Sandy's Kitchen: Pizza

Showing posts with label Pizza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pizza. Show all posts
Friday Night Pizza Night! My family loves these delicious cauliflower crusts, but I love them more because I can get my picky eaters to eat more veggies without even realizing it! These crusts are an approved option if you are doing the Medifast/ Optavia plan! The Lite Cali'flour Foods crusts count as 1 Lean and 3 Greens for the ENTIRE crust! They come in Sweet Red Pepper, Spicy Jalapeno, Original Italian or Plain crusts. The Plant Based crust is not on plan, but perfect for maintenance.

Tonight we are having Turkey Pepperoni and Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage Pizza! I normally have Italian turkey sausage already cooked and stored in the freezer in 6 ounce portion sizes. Measure out the amount you need and store the rest back in the freezer.


Interested in the crust? Link is below! Keep coming back and clicking the link to purchase! It helps support Sandy's Kitchen!

Pepperoni and Sweet Italian Sausage Pizza

Ingredients:
1 Lite Cali'flour Foods Crust * (1/2 Lean, 3 Greens)
2 tbsp Rao's marinara sauce (1 Condiment)
1/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded (1/4 Lean)
3/4 ounce cooked Jennie-O Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage with 1/2 ounce turkey pepperoni slices ~about 8 slices (1/4 Lean)
2 tbsp fresh chopped basil (1/4 Condiment)

 Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake crust for 10 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 min. Spread marinara sauce on top of crust.

Top with mozzarella cheese, turkey pepperoni slices, and cooked sweet Italian turkey sausage. Bake for 5 more minutes or until cheese has melted. Garnish with fresh basil.


1 Serving with
1 Lean, 3 Greens, and 1 1/4 Condiment for the entire pizza

 * The recipe calculations are based on the Cali'Lite crusts and not the traditional cauliflower crusts.

 *1 ounce of turkey pepperoni is counted as 1 ounce of protein that can be subtracted from your Lean.




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Friday Night is Pizza Night and today is no exception! My husband and I both love steak, but we only have it on occasion. We didn't get a chance to celebrate Valentines Day on Wednesday so we are celebrating tonight! I know some might think... why don't you guys have a traditional steak dinner? Well, we both love pizza and steak so why not combine the two? You can still have pizza and still be romantic! I hope you enjoy this Cali'flour Foods creation as much as I do!


What is Cali'flour Foods pizza crust? It is only the best alternative pre-made pizza crust out there!
Made with only a few clean ingredients, locally sourced non-gmo cauliflower and spices, low carb, gluten free and guilt free crusts... what is there not to love? 


If you are following the Optavia/ Medifast plan, the entire crust counts as 1/2 a  Lean and 3 Greens! Four delicious flavors are plan approved which are the Spicy Jalapeno, Sweet Red Pepper, Original Italian, and Plain. The Plant based one is the only one not on plan. 

Yes! You can always make your own cauliflower crust, but these are so convenient to have on hand in the freezer! No mess, no stress, dinner ready in minutes and my entire family loves these crusts (even my picky 18 month old)! When they go on sale, stock up! These crusts last up to 9 months in the freezer! Click the link below to order! Every time you return and click my affiliate link, you help support Sandy's Kitchen!


 Philly Cheese Steak Pizza

 Ingredients:
1 Lite Cali'flour Foods Pizza Crust * (1/2 Lean, 3 Greens)
1/4 cup Bertolli Light Alfredo Sauce (2 Condiments)
1/2 cup reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese (1/2 Lean)
1/4 cup green peppers, thinly sliced (1/2 Green)
1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced (1/2 Green)
2 tbsp onion, chopped (2 Condiments)
5 ounces cooked steak (1 Lean)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake pizza crust from frozen for 10 minutes. Allow the crust to cool at least 10 minutes.
Lightly spray a small non-stick with cooking spray. Cook green peppers, mushrooms and onion over medium high heat for a few minutes or until tender. Set aside.
Spread light alfredo sauce on top of crust. Add green peppers and mushrooms. Top with cooked steak. Sprinkle cheese over pizza. Bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let cool for 5 minutes. Cut in half and share with someone who also loves steak!


2 Servings with
1 Lean, 2 Greens (still need 1 more Green per serving), and 2 Condiments per serving (Half the pizza)

* The recipe calculations are based on the Cali'Lite crusts and not the traditional cauliflower crusts.



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I love having pizza almost every week, usually a Friday night when everyone is home and excited that the weekend is finally here! There is just something about that yummy, cheesy dish that makes me sooo VERY happy and I love that my entire family enjoys it!

Because I have been eating healthier and focusing on my health these days, I don't eat the unhealthy, carby delivery pizza anymore. Instead, I have been getting cauliflower crusts online at Cali'flour Foods. I can not say enough great things about Cali'flour Foods! I love their crusts because they taste great and they are so convenient to have in the freezer! They last up to 9 months in the freezer and up to 7 days in the fridge so they last a long time! Sure, I can make my own crusts, but it is so much easier to have it already made for you! Check them out and give them a try!

One of my favorite pizzas to make is a fresh basil, mozzarella and roasted grape tomato pizza. Simple fresh ingredients that adds lots of flavor!


I have a perforated pizza pan which is a pan with holes on the bottom. These holes allow the heat to heat the pizza crust directly while baking, resulting in a crispier crust. Plus it speeds up baking time! 

I lightly sprayed the crust with olive oil cooking spray and then added fresh minced garlic. Then I baked the crust for about 8 to 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Let it cool at least 10 minutes to get a firmer crust.

Next, I roasted grape tomatoes on a non-stick foil lined baking sheet. I sprayed them lightly with olive oil cooking spray and roasted them for about 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Roasted tomatoes make sweet and tangy bursts of flavor in your mouth so don't skip this step! The recipe would not be the same without them!


Add mozzarella, chopped basil and the roasted tomatoes to the pizza crust. Bake for an additional 5 minutes at 400 degrees or until cheese has melted.


Look at that delicious pizza! Now what is it missing?


A delcious sweet and tangy balsamic vinegar reduction! I love Stacey Hawkins Balsamico Mosto Cotto! Balsamic reduction is slightly thicker and more syrupy than regular acidic balsamic vinegar. If you don't have this, you can always drizzle a little balsamic vinegar on top, but know that it isn't quite the same as a balsamic reduction. 


This one is 3 grams of carbs and only 10 calories for 1 tablespoon! 
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Fresh Basil, Mozzarella and Roasted Tomato "Pizza"

Ingredients:
1 Lite Cauliflour Foods Cauliflower Crust *  (1/2 Lean, 3 Greens)
1 tsp fresh minced garlic (1 Condiment)
1/2 cup 2% reduced fat mozzarella cheese (1/2 Lean)
1/2 cup grape tomatoes (1 Green)
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (1/2 Condiment)
1 tbsp Stacey Hawkins Balsamic Mosto Cotto or Balsamic Vinegar (3 Condiments)
Olive oil cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil. Spread grape tomatoes on pan. Spray tomatoes lightly with olive oil cooking spray. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place pizza crust on pan with parchment paper, pizza stone or pizza pan with holes. Spray the crust lightly with olive oil cooking spray. Spread minced garlic on top of crust and bake for about 10  minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes so crust can firm up. 
Add mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and roasted grape tomatoes on top of the pizza crust. Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese has melted. Drizzle with Balsamic Mosto Cotto or balsamic vinegar.

2 Servings with
1/2 Lean, 2 Greens, and 2.25 Condiments per serving (Half the pizza)
Still need 1/2 Lean and 1 Green more per serving

 * The recipe calculations are based on the Cali'Lite crusts and not the traditional cauliflower crusts.


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Being from the South, one of my favorite meals is BBQ pulled pork!
I especially love BBQ pulled pork on a nice hot sesame bun and a slather of cole slaw. Oh yum!
I wanted to re-create this dish using some healthier alternatives.


I definitely had to ditch the bun. No bun hun!


I decided to use the already prepared cauliflower pizza crust from Cal'flour Foods. Why do I love them so much?

I love not having to spend an entire afternoon making my own crusts. They comes shipped to my door in a matter of days by priority mail! Talk about convenience!

I also love the taste of these crusts and that they come in two yummy flavors which are Italian and Plain!

No soggy veggie crusts and they bake up nicely!

You can purchase them HERE!


The next thing I did was choose leaner chicken breasts over pork. This allowed me to use up a healthy fat, which is the mayo, to make the cole slaw that tops the pizza. 

To make the pulled BBQ chicken, I decided to use my new Instant Pot! I am still fairly new to the whole pressure cooker scene, but so far I am loving it! If you don't have an Instant Pot, don't worry! Use your trusty old slow cooker! I still love my slow cooker!

The Instant Pot does cook up faster than a slow cooker, but don't think the 25 minute cooking time is all there is to it. It takes about 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. Then 25 minutes to cook and then tack on the 10 to 15 minutes (maybe more) to do a natural pressure release. You still get to have delicious BBQ pulled chicken in a little over an hour, instead of the usual 6 to 8 hours! Sounds pretty good to me!

I added just the chicken breasts and root beer to the instant pot and the chicken turned out extremely moist and sooo yummy! You can also add any extra seasonings if you like, but I didn't add anything else. The root beer helps tenderize the meat as well as give it a slightly sweetened flavor. If you don't have root beer, coca cola works too!

This is the shredded chicken before adding the BBQ sauce.


After your chicken is cooked, drain the meat. Add the chicken to a bowl so you can add your BBQ sauce. I get asked often about which BBQ sauce I like to use. There are mainly two brands that I enjoy.


The one above, G Hughes Smokehouse Sugar Free Hickory BBQ sauce, is the one I used for this recipe. It is easy to find at your local grocery stores so you don't have to order it online. I found this one at Wally World by all the other BBQ sauces. I can't say that I like all their flavors though. I couldn't stand the Maple Brown flavor so I had to toss it, but Hickory is quite good.


The other sugar free BBQ sauce I like is Guy's Award Winning BBQ Sauce. I have only found this sauce online which comes in 5 flavors: Hot, Original, Smokey Bacon, Smokey Garlic and Spicy. My favorite? Smokey Garlic! I have tried all of them and they were all yummy! You can find them HERE.


Once you have your BBQ pulled chicken set aside, make the cole slaw using already packaged cole slaw mix or shredded cabbage. I left the carrots in the mix because the slaw is only 5 grams of carbs for the entire 1 1/2 cups. A Green on the Medifast plan must be below 5 grams of carbs per 1/2 cup. Besides... the little orange pieces add color!


I added 2 tbsp of reduced fat mayo, 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar, and about 1/2 a packet of Stevia to the cole slaw mix. I like to use Splenda Naturals Stevia packets or Nu Naturals Stevia packets. Both sweeteners work well for cooking. Set aside the cole slaw until the pizza is hot out of the oven!


Place your cauliflower pizza crust on parchment paper (not waxed) and bake for about 5 minutes in a pre-heated oven. Doesn't that crust look delicious?


Add 6 ounces of pulled BBQ chicken on top of the crust.


Drizzle more BBQ sauce on top if desired! I desire!


Sprinkle shredded sharp cheddar cheese over the chicken and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes or until cheese is melted.


Once the pizza is out of the oven, then add the prepared cole slaw.


Cut into 4 slices...


... but you can have two of those yummy slices! Crunchy creamy cole slaw over sweet BBQ chicken! Yes please! Enjoy this yummy recipe!



Pulled BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

1 Cali'flour Foods Lite Cauliflower Pizza Crust (1/2 Lean, 3 Greens)
6 ounces Prepared Pulled BBQ Chicken ~ Recipe Below (1 Lean, 3 Condiments)
1/2 cup 2% Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded (1/2 Lean)

For the Slaw:

1 1/2 cup Shredded Cole Slaw Mix or Shredded Cabbage (3 Greens)
2 tbsp Reduced Fat Mayo (2 Healthy Fats)
1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 Packet Stevia, or to taste (1/2 Condiment)

For the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Pulled BBQ Chicken:

36 ounces Chicken Breasts (4 Leans)
12 ounces Diet Root Beer
3/4 cup G Hughes Smokehouse Sugar Free Hickory BBQ Sauce (12 Condiments)

Directions:

Place chicken and root beer in the Instant Pot.
If you would like to add any other seasonings such as salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc, 
please do so at this time. I added the root beer only.
Put the lid on the Instant Pot and turn the float valve to sealing.
Press the poultry setting button and adjust the cooking time to 25 minutes.
When done cooking, do a 10 to 15 minute natural pressure release.
After 10 to 15 minutes, there may still be some pressure left in the pot.
That is okay. Just turn the float valve to venting to release the rest of the pressure.
Wear an oven mitt and be careful of the steam! 
This ensures moist chicken.
Drain the chicken and shred with a fork.
Add BBQ sauce and set aside.

If using a slow cooker, cook the chicken and root beer on 
Low for 6 to 8 hours or High for 3 to 4 hours. 
Drain the chicken and shred with a fork. 
Add BBQ sauce and set aside.

Reserve 6 ounces of pulled BBQ chicken for the recipe and store the rest as left overs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Make the slaw.
Place cole slaw mix or shredded cabbage in a small bowl.
Add mayo, apple cider vinegar, and stevia to taste.
Set aside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Add parchment paper on top of a pizza pan.
Place cauliflower pizza crust on parchment paper.
Bake for 5 minutes.

Top pizza crust with 6 ounces of pulled BBQ chicken.
Drizzle any extra BBQ sauce on top if desired.
Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Top with cole slaw.

Makes 2 Servings

Each Serving (half of the pizza) provides:
1 Lean, 3 Greens, 1.75 Condiments, and 1 Healthy Fat

Click Here to Print

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Some of you may already know that I am doing a Diet Bet right now. What is Diet Bet you ask? Well, let me tell you about it. Everyone who plays must pay a set bet amount and it all goes into one big pot. The game I am playing is $25. If you lose 4% of your total weight, you get to split what is in the pot with all the other winners. Grant it you won't become a millionaire, but I think you get a lot more out of playing the game than just money. I did this to help gain some motivation and accountability. I really don't have much of either. Can you lend me some of yours? I lost mine. Also, it just sounds like something down right FUN to do while losing weight! Who doesn't like having others cheer you on when you are trying to lose weight or have someone say don't give up if you have a bad weigh in. I thrive on that! Although it is probably too late to do the game I am doing right now, you could always join a different game or start your own. I am going to try it out this month and if all goes well... I'll be betting again next month :) I will keep you posted on how I do!

So here I am Day 1 of restarting the Medifast plan. How many times have we heard that one before? Too many times to count I am sure! I have constantly fell off plan and I have no one to blame but myself. I am a binge eater. I admit it and accept it. It isn't easy trying to lose weight when you eat even when you aren't hungry or you have a mouth that just doesn't know when to stop eating, especially the foods with high amounts of CARBS! By the way, that's a bad word in Medifast! Now the question is... what to do? Do I keep staying on this roller coaster ride of being on plan and then off plan? Could this time really be the last time I fall off plan? Honestly, probably not. But... I recognize the problem and I am aware of it. I have had this problem ever since I was a teenager. It goes way back to the stone ages :) I remember I would eat a box of little debbie snacks in almost one sitting but back then I didn't gain much weight when I had those binges. Oh the joys of getting older! Bad habits are hard to break, but I am working on it. I know it will get better. You know why? They HAVE to get better... for my overall health, my family, and my life (plus I want to look cute in those tight skinny jeans). 

Anyways, I am back... AGAIN :) I feel really good about being back and I can't wait to start cooking in my kitchen!

The Buffalo Chicken "Pizza" is the first Lean and Green meal I decided to cook during the Diet Bet challenge. Day 1 today :) Thanks to Jeremy Lopez! It's funny I never thought about making this sooner until Jeremy brought it up, considering the Buffalo Chicken Bake is one of the most popular recipes on my blog. This "pizza" is very similar to that recipe except all the yummy gooeyness is spread on a cauliflower crust. Oh my goodness! It is now my fave type of "pizza"! Seriously, you have to try it! I promise it will soon become a personal favorite too. I usually make pizza crusts in batches and freeze them, but this particular crust is slightly different from the others because it has less cheese in the crust. This is so that chicken can be added in the recipe. I usually get about 5 to 6 cauliflower crusts with one head of cauliflower so I made two of this type of pizza and four of the traditional type of pizzas. Don't forget to add one more Green to your meal. You could always add a 1/2 cup of celery, or maybe some assorted bell peppers. I just had 1 cup of romaine lettuce on the side with some Walden Farms dressing with mine. I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I have! I am definitely going to make this one again!


You could also fold the pizza in half and have a nice pita style wrap! Stuff a 1/2 cup of lettuce (1/2 Green) and 1/4 cup tomatoes (1/2 Green) inside as your other Green.


Buffalo Chicken "Pizza"

Ingredients:

Crust:
1/4 cup egg beaters (1/8 Lean)
1/4 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese (1/4 Lean)
1 cup grated, raw cauliflower (2 Greens)

Toppings:
2.25 oz chicken breasts, cooked and chopped (3/8 Lean)
2 tbsp Frank's Hot Sauce (1 Condiment)
1 tbsp reduced fat ranch dressing (1/2 Healthy Fat)
1 tbsp reduced fat cream cheese (1 Condiment)
1/4 cup reduced fat cheddar or Mexican cheese (1/4 Lean)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Combine grated cauliflower, 1/4 cup cheese and 1/4 egg beaters in a medium size bowl.
Spoon mixture on prepared pan.
Use the back of the spoon or your hands to thin out mixture and form a circle about the size of a dinner plate without the rim. 
Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes.
Flip the crust over and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine chicken, hot sauce, ranch dressing and cream cheese.
Spread on prepared crust. (You could also add your extra green at this point such as 1/2 cup diced celery or bell peppers).
Top with 1/4 cup of shredded cheese.
Broil until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

1 Serving with 1 Lean, 2 Greens (you need 1 more Green such as 1/2 cup celery), 2 Condiments and a 1/2 Healthy Fat


Click Here to Print


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The Super Bowl is coming up so I wanted to try something different. Everyone knows that you never eat anything healthy while watching the Super Bowl! You are suppose to have all this meat and ooey gooey cheese! Okay maybe not everyone agrees with me on that one, but this would make an awesome dish for the game! What's best about this dish is that hubby gives it two thumbs up!


Anyways, this makes 4 servings so you will have to cut that sucker into 4 pieces and share with someone. Make that 3 someones! But that's okay because they will love you for sharing once they try this dish. You will also have to add 2 more servings of greens and you still have 2 other condiments left over to spice them up if you like! Feel free to add more veggies or change up the spices. Make this YOUR pizza!


This is the whole enchilada! Oops, I meant pizza! I cooked it in a pie plate but for a thinner crust, I may try cooking it on a pizza pan instead. The pie plate made it more like a casserole because the meat layer was thicker. Enjoy this yummy dish! 

No Dough Meat Crust Pizza

 Ingredients:
9 oz 93% lean ground beef, cooked (2 Leans with the 1 oz of turkey pepperoni)
2 cups shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese,  divided (2 Leans)
1/4 tsp salt (1 Condiment)
1/4 tsp garlic powder (1/2 Condiment)
1/4 tsp onion powder (1/2 Condiment)
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (1 Condiment)
1 tbsp grated reduced fat parmesan cheese (1/2 Condiment)
1 cup Great Value Italian Diced Tomatoes - must be 5g of carbs or less per 1/2 cup or you can use 1/2 cup low carb Marinara Sauce (2 Greens)
1/4 cup red bell peppers (1/2 Green)
1/4 cup green bell peppers (1/2 Green)
1/2 cup zucchini, chopped (1 Green)
1 oz turkey pepperoni slices ~ subtract 1 oz from Lean

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place ground beef in a mixing bowl and mix with 1 cup of mozzarella. Add salt, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese until combined. Spread the mixture into a circle on a round pizza pan or use a round baking dish. 

I placed the diced tomatoes in a small chopper and blended until the sauce was smooth. Top the meat mixture with the blended tomatoes. Top with 1 cup mozzarella, red peppers, green peppers, zucchini, and turkey pepperoni. Bake for about 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned.

Makes 4 Servings
Each serving provides
 1 Lean, 1 Green, and 1 Condiment per Serving
(Still need 2 Greens per serving)

Click Here to Print

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