Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Mexican Pizza. Meatless & fabulous.

by Filed Under: Pizza, Vegetarian 4 Comments

I’m always looking for fun pizza recipes.  I wanted to do a meatless version combining our favorite taco favorites.  I struggled with what I wanted to use for the base and came up with a wonderful cilantro pesto.  From there we topped it with our favorite taco toppings sans the meat.  All on a lovely whole wheat crust.  Delectable!

Pizza Dough Ingredients:

1 c whole wheat flour (I use King Arthurs)
1.5 c all purpose unbleached flour (King Arthur)
2 and 1/4 tsp of yeast
1/2 tsp of sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cornmeal, for sprinkling

Directions:

Mix the sugar into the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Then sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Pour into your mixer bowl. Then add flours, salt and olive oil. Combine. Knead the dough (with your mixer attach the dough hook) for 8 minutes. Then place the dough in a bowl that has been sprayed with a nonstick olive oil spray. Let rise for one hour.

Punch down. Then divide the dough in half. Turn out onto a flour surface and roll until you achieve the desired thickness. This crust is great rolled out really thin.  I then prick the dough with a fork all over the surface.  Brush olive oil on top and sprinkle with your favorite pizza herbs (I use a mix of Italian seasonings).  Bake for about 5-7 minutes or until lightly golden.  Remove and top with sauce and your favorite toppings. Sprinkle the cornmeal onto your peel before you place in the oven for easy sliding.

Please note: I preheated my oven at 425 degrees for one hour with my pizza stone. I pre-bake the crust for 5-7 minutes.  I then topped my pizza and grilled it at 450 degrees for until the crust was golden and the cheese had melted perfectly.

Cilantro Pesto Recipe:

2 cloves of garlic
1/2 of a jalapeño
1 cup of loosely packed cilantro leaves
1 cup of loosely packed basil leaves
1/4 cup of olive oil (or a bit more)
Juice from one lemon
1/3 cup of whole raw almonds
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Into your food processor, blend the garlic and jalapeño.  Then add cilantro, basil, lemon juice and raw almonds.  Blend.  Then through the spout, slowly drizzle the olive oil.  This should help the paste turn into a creamier consistency.  Then season with salt and pepper.

Pizza toppings:

I pre-cook my crusts until just lightly golden on a pizza stone.  See the dough recipe above.

On the pre-cooked dough, I add a thin layer of pesto.  On top of that I added fresh corn removed from the cob, one green pepper chopped, two roasted red peppers, olives, black beans (washed/drained), green onions and some Mexican blended cheese.  Use what you love and have on hand.  Whatever your favorite taco toppings are or go crazy with it.  It’s all up to you!  Bake for 6-8 minutes.  Enjoy!!!

 

— Knead to Cook

Whole Wheat BLT Pizza with fresh mozzarella ala grill.

by Filed Under: Pizza, Vegetarian 1 Comment

 

 

 

Last night I made a kid-friendly version of this pizza in my oven.  Tonight because my kids weren’t home for dinner, I decided to make hubby and I my version of this pizza on the grill.  So happy I made two crusts last night.

Pizza Dough Ingredients:
1 c whole wheat flour (I use King Arthurs)
1.5 c all purpose unbleached flour (King Arthur)
2 and 1/4 tsp of yeast
1/2 tsp of sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cornmeal, for sprinkling

Directions:

Mix the sugar into the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Then sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Pour into your mixer bowl. Then add flours, salt and olive oil. Combine. Knead the dough (with your mixer attach the dough hook) for 8 minutes. Then place the dough in a bowl that has been sprayed with a nonstick olive oil spray. Let rise for one hour.

Punch down. Then divide the dough in half. Turn out onto a flour surface and roll until you achieve the desired thickness. This crust is great rolled out really thin.  I then prick the dough with a fork all over the surface.  Brush olive oil on top and sprinkle with your favorite pizza herbs (I use a mix of Italian seasonings).  Bake for about 5-7 minutes or until lightly golden.  Remove and top with sauce and your favorite toppings. Sprinkle the cornmeal onto your peel before you place in the oven for easy sliding.

Please note: I preheated my oven at 425 degrees for one hour with my pizza stone. I pre-bake the crust for 5-7 minutes.  I then topped my pizza and grilled it at 450 degrees for until the crust was golden and the cheese had melted perfectly.

Toppings:

Sautéed some spinach in a teaspoon of olive oil and a pat of butter. Just wilted, remove and top the pizza crust.

Add crispy cooked bacon to the top.

Added boccaccini  mozzarella and several cherry tomatoes as well as chopped larger tomatoes.

— Knead to Cook

Whole wheat BLT Pizza.

by Filed Under: Pizza 2 Comments

BLT pizza?  YES!  My version omits the “L” and substitutes it with “S” for spinach that we grew in our garden.  So well-received by my family!  The crust is light and crunchy, the sauce is made from freshly roasted tomatoes, spinach from the garden and bacon.  What more can you ask for?

Pizza Dough Ingredients:
1 c whole wheat flour (I use King Arthurs)
1.5 c all purpose unbleached flour (King Arthur)
2 and 1/4 tsp of yeast
1/2 tsp of sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cornmeal, for sprinkling

Directions:

Mix the sugar into the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Then sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Pour into your mixer bowl. Then add flours, salt and olive oil. Combine. Knead the dough (with your mixer attach the dough hook) for 8 minutes. Then place the dough in a bowl that has been sprayed with a nonstick olive oil spray. Let rise for one hour.

Punch down. Then divide the dough in half. Turn out onto a flour surface and roll until you achieve the desired thickness. This crust is great rolled out really thin.  I then prick the dough with a fork all over the surface.  Brush olive oil on top and sprinkle with your favorite pizza herbs (I use a mix of Italian seasonings).  Bake for about 5-7 minutes or until lightly golden.  Remove and top with sauce and your favorite toppings. Sprinkle the cornmeal onto your peel before you place in the oven for easy sliding.

Please note: I preheated my oven at 425 degrees for one hour with my pizza stone. I pre-bake the crust for 5-7 minutes.  I then bake the topped pizza for an additional 8-10 or until the cheese is perfectly melted.  Keep an eye on it, of course so it you get the desired crunchiness that you prefer.

Sauce Ingredients:

4 lbs of tomatoes, washed and quartered
Olive oil for drizzling
1 tablespoon of salt (or less)
8-12 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 teaspoons of Italian seasonings
Freshly ground pepper
15 fresh basil leaves

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees.  Spray the bottom of a roasting pan with olive oil.  Then add your tomatoes to the pan.  Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasonings.  Add the garlic cloves.  Drizzle the olive oil over top and toss with your hands.  Make sure everything is coated well.  Place in the oven and roast the tomatoes for 3-4 hours.  Then remove and add them, along with the pan drippings, to a Dutch oven along with your basil leaves.

Puree with your hand immersion blender.  Add additional seasonings as needed.  Top your favorite pasta or pizza and enjoy.

Toppings:

Cook 6 slices of bacon and crumble.

Spinach:  2 cups of fresh spinach, chopped. In a sauté pan, heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil and one pat of butter.  Once melted, sauté the spinach until just wilted.  Remove from heat and top the pizza.

Here is the order of toppings 🙂

Pre-cooked crust.
Sauce.
Cheese. (mozzarella, shredded or fresh buffalo mozzarella)
Bacon & spinach.

Cook the fully decked out pizza for 6-8 minutes or until everything is melted perfectly.

Enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

Roasted vegetable pizza.

by Filed Under: Pizza, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

Roasted veggie pizza with fresh buffalo mozzarella was a huge hit.  Love roasted veggies!  Everything can be prepped ahead of time and then assembled and baked in a preheated oven right before you wish to eat 🙂  Perfect weeknight, or weekend, meal.

For the roasted veggie portion of the meal – take whatever vegetables you have on hand.  Wash and slice them to about the same size (for similar cooking times).  Drizzle with olive oil and your favorite spices.  Place on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven (375 degrees) for about 30-40 minutes or until fork tender.  I fire-roasted my pepper on the grill stovetop.  You want them to get charred up.  Once nicely blackened, remove with tongs and set aside until completely cooled. Remove the charred skin and slice into strips.  Refrigerate your vegetables until you are ready to assemble your pizza.

Pizza dough ingredients:

1 c whole wheat flour (I use King Arthurs)
1.5 c all purpose unbleached flour (King Arthur)
2 and 1/4 tsp of yeast
1/2 tsp of sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cornmeal, for sprinkling

Pizza dough directions:

Mix the sugar into the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Then sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Pour into your mixer bowl. Then add flours, salt and olive oil. Combine. Knead the dough (with your mixer attach the dough hook) for 8 minutes. Then place the dough in a bowl that has been sprayed with a nonstick olive oil spray. Let rise for one hour.

Punch down. Then divide the dough in half. Turn out onto a flour surface and roll until you achieve the desired thickness. This crust is great rolled out really thin.  I then prick the dough with a fork all over the surface.  Brush olive oil on top and sprinkle with your favorite pizza herbs (I use a mix of Italian seasonings).  Bake for about 5-7 minutes or until lightly golden.  Remove and top with sauce and your favorite toppings. Sprinkle the cornmeal onto your peel before you place in the oven for easy sliding.

Please note: I preheated my oven at 425 degrees for one hour with my pizza stone. I pre-bake the crust for 5-7 minutes.  I then bake the topped pizza for an additional 8-10 or until the cheese is perfectly melted.  Keep an eye on it, of course so it you get the desired crunchiness that you prefer.

— Knead to Cook

Whole wheat pizza crust.

by Filed Under: Pizza, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

In our house, Friday night is pizza night – especially during Lent.  Tonight was certainly no different.  Here’s one of my pizza crust recipes that I love.

Ingredients:
1 c whole wheat flour (I use King Arthurs)
1.5 c all purpose unbleached flour (King Arthur)
2 and 1/4 tsp of yeast
1/2 tsp of sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cornmeal, for sprinkling

Directions:

Mix the sugar into the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Then sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Pour into your mixer bowl. Then add flours, salt and olive oil. Combine. Knead the dough (with your mixer attach the dough hook) for 8 minutes. Then place the dough in a bowl that has been sprayed with a nonstick olive oil spray. Let rise for one hour.

Punch down. Then divide the dough in half. Turn out onto a flour surface and roll until you achieve the desired thickness. This crust is great rolled out really thin.  I then prick the dough with a fork all over the surface.  Brush olive oil on top and sprinkle with your favorite pizza herbs (I use a mix of Italian seasonings).  Bake for about 5-7 minutes or until lightly golden.  Remove and top with sauce and your favorite toppings. Sprinkle the cornmeal onto your peel before you place in the oven for easy sliding.

Please note: I preheated my oven at 425 degrees for one hour with my pizza stone. I pre-bake the crust for 5-7 minutes.  I then bake the topped pizza for an additional 8-10 or until the cheese is perfectly melted.  Keep an eye on it, of course so it you get the desired crunchiness that you prefer.

— Knead to Cook

Whole Wheat homemade pizza.

by Filed Under: Pizza, Vegetarian 6 Comments

 

Every Friday, typically without fail, I make pizza for my family.  Everyone enjoys it and making it fresh is so much better than going out or delivery.  I put a healthier spin on it because I use whole wheat flour.  I’m a huge advocate of my kids participating in the kitchen – seeing how food is made and adding a bit of their own creativity to the mix.  If you prepare the dough… they can top it with whatever they like or just experiment with different seasonings, veggies etc.

    • Ingredients: 1 c whole wheat flour
      1.5 c all purpose flour
      1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast
      1/2 tsp of sugar
      1/2 teaspoon salt
      1 cup warm water
      1 tablespoon olive oil
      cornmeal, for sprinklingDirections:Mix the sugar into the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Then sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Pour into your mixer bowl. Then add flour, salt and olive oil. Combine. Knead the dough (with your mixer attach the dough hook) for 8 minutes. Then place the dough in a bowl that has been sprayed with a nonstick olive oil spray. Let rise for one hour. Punch down. Then divide the dough in half. Turn out onto a flour surface and roll until you achieve the desired thickness. This crust is great rolled out really thin. Top with sauce and your favorite toppings. Sprinkle the cornmeal onto your peel before you place in the oven for easy sliding. Please note: I preheated my oven at 500 degrees for one hour with my pizza stone. I baked for 10-12 minutes. Keep an eye on it, of course so it you get the desired crunchiness that you prefer. If you don’t have a pizza stone, turn the temp down in the oven to 425 and prebake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove and then top with sauce/toppings. Return the pizza back to the oven for another 10-18 minutes.

— Knead to Cook