Monday, September 28, 2009

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]]

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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.

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

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  • 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!

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12 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Interesting facts!! And a scrumptious pizza creation :)

Meghan said...

When I read "children ages 3-11 prefer this over all other foods for lunch and dinner" I thought "hmm well I prefer pizza" haha :)

This looks great! Love the wheat crust and all the veggies!

brandi said...

great recipe!

I love making my own crust :) so good!

Anonymous said...

Wow, you make baking your own pizza sound easy, but that DOUGH gives me a headache. More specifically, working with yeast (they kinda scare me). I am totally with you on this whole issue. Eating pizza out is definitely less healthy AND MORE boring!!!! I love being able to swithch up toppings to make 'em fun and nutritious. (I love seafood on my pizza! hahaha) Lovin' this post Cas!

Krista said...

I'm scared to try making my own pizza rust, but this sounds easy! Do you think I could make it in advance and refrigerate it?

Faith said...

Wow, 23 lbs? I had no idea! I love how delicious and healthy your pizza looks with all the veggies!

Anonymous said...

Great pizzas, I just love em.

Taylor

Jenny said...

haha why was I thinking peanut butter? I obviously have a one track mind.

pizza is so perfect.. you got your carbs, your veggies, your cheese.. yahoo :)!

Kim said...

Your pizza looks so professional and colorful - delicious! I love making pizzas at home. They are good for cleaning out the fridge and making a meal that everyone loves. Great post.

Erica said...

ow! I will have to celebrate :) We're doing grilled pizza flat breads on Thursday (first day of October)- so that works perfectly

Anonymous said...

AH! I LOVE pizza! My fave toppings: pineapple, figs, prosciutto, goat cheese, feta, mushrooms, broccoli, arugula and more cheese, cheese, cheese! :D

Anonymous said...

Your pizza dough recipe is sooo good, thanks for sharing! We had company in town last weekend, so me and my two kids, 4 and 7, whipped up 2 batches of the dough (the kids loved making it!) and we made personal pan sized crusts for everyone to top as they please. It was a hit and we will be making our pizzas at home from now own. Thank you so much!