Pizza, Pizza!

Ever since Ellie was born, Nathan & I have been making changes to our diet & lifestyles. After getting married, we've both put on weight & aren't as active as we both previously were. Towards the end of my pregnancy with Ellie, it was way too easy to just pick up food from some fast food place since I was on bedrest. We've been doing pretty good at our changes; Nathan even gave up caffeine! He hasn't had any since Ellie's birth. I'm proud of him! Soda is definitely my down fall-- I am a Dr. Pepper lover & some days that's what it takes to get me through the day. I have cut back significantly though! We enjoy going on family walks, we'll usually walk a few miles unless Ellie is just too cranky. Since I'm all healed from giving birth, I'm able to do more strenuous work-outs than I have been the past 7 weeks. It feels good to be getting back on track!

I came from a family where my mom cooked every single night & I never had any interest in learning or a desire to do what she did for us. I can cook, but usually don't enjoy it very much. Nathan, however, really, really enjoys experimenting with ingredients & we've had some interesting meals as well as some really good ones! I really wish I enjoyed cooking more, but I just don't. I'd rather clean than cook. But, finding good & healthy recipes has helped me to enjoy it more-- especially when we shop & make the meal together.

A couple weeks ago, a friend posted a pizza idea she came up with using frozen roll dough as the crust & I thought "DUH!" That would be so easy, fun & you can make pizza healthy.

So, yesterday for lunch, I made my version of the mini pizzas!

I hate store bought sauces.. I'm a snob when it comes to them. I grew up on home made marinara & pizza sauce so, here's the recipe. I promise you'll never buy pre-made again. Or those silly little seasoning packets that are just packed with lots of sodium.

Pizza Sauce

1 small can of Tomato Paste

1/3 cup of Olive Oil

2/3 cup of Water

1 tsp Crushed Garlic

Italian Seasoning

Parsley

Oregano

Basil

Original Mrs. Dash

Onion Powder 

Small pinch of Sugar

In a deep pan, pour your Olive Oil over medium heat, add Garlic. Once Garlic starts to sizzle, add Tomato Paste & work it into the Garlic & Olive Oil. Add Water. Mix well. Add spices. Stir.

I don't measure so those are just approximations. Next time, I will probably add more water to thin the sauce more because I personally don't like thick pizza sauce.  I also did not add Sugar, all it does is take away some acidity... I don't think it tastes bad without it.

** I actually didn't have fresh Garlic this time, so I just used Garlic Powder**

I have a good crust recipe from my mom, but with a 16 month old & a 2 month old, dinner time creeps up on me & making crust usually doesn't happen. Once again, since I was brought up on homemade pizza crust, I'm a snob & hate store bought crust. Nasty! So, I used whole wheat sandwich thins & it was GOOD!

These actually give you 3 different options as far as crust goes. I'm kinda spacey sometimes & didn't realize that these were two thin slices stuck together, so I didn't separate them when I made the first batch pizzas. Nathan noticed it after they were out of the oven & we were dishing them up onto plates. It still worked because the two insides baked together in the oven. (roughly 10 minutes).

Looks like one piece of bread right? Nope... its actually 2!

As you can see, it's topped with yellow bell pepper, pepperoni & a 5 italian cheese mix-- I like to use this because it adds more depth of flavor than just Mozzarella. Just my opinion though.

The next round of pizzas, I separated the thins for a "thin crust" style.

The third crust, Nathan actually came up with. He took the two thin pieces & put cheese in between for a "stuffed crust" version. I don't have a picture because I was to busy eating it =) But, I'm sure if you use your imagination, you can picture it.

John loves pizza & had a blast eating them. He loved that they were his size & of course, smeared sauce all over himself!

John thinks it super funny to to let his drink dribble out of his mouth... He always acts so shocked whenever he does it!

Isn't he such a cheeser?! He had 2 baths yesterday. One before lunch & one after lol. 

Since, I mentioned how I'm a sauce snob, I'll share my family's marinara recipe. Straight from Italy!

Marinara Sauce

1 small can Tomato Paste

2 Large cans of Crushed Tomatoes or Tomato Puree (or one of each... it depends on how smooth you like your sauce)

1-2 tsp of crushed Garlic

1 Onion (I despise onions so I use onion powder instead)

1/2 Cup of Olive Oil

1/2 Cup White Cooking Wine

A dash of Crushed Red Pepper 

A couple dashes of Original Mrs. Dash

Basil

Oregano

Parsley

2 Bay Leaves (I only add if I'm going to let the sauce simmer for a few hours)

Pinch of Black Pepper & Salt (I always omit the salt)

In a large pot over medium heat, add Olive Oil, Garlic & Onion. Once sizzling, add Tomato Paste & work that into the Garlic, Onion & Olive Oil. Add your two cans of Tomatoes. Stir well. Add White Cooking Wine. Stir. Add spices. Stir well. Reduce heat & let simmer.

Again... I don't measure. I learned by watching my mom dump spices... if I had to guess it'd be about a quarter cup of the Basil, Oregano & Parsley. More or less depending on your personal preference. It sounds like a lot, but I promise it all melds together & is delicious!

This makes quite a bit. I grew up in a family of 6 & we usually had left over sauce. The nice thing is that it freezes very well & is excellent to can too! 

If you want to half the recipe (I do this all the time when I decide last minute to make spaghetti for dinner), I omit the tomato paste since I don't want half a can sitting around. It tastes just the same... just slightly thinner in consistency. You can also double, triple, quadruple the recipe & its awesome. I actually made this, along with my home made meatballs for my best friends pre-wedding dinner for about 50 people. It was a hit & I gave away the sauce & meatball recipe to quite a few people! 

Meatballs

2 lbs of meat (hamburger, turkey, chicken, pork... it all works. I usually do 1 lb hamburger & 1 lb italian pork sausage)

1-2 eggs

1 piece of bread

A couple dashes of Cinnamon

Parmesan Cheese

Parsley

Oregano

Basil

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Original Mrs. Dash

In a Small bowl, beat eggs & tear up bread. Let soak for a few minutes. Add to your meat in a large bowl. With your hands, mix well. Add spices. Mix well. Form balls & place on a cookie sheet for baking.

I bake my meatballs at about 400 degrees for around 45 minutes I believe. I just keep an eye on them & pull them out when they look done. You may also fry them in a pan of oil. I always add some meatballs to the sauce & let them simmer for a couple hours-- so good! These also freeze very well. 

Tonight, I'm making a BBQ chicken salad & whole wheat corn bread. I got the recipes from my friend, Alexis, who made these dishes for us after I had Ellie. I'll post the recipes & pics later =) I think we'll add some flax seed to the bread tonight! It is super yummy!