Veggie Pizza with Homemade Crust

I have made Pioneer Woman's pizza crust before and I love it.  This time, it was even better because I now have a pizza stone which perfectly bakes it. 

CRUSTIngredients:

FOR THE CRUST (MAKES TWO CRUSTS):
1 teaspoon Active Dry Or Instant Yeast
4 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

TO MAKE THE CRUST:

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.
In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it. ***It's best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

 

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I made the crust over the weekend and put it in the freezer until I needed it.  I pulled it out in the morning before work and it was ready to be baked when I got home. 

 

Then, I started with a base recipe from PW as well... her "Favorite Pizza".  I switched it up a little though.

 

ON THE PIZZA:

Half of a large zucchini, cut into slices and then into fourths

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 2 cloves)

1/2 cup jarred artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (in oil and seasoned)

Fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thin (buy it from Costco and it's already sliced perfectly)

1 tablespoon pine nuts

 

First:

Preheat the broiler.  Toss chopped zucchini in a little bit of salt and a little bit of olive oil.  Mix together well and then put under the broiler for about 4 minutes.  Then add the halved tomatoes, mixed with the minced garlic.  Broil them for another 4 minutes.

 

Second:

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees

Spread out your pizza dough on your pizza stone until it's very thin, then cover with a little bit of olive oil and a little salt.

Cover in mozzarella slices

Top with the roasted veggies, pine nuts and chopped artichoke hearts

 

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

 

This was seriously, seriously good.  Like, the best pizza I've ever made and better than a lot of restaurant/fast food pizzas I've had.  YUM! 

 

Feta and Couscous Stuffed Peppers

This is my new favorite healthy recipe! It tastes sooo delicious. I added some mushrooms to the veggie mix and used caraway seeds instead of fennel. This makes a ton -- way more than the recipe says. We will be eating it for a couple of days - and that's a good thing.  The only downside is it's not super duper filling... you'll probably need a snack after. 

Here is the recipe.

This one is a keeper!

Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Zucchini and Goat Cheese

I have made the original version by Pioneer Woman once before and loved it.  This time I wanted to make it with basil instead of parsley and goat cheese instead of feta.  So here's the recipe the way I made it (with very minimal changes from the original):


12 ounces Farfalle (bowtie) Pasta
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 whole Lemons (more To Taste)
Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
2 whole Zucchini, Cut Into Small Wedges Or Diced
10 ounces Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
1/3 cup Minced Fresh Basil
6 ounces Crumbled Goat Cheese


Cook pasta until done. Drain and rinse in cold water until completely cool. Add olive oil and lemon juice, then add salt and pepper to taste (do not undersalt). Toss to combine. Add zucchini, tomatoes, basil, and goat cheese, and toss to combine. Add more of what you think it needs. Squeeze in a little more lemon juice/drizzle more olive oil if it needs more moisture.


Cover in plastic wrap for at least a couple of hours to chill.

I used a fresh zucchini, fresh cherry tomatoes and basil all picked straight from my garden.  WONDERFUL!  I love, love, love this pasta salad.  It's so lemony and cheesy and fresh.  

Zucchini Cheddar Muffins

I made these Zucchini Cheddar Muffins last night.  They are really fast to make and are delicious!  This is due to the fact that I used slightly more cheddar than the recipe called for - so there's probably more cheddar than zucchini in mine.  They are perfect to grab out the door for breakfast or as a side dish to a dinner.  Very versatile and I highly recommend them!  These would be really great for a brunch too.

Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake

We have a plethora of delicious zucchini and huge, juicy garden tomatoes.  It's heavenly.  I made this as a side dish last night & we devoured nearly the whole thing.  I adapted this from Kalyn's Kitchen's recipe.

Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake


1 huge zucchini (or 2 medium) - cut into half-moon slices
1 huge tomato (or 2 medium) - sliced
4 Tablespoons fresh basil - finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
Another 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella for top
Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray an 8" x 8" baking dish with olive oil.  Wash the zucchini and cut in slices or half-moon slices.  Wash basil and finely chop.

Combine the sliced zucchini, chopped basil, dried thyme, garlic salt, and both kinds of cheese and stir together until the veggies are coated with cheese and the herbs are well-distributed.  Season with black pepper.  Put the mixture in the baking dish and cover with sliced tomatoes.  Bake uncovered for about 25-30 minutes.

After 30 minutes or so, take the casserole dish out of the oven and sprinkle over the remaining 1/2 cup of grated cheese.  Put the dish back in the oven and bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until the cheese is melted and nicely browned and zucchini is fully cooked (I baked for about ten minutes and then put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes).  Serve hot.

This was ooey, gooey with cheese and also tasted sorta healthy with the veggies.  I am so happy we have zucchini still growing so I can make this again soon.

Pineapple Zucchini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!

I have a ton of zucchini in my garden and so when a friend sent me this recipe I knew I had to try it.  And WHOA - I am glad I did.  I love these!  My husband is dying he loves them so much.  They are sort of healthy, too, except I used full fat cream cheese instead of 1/3 fat.  Totally worth it.  These are a great way to bid farewell to summer and say hello to fall - a wonderful mix of the two seasons.  

If you like zucchini - definitely, definitely these are a must.

Thank you Skinny Taste!

Seriously... yum.