicker crust pan pizza.

Pizza Sauce

• 15-ounce can tomato sauce
• Tomato, diced (optional, or small can petite diced tomatoes)
• 1/2 C. diced onion
• 1 T. basil
• 1 t. sugar
• 1 t. oregano
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 t. pepper

Combine all in a sauce pan over medium high heat, bring to a boil, reduce to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Now it is ready to use!

Spread sauce on dough, either store bought or homemade.

Now comes the fun part! Like any home pizza making endeavor, pull out of your fridge anything that sounds good and use it as topping on your pizza. We used sweet peppers (green, red, yellow and orange), red onions, green onions, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, and some artichoke hearts. Later we realized we had forgotten the pineapple. Oh, well, there will be a next time! We did not have any mozzarella cheese, so we used cheddar, queso fresco and a little feta.

Place pizza in an oven preheated to 400℉, and bake for 10 - 20 minutes. Just check regularly for doneness, especially the dough in the center of the pizza. The thickness of the dough and the amount of toppings can affect the cooking time.

We baked two pizzas, the first one had better flavor, but was baked a bit too long. The crust on the 2nd pizza was cooked to perfection, but had fewer ingredients. Overall it was a huge success, the kids enjoyed the vegetarian pizza as much as the adults, plus we all had a lot of fun making them as a family. The toppings the kids were unsure of, they simply omitted from the second pizza.

Potential as a family favorite for ANY family because you can make it any way you like it!

Vegetable Quesadillas

Professional plating by Jeff! Nice touch with the celery leaves for extra color!

Serves 8

• 1 c. Sliced mushrooms
• 1 T. light olive oil
• 1 small zucchini, chopped
• 1/2 c. chopped yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 c. sliced green onions
• 1 medium clove galic, minced
• 1 jalapeño, diced
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
• 2-1/2 c. shredded Mexican cheese blend

1. In a non-stick skillet, brown mushrooms in olive oil. Add zucchini, bell pepper, green onions, garlic, and jalapeño. Cook until vegetables are tender, stir occasionally. Stir in tomato, cook 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and keep warm.
2. Over medium heat, warm tortilla till lightly browned, turn over and sprinkle one half of tortilla with 1/3 c. cheese and 1/4 c. of the vegetable mixture. Fold tortilla in half. Cook until browned on both sides and cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling

Per Serving (1 tortilla with filling): 325 calories, 31g carbs, 13g protein, 17g fat, 2g fiber, 31mg cholesterol, 488mg sodium.


Notes: Most of the fat from this recipe comes from the cheese, and we could tell by just looking at the recipe that it was more cheese than we wanted. We used about half the cheese, and that worked great.


We did not have any jalapeños, so we put in chopped green chilis. They were a great option, but cut back on the spiciness of the dish.

Our Opinion

Jeff and I were the only ones home for lunch (benefit of working at home), and we both really liked these quesadillas. We were really glad that we cut the cheese in half! We served the quesadillas with sliced apples and banana chunks. We will definitely have these again - next time with the kids so we can get their thoughts on this healthier version of a family favorite!  

Vegetable Rosti with Tomato-Corn Relish

We served the Rosti with fresh watermelon and orange slices, along with artisan bread (not shown). As Jeff said, "the watermelon is the perfect thing to serve with this, it really compliments the dish"

A little flour and egg bind together grated vegetables to make satisfying patties. We’ve topped them with a summery relish, but you could easily substitute salsa or sautéed mushrooms.

Serves 4

Tomato-Corn Relish

• 3 cups fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
• 2 small tomatoes, chopped (11/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or parsley
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. chopped onion
• 3 tsp. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)

Rosti

• 2 medium white potatoes
• 2 large carrots
• 2 small zucchini
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1. To make Tomato-Corn Relish: Combine all ingredients in bowl. Set aside.
2. To make Rosti: Grate potatoes, carrots, and zucchini onto clean kitchen towel. Wrap towel around vegetables, and squeeze to remove excess liquid. Transfer vegetables to bowl, and stir in onion, flour, and garlic. Fold in eggs, and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
3. Coat large skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium heat. Spoon 2 Tbs. Rosti mixture for 
each patty, shaping with spoon to make patties. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until bottoms are crisp. Carefully flip with spatula, and cook 2 minutes more, or until browned on both sides. Serve with Tomato-Corn Relish. 

Per Serving (6 rosti and 3/4 cup relish): 328 calories, 12g protein, 8g total fat (2g sat. fat), 57g carbs, 93mg cholesterol, 105mg sodium, 8g fiber, 15g sugar

Recipe from Vegetarian Times magazine, June 2011, pg. 63.

Our Opinions

This dish was very favorably received! It was a very hands on dish to prepare, but we do a lot of cooking as a family, so everyone pitched in to help.

William: "It's not something you are eating because you are a slave to the culture" (we had been discussing hot dogs!). William helped form and cook the rosti.

4 out of 5 stars

Erika: "I thought it was pretty good. The combination of fresh, full flavors, exploded in my mouth."

4 out of 5 stars

Garrett: We used basil in the relish, but G. thought the amount called for was a bit too much. He would cut the basil in half and leave the rest alone.

4 out of 5 stars

Jeff: I really liked the rosti's. I thought the relish was also a little heavy on the basil. They were refreshing and delicious, and I would want them again. I really enjoyed the meal overall, the rosti, oranges, watermelon and bread.

4 out of 5 stars

Me: I also really liked the dish. The rosti were warm, but the relish cold, but together they were a nice combination. I definitely encourage adding salt and pepper (preferably while they are cooking).

4 out of 5 stars

Overall opinion:  This is a dish we will have again! Everybody liked it, and with a few tweaks with the basil, this meal an all round winner!

Average rating: 4 out of 5 stars