Healthy Homemade Pizza Ideas

I love making homemade pizza. It allows so much creativity, and can be super simple. If you make your own crust it can be SUPER healthy. This night I didn't have time. And I love the Mama Mary's Thin and Crispy Crusts. They crisp up nicely, and are not that bad for you calorie, sodium and fat wise, if you eat in moderation. They can hold a lot of toppings. Plus they come in two packs so you can try a couple of different things out.  Below are two ideas. One we make all the time, use it for parties etc. You can find it on my Master's Party spread (that blog here)  It's nice and light. The other was a new idea, and adaptation from one we saw in Cooking Light. I took a few short cuts but it was DELICIOUS.  Have fun with the homemade pizza idea and let me know your favorite ideas.

Blue Cheese Spinach and Caramelized Onion Pizza

• One thin pizza crust (pre-baked)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 cups baby spinach
• 1/2 one red onion very thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup blue cheese ( I use reduced fat)

1. Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a pan. Add onions and sauté until caramelized
2. Brush the pizza crust with one tablespoon olive oil.
3. Sprinkle crust with onions and half the blue cheese.
4. Top with spinach and then other half of the blue cheese.
5. Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes or until cheese just starts to get gooey and spinach wilts.

Roasted Asparagus and Mushroom Pizza with Balsamic Glaze

• 1 pounds mushrooms, sliced (I used a combo of baby bellas and button)
• 1 small red onion cut into small wedges
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into thirds
• 1/2 cup lower-sodium marinara sauce, divided (I love Dellalo)
• 3 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, torn into small pieces - If you cant find fresh mozzarella, I've
• 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Combine mushrooms and onions on baking sheet; Toss with olive oil and a little salt and pepper.  Bake for 15 minutes. Add asparagus to pan; bake for another 10-15 minutes.
3. Spread sauce over crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Top with vegetable mixture, cheese and red pepper flakes. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, until cheese melts.
4. Drizzle with balsamic as soon as you take it out of the oven. 
5.  Sprinkle with basil and salt.

New favorite Pasta: Bucatini Puttanesca

 Bucatini is one of my new favorite pastas. It's hearty and takes flavors really well. When I was searching for new ideas for it, recipes for the classic Italian dish Puttanesca  kept coming up, so I decided to try one. This has quickly become a favorite recipe we have added to our rotation. Our recipe is actually a combo of one that was in Eating well a while back and one that was in the new Cooking Light magazine. It's salty, bright, and yummy. To me, the pasta is plenty on it's own, but servings it with a nice salad would be great as well.

 

 

Bucatini Puttanesca

 

• 5 anchovy fillets
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves finely chopped garlic
• 28 oz can coarsely chopped canned no-salt-added whole peeled tomatoes, and their juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces bucatini pasta
• 10 Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
• 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup shaved parmesan

 

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in anchovies and stir around to break them up. When the anchovies begin to dissolve, add garlic and stir for about a minute.
2. Add tomatoes and season with 1/8 teaspoon salt and red pepper flakes; cook until the tomatoes are no longer watery and have separated from the oil, 15 to 20 minutes.
3. When the sauce starts cooking,  cook the bucatini.
4. When the pasta is halfway done,  stir in the olives, capers and oregano.
5. When the pasta is done, drain well and toss in with the sauce.
6. Top with Parmesan

**Makes 4 servings

**3 on Bryce's Dish Scale, pot, skillet, strainer, knife and cutting board

 

 

 

Orzo Soup with Kale, Mushrooms and Butternut Squash

This soup popped up in a Real Simple magazine at just the right time for me. I was looking for a way to use up a little leftover orzo, and this has all of my current food obsessions. In the winter I love hearty soups with mushrooms, throw in some butternut squash and kale and I'm sold. We changed this up a little and did a few shortcuts. The day we decided to make it our store had an awesome selection of wild mushrooms including trumpet and oyster and using a mix of those really livened up the flavor. The next time I went to make it, there were only the basics. That time we made it with shitakes, baby bellas and a wild mix that had a few cremini's too. So, mix it up when it comes to the mushrooms, but I recommend a variety to help with the texture.

 

 

Orzo Soup with Kale, Mushrooms and Butternut Squash

 

 

•  1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound mixed mushrooms (use a mixture for texture), cut the big ones into quarters or halves
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 12 ounces precut and cubed butternut squash (they sell this in pre-packages)
• ⅓ cup orzo
• 4 cups loosely packed baby kale
• ½ cup chopped fresh dill

 

1. Heat the oil in a medium pot . Add the onion, garlic salt and a lemon pepper. Cook over medium high heat stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 4 minutes.
2. 
Add the mushrooms and lower heat to medium. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender and have released their juices. This takes about 6 to 8 
minutes.
3. Stir in the broth, squash, and orzo and bring to a boil. Reduce heat 
to medium-low and simmer until the squash is tender and the orzo is cooked, about 15 minutes.
4. Stir in the kale until just wilted. 
Season with regular salt and pepper and stir in the dill. Serve topped with more dill.

**Makes 4 servings

**2 on Bryce's dish scale. one pot! cutting board and knife.

 

 

 

Spicy Farro with Tomatoes and Kale

G I love this dish so much and it is so so easy. Perfect when I am wanting a hearty, healthy meal with a kick - FAST. It's adapted from one of my favorite blogs I discovered via Pinterest (PINCH OF YUM). I only adjusted to add the kick and create better portions for 4.  I love anything that is one pot, and this is a healthy twist on leaving out the pasta. If you haven't cooked with Farro before it's a great way to get started.

 

Spicy Farro with Tomatoes and Kale

 

• 1 cup uncooked farro
• 2 cups vegetable or low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 can  white beans (I use Great Northern or Cannellini) , rinsed and drained
• 1 pint halved grape tomatoes
• 3 cups baby kale or spinach
• ½ cup shredded Asiago or Parmesan cheese
• 1 and a half cups DeLallo Spicy Arrabbiata sauce

1. Cook the farro according to package instructions, using 2 cups broth and water if needed.  It's a lot like cooking rice, and takes about 30 minutes.
2. Stir in the tomato sauce and kale until kale wilts. Add the  white beans, tomatoes, and Asiago.  I sprinkle a little more Asiago on top before serving.

 

**Makes 4 servings

**1 on Bryce's dish scale. One pot, cutting board and knife!

Grilled Okra

 If you are like me you are always looking for easy ways to do side dishes. And this one is so different and so great. My dad one day grilled okra and we just loved the texture. I am sure there are a million different things you can toss it with, but this is a great start if you are looking for something new.

 

 

Grilled Okra

 

• 1 lb. fresh okra
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
• skewers

 

1. Toss the okra with the oil and seasoning in a big bowl so that every piece is coated.
2. Place okra on skewers so it doesn't fall through the grates.
3. Grill okra for 20-25 minutes until it has a nice char and is soft.

 

 

 

**Makes about 4 servings

 

Black Eye Pea Dip

Depending on where you are from this is called Cowboy Caviar, or Texas Caviar -- but I just call it Black Eye Pea Dip and it is DELICIOUS. Although its the perfect New Year food to bring you luck, it's too good to not have year round. Seriously, I think Black Eye Peas are an underrated pea. They should be used more often. I came up with this recipe after one my dad has made before and googling and pinteresting a million others. I cut out the ideas of using sugar in the sauce because I was trying to make it healthier, and I basically used what I wanted, omitting things like red onion because I think it can be too strong. Trust me, you want to try this.










Black Eye Pea Dip

• 1 can Black Eye Peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 can black Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 4 Green Onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped Cilantro
• 1 4 oz can diced Green Chilies
• 1 can White Shoepeg corn
• about 1/2 cup of diced Orange and/or yellow bell pepper
• 1 avocado diced ( I get one that is very hard, because it holds up better in the dip)
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper

1. Combine the peas, beans, diced tomatoes, onions, cilantro, green chilies, corn, bell pepper in a big bowl.
2. In a small bowl whisk together vinegar, olive oil, lime juice, cumin and salt and pepper.
3. Pour dressing over the veggies and toss to combine.
4. Add avocado last so you don't mush it up too much
5. Serve with tortilla chips

**Stores in Tupperware well for 3 days.

Hearty Main Meal Salad: Kale, Barley, Chickpeas and Avocado

This recipe started with me wanting to do something with some leftover barley, so I went hunting on Pinterest and this awesome recipe had lots of things I keep on hand as staples, Chickpeas, feta and avocado. Perfect. Because of the barley this makes a hearty salad without any meat and is perfect for a quick weeknight meal. The only that takes a while is cooking the barley. I tweaked it a little to our tastes and this is what we came up with. I thought this would be a good one to start out the New Year with if you are looking for something healthy.

Kale and Barley salad with Chickpeas and Avocado

 

• ½ cup uncooked pearl barley
• 4 cups loosely packed kale; washed, stems removed, and cut into ribbons (or you can cheat like I did and buy the prepackaged bag of washed and chopped Kale)
• ⅓ cup crumbled reduced fat feta
• 1 cup chickpeas
• 1 avocado, diced
• 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds

 

Dressing

• 2tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• salt and pepper (about 1/4 teaspoon each)
• 2 teaspoons honey

Instructions

1. Cook pearl barley according to package directions.
2. while that cooks, whisk together the dressing and toss with the kale. Letting the dressing sit on it for a while helps soften the kale and take the bitterness out.
3. Once barley is cool, toss all your ingredients together!

 

**Makes 2 servings

**3 on Bryces Dish Scale. Cutting board/knife, bowl, pan to cook barley.