Healthy,Homemade,and Home baked

• 93% of Americans eat AT LEAST one of this per month.
• Each year, this food produces a $30 billion industry.
• Children ages 3-11 prefer this over all other foods for lunch and dinner, according to a recent Gallup Poll.
• Everyone in the United States eats about 23 lbs. of this every year.
• Americans eat approximately 100 acres of this EACH DAY.

What is it? Any guesses?

If you guessed pizza, you are right!

October is National Pizza Month, so I figured I’d give you a heads up beforehand!

Where else can you get all the food groups in one? Crust(grains),veggies,fruits(pineapple for me!), and fat(oil) in the crust.

Virtually all towns have either a mom&pop pizza shop or a chain pizza restaurant, so it’s one of those foods you never have to search too hard to find. Not surprising, since pizzerias represent 17% of all restaurants. (Source: Food Industry News) Check out the blogger on the quest to find the perfect slice here.

As far as topping go, I love veggies with pineapple, and if I do go with meat, I will choose ham or chicken. What is your favorite pizza topping? A few popular pizzas toppings are: Mushrooms, Extra cheese, Sausage, Green Pepper, and Onion. In the list of most popular pizza toppings in America, the last one is anchovies. Also new gourmet pizza toppings have rapidly became popular. Some of those toppings include: Chicken, Oysters, Crayfish, Dandelions, Sprouts, Eggplant, Cajun Shrimp, Artichoke Hearts, Venison, Duck, Canadian-Style Bacon and Tuna.

As far as eating out for pizza, I really like Pizza Hut’s Natural Pizza(check out my previous review here).

But who wants to order pizza out all the time? Not only can it get expensive, but it can get boring, and for me frozen pizzas aren’t an option—I don’t like em’ too much. So how about making your own from scratch? The dough, the sauce, and all the veggies hand chopped by you? Sounds too hard you say? Anyone can do this as long as you know how to assemble a pizza!

Fresh Veggie Pizza on Honey Whole Wheat Crust

[[Makes 1-12” pizza]]

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 1/8 tsp dry yeast
• 1/8 tsp sugar
• 3/4 c warm water (110)
• 1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c whole wheat flour
• 1/2  Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 Tbsp honey
• 1 1/4 tsp salt (I used kosher, but table salt is fine)

Sauce:

Makes 1 1/3 c

• 1/4 c fine chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 c vegetable broth or white wine, your choice
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 (14.5oz) can of crushed tomatoes, un-drained
• 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Toppings:

• Basically whatever you want to use! I used zucchini, onions, green peppers, olives, spinach, fresh basil, mushrooms, tomatoes and 3/4 c of cheddar cheese blend.

Directions:

Crust:

• Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, oil, and salt to yeast mixture, stirring until well-blended. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).
• Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Divide dough in half; roll each half into a 12-inch circle(or a square like me) on a floured surface. Top and bake according to recipe directions.

Sauce:

• Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic to pan; sauté 30 seconds. Stir in wine; cook 30 seconds. Add tomato paste, oregano, pepper, and tomatoes. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat; stir in basil and vinegar. Cool.

Assembly & Baking

• Preheat oven to 400 F. Once preheated, prick crust with a fork, then bake for about 8 minutes.

• Meanwhile, chop all your desired toppings and measure out your cheese.
• Take crust out and top with sauce. Then spread on toppings and cheese.

 

• Now just pop it in the oven for about 12 minutes, but just keep checking and take out when your desired pizza is reached!

Bon appétit!