Did somebody say Pizza?!

PizzaBar

   I've been craving pizza lately and wanted to find a healthier, gluten free pizza crust recipe that wasn't too complicated. Low and behold I found one! Not only is it gluten free, healthier then normal crust, but it's paleo approved! Since I can't eat things with gluten in them it throws out a lot of things you "can't" eat while eating paleo. So, Mike and I are testing out some paleo recipes and seeing how it goes. I'm still eating yogurt and cheese but I'm trying to see if I can cut out the legumes, rice, and corn. That's going to be hard because when I first started going gluten free those were yummy carbs that I could still eat. However, I'm going to see how it goes and see how I feel. Now, if I'm out at a BBQ, party, etc. and those items are there I'm not necessarily going to avoid them but I'll try and pick some alternatives as best I can. :)

Non gluten free pizzas

<--These turned into, these-->


Ok... back to the pizza! We had our friends Regina and Antonio over for dinner so I came up with the idea of having a pizza bar. Everyone likes their pizza's dressed up differently so I wanted to give everyone that chance to make it just the way they like it. I had Flatout bread for those who didn't want to experiment with the gluten free/paleo options.  I also made an almond flour pizza crust and let me just say it was DELICIOUS! It calls for 2 cups of almond flour and I couldn't find my 1 cup measuring cup so I used my 1/2 cup and forgot I did so when I put in the "2 cups" of flour and started stirring it didn't seam thick enough so I started to slowly add more flour. However, then I reread the recipe and realized that I had been using the 1/2 cup instead of the 1 cup so of course my measurements were off! Oops! It still turned out so good but I think next time if I followed it correctly it may have not been as crispy. I found the recipe here and it looked flavorful and very simple. And it was!

Everyday Paleo Pizza

Crust:

2 cups almond meal

2 eggs

3 tbsp olive oil

¼ tsp baking soda

1 tsp garlic powder (I used more because I love garlic!)

1 ½ tbsp fresh rosemary chopped (I used dried rosemary because it's what I had... and I used more!)

Preheat your oven to 350. Using a spoon mix all crust ingredients together until it becomes very thick.  Using your hands, form the dough into a ball.  Lightly grease a pizza pan or a cookie sheet with olive oil.  Place the ball of dough in the center of your cookie sheet or pizza pan and using your hands, push and pat the dough down into the shape of a circle (or an oval in my case…).  You want to make the dough as thin as possible.  Your pizza will be about 12 inches across.  Bake JUST the crust in your pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.  While your crust is cooking, prepare your toppings.  If you use sausage like we did, this is when you should crumble it into a large saute pan and brown.  After the crust if done, remove from the oven and evenly spread the marinara sauce over the crust.  Add the sausage and all remaining toppings evenly over the sauce and bake again for an additional 25-30 minutes.  Get creative and use whatever toppings you might like – ours was great but I also suggest trying chicken, artichoke hearts, and even broccoli!!  Go wild with it and as always: Enjoy!

I also chose to make a cauliflower crust. Yes you heard me right...cauliflower! Before you stop reading and say "Kendayl that is disgusting" just wait. I was terrified to try it especially with friends coming over but I tried it anyway. I'm so glad I tried it because it was INCREDIBLE! Of course it doesn't taste like regular pizza crust but my golly it was tasty! It had so much flavor, it was moist, easy to make, and so light! I could have eaten the whole pizza if I was dared to but I wanted to be polite for our "guests". (ha sike!) I found the recipe here.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

-Just use a cheese grater to “grate” your cauliflower into very small pieces. You can grate a whole large head of cauliflower and make two 9-inch pizzas.

 -Microwave those cauliflower crumbles for 8 minutes. No water or anything needed. Just microwave it for 8 minutes to soften it up, and then let it cool a little bit.  See the recipe below for how to proceed if you do not have a microwave.

-Mix 1 1/2 cups of the cauliflower crumbles with egg, cheese and spices. (I used mozzarella, but imagine using different varieties of cheeses in the crust! Yum!)

Use your hands to make it flat and into a pizza shape

Mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, and spinach

-Shape it into a 9 to 12-inch round. Bake the crust. Top it with desired sauce and toppings.


Like I said I was reluctant to try something new with an American favorite but I'm so glad I did! Obviously it isn't the same as real greasy, yummy pizza crust BUT it's an awesome alternative and you get full and you won't feel guilty afterwards!


Any good recipe alternatives you've tried? Let me know!




bushel and a peck, 
K