Pumpkin Pizza

From: Rochelle

Last night, Austin's work had an iron chef competition. Of course I was ALL over that one! The secret ingredient: Pumpkin! Huzzah! My favorite! I was this close () to making my favorite double layer pumpkin cheesecake, but I am SO glad I didn't because two others made it to the competition. I decided to make Pumpkin Pizza and oh my goodness readers, it was delightful! The best part? We won! : ) Try it out to break up your regular pizza night. It reminded me of something you would see at California Pizza Kitchen.

Pumpkin Pizza
Adapted from About.com

Ingredients:

2 C	*Roasted Pumpkin, Cubed
1 T	Basil Pesto (If you don't have this, use 2 t basil + 1 t garlic powder)
1	Prepared Pizza Dough
3/4 C	Cheese of your Choice (I used cheddar, but Mozzarella or Colby jack would be good)
2 T	Cashews, salted, roasted, and crushed
3/4 C	White Cream Sauce (See Recipe Below)
1/4 C	Feta Cheese, Crumbled (Goat cheese would be yummy too!)
2 T	Parmesan Cheese, grated
Garnishes	Extra Chopped Cashews and Parmesan Cheese, and Parsley (dried or fresh)

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

2. Gently toss roasted pumpkin with basil pesto to lightly coat evenly. Set aside.

*To roast Pumpkin, I cut a sugar pumpkin in half, scooped out the seed and placed, cut side down in a glass dish. I added 1/2" of water to the bottom and covered in plastic wrap. I then cooked in the microwave for about 15-20 minutes. After which I carefully removed the plastic wrap, drained the water, and turned cut side up and placed into a 500 degree oven until browned, about 10-15 minutes.

3. Roll out pizza dough and spread evenly with a layer of white sauce and cheese. Add crushed cashews and cubes of pumpkin. Drizzle with white cream sauce.

4. Scatter crumbled feta cheese and grated Parmesan evenly over the surface.

5. Cook pizza for 7 to 10 minutes at 500 degrees Fahrenheit until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cut into slices.

6. Garnish with parsley, extra cashews and Parmesan cheese before serving.

White Sauce

3 T	Butter or Smart Balance
1/4 C + 2 T	Flour
1 1/2-2 C	Milk
1/2 t	Garlic Powder
1 t	Italian Seasoning (or basil/Oregano mix)
Dash	Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/3 C	Cheese of our Choice (Parmesan, Cheddar, or Colby Jack work well

Preparation:

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan and add in flour, stirring until thick and pasty.

2. Slowly add milk, whisking together constantly to avoid lumps. Add garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until thickened.

3. Stir in grated cheese until welted. Sauce will thicken further as it cools, so add in a bit more milk if needed.

This recipe makes more than enough white sauce for one large pizza.

Calzones

Calzones

by Pam

Pizza Dough

(makes four 8" rounds)

1 TB instant yeast (SAF is my favorite brand)

1 tsp honey

2 TB oil

1 C warm water

1 tsp salt

1 T. minced rosemary, optional

2 1/2 C. Whole Wheat Flour (hard white wheat is best)

Dissolve yeast in the warm water. My favorite herb to add to the dough is rosemary. Stir in remaining ingredients and beat vigorously about 50 strokes, until all is combined. Cover with plastic and let it rest 5 minutes while you prepare the toppings. Parmesan cheese is way less fat than other cheeses and much stronger flavor.

Form dough into 4 rounds. Fill one side with steamed veggies such as carrots, onions, sweet bell peppers, olives. We like turkey pepperoni or sausage. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Fold unfilled side over filling and crimp edge. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 15-20 mins. Top with warmed pizza sauce and enjoy. These freeze great.

Chicken Spinach Alfredo Pizza

From: Rochelle

I already have posted on here a Chicken Alfredo Pizza, but I made this version and I had to share! I finely chopped up some spinach in my food processor and mixed it in with my alfredo sauce. Added some extra nutrients without anyone knowing. ; ) I also added turkey bacon on it which tasted heavenly! Just two modifications that really bumped up the YUMMY factor on this favorite!

Chicken Spinach Alfredo Pizza


Pizza Crust:
1 C All-Purpose Flour
2 C Whole-Wheat Flour
1 T Instant Yeast
1/2 tsp Salt
2 T Olive Oil
1 C (+ maybe 1/4 C if it is too dry) Warm Water

Mix ingredients together until well combined. You might have to add a little bit of water until it is a good moist dough. Add water 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Knead on a lightly floured surface for about 5-6 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Roll out dough into the size of pizza you would like. Flour the top of the dough and fold in quarters. Transfer to a greased pizza pan and carefully unfold. Let rise in a warm oven for about 10 minutes (or until desired thickness). Bake the crust at 400 degrees for about 7 minutes. Take out from the oven, put on the sauce and toppings, and then put back in the oven for about 7-10 minutes. Let cool , cut and eat!

*Tip: If you don't have a pizza cutter, try using clean scissors to cut your pizza. It works BEAUTIFULLY!*

Toppings:
1/2 Jar Ragu Alfredo Sauce +1 large handful of spinach finally chopped- mix together
1 Chicken breast cooked and chopped to bite-sized pieces*
4 slices of turkey bacon cooked until crispy
1/2 Onion- sliced - (I sauteed them in the same pan as the bacon ; )
Your choice of cheese, grated for on top

*I baked mine in the oven with olive oil drizzled over it, salt, pepper, a little bit of poultry seasoning, and oregano at 400 degrees for about 1 hour covered with tin foil and it tasted wonderful!

Fajita Pizza

From: Rochelle

This dinners is SUPER quick and easy and a twist on two favorites!

Fajita Pizza
1/2 Onion- Sliced
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
1 Chicken Breast, thawed and cut into strips
Fajita Seasoning * See below -can also buy package at the store.
Tomatoe Sauce or Pizza Sauce
Tortillas

1. Saute the chicken strips in a fry pan. Sprinkle  1 tablespoon of the fajita seasoning over the chicken as it cooks.
2. Once the chicken is cooked, add the onions and bell peppers and saute until tender. You might need to add a little bit of water (abt. 1/4 C)  to the pan if things start to stick.

3. On a cookie sheet, put out two tortillas. Spread each tortilla with red sauce or pizza sauce. Top each tortilla with the chicken/onion/pepper mixture. If you would like you can top with cheese.

4. Place the fajita pizzas under the broiler for about 4-5 mins until the tortilla is crispy. Top with sour cream if you would like!



Fajita Seasoning

• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. paprika
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 2-1/2 tsp. crushed chicken bouillon cube
• 1-1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp. cumin

Creamy Chicken Alfredo-Pesto Pizza

From: Rochelle

If you asked me what my favorite food was when I was younger, I would tell you pasta with Alfredo sauce. I LOVED it. If you ask me what one of my favorite foods now is, I would tell you Pesto. AH, I love it! Tonight my favorite flavors of a lifetime melded into this beautifully tasty pizza.  I give you Creamy Chicken Alfredo-Pesto Pizza.

Creamy Chicken Alfredo-Pesto Pizza


This is my favorite whole-wheat pizza dough recipe! Love it!

Rochelle's Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

1 1/2 C	All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 C	Whole-Wheat Flour
1 pkg	Active Dry Yeast
1/2 t	Salt
1 C	Warm Water
2 T	Cooking Oil

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 1/4 cups for the flour, the yeast, and salt; add warm water and oil. Beat with an electric mixture on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Busing a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead enoug

h remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes total). Cover, let rest for 10 minutes. Roll out into the size of your pizza pan lightly flour the whole crust. Fold into fourths and transfer to pizza pan; unfold. Let rise for 5 minutes in warm oven.

 Bake at 400 degrees for 5-6 minutes. Put toppings on, and bake for an additional 6-8 minutes. 

Toppings:

The sauce was just 1/2-3/4 of a jar of Roasted Garlic Ragu Alfredo Sauce mixed with 1-2 Tablespoons of fresh pesto. After you bake the pizza crust for a little bit, spread the sauce on. Then we added our toppings which were:

• Cooked Chicken-chopped
• Green Onions
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese
• Sun Dried Tomatoes (optional)
• Spinach or sliced tomatoes might also be good on this pizza.

Then, just cook the pizza for 6 minutes or so. If you want your cheese brown and bubbly, you can put it under the broiler. I also like putting the cheese on last because it "tacks" down all of the other toppings. 

This pizza was just delightful!  This pizza is fairly healthy because it has a whole-wheat pizza crust, uses chicken instead of pepperoni, and half of the cheese is low-fat cheese. Just add a yummy salad and you've got a meal in about 20 minutes. It also taste great cold! Yum!