Zucchini Crust Pizza

I know I've posted something similar in the past, but this one is definitely a keeper especially with the need to conserve flour lately. It's also Keto friendly, but I ended up using 1/2 cup of regular flour because I didn't have coconut flour (which is said to be the most absorbative to handle the wetness of zucchini). It only takes 2 cups of zucchini, but takes 3 eggs-so make sure you're willing to use up your eggs for this one. It also takes 16oz of shredded mozerella, but we are well supplied with our cheeses (did you know they freeze well?). :)  For the toppings, I actually used 3 cheese spaghetti sauce and chicken, mushroom and onion. For the crust, I also sprinkled semolina on the pan and preheated a stone pizza pan in advance. It take about an hour and 15 minutes if you follow the steps of pre-heat (30min), crust bake (20min)  then the pizza itself (20min). So worth it! Zucchini grows like wildfire here in Colorado, so I have a feeling, I'll hold on to this recipe and keep making it over and over in the next few months. [I've already made it twice in 2 weeks!]

https://www.wholesomeyum.com/zucchini-pizza-crust-recipe-low-carb/

Purple Cauliflower Pizza Crust

The hubby bought purple cauliflower so I wanted to do something special. I found a Pinterest recipe for a cauliflower crust with goat cheese added. I topped it with steak cubes, onions and mushrooms. It turned out super yummy but I will probably not add salt to anything to mellow it out. Definitely will be making again...maybe with orange cauliflower next time :)

https://domesticblissreport.wordpress.com/2013/05/25/purple-cauliflower-pizza-crust/amp/

Basic Pizza Dough (Stand Mixer)

One of my "fears" has been making bread from scratch, which got magnified when moving to Colorado. I always used excuses, like "I need a Kitchenaid". Well, the hubby helped out with that part and now after some reading and advice from forums on the internet, I decided to start with pizza dough. It turned out really well and the hubby stated several times that it was "the best pizza dough he'd ever tasted". Yay! I couldn't have done it without the "Stand Mixer Bible" and helpful hints from the internet.

1. package active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp salt
Optional-cornmeal (I opted out of this one)

1. In a bowl, stir together yeast, water and sugar. Let stand until yeast begins to form, 3-4 minutes.[I put my mixing bowl in a sinkful of hot water prior, per a google tip.] Stir in oil.
2. Place flour and salt in the mixer bowl. Attach the flat beater and mixer bowl to the mixer. Set to speed 2 and mix until salt is blended evenly into the flour. Quickly pour in yeast mixture and mix until a dough forms.
3. Remove the flat beater and attach the dough hook. Set to speed 2 and knead until dough is smooth and elastic and cleans the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes. Remove the mixer bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. [I turned the oven on 225 for about 5 minutes then turned if off just prior to getting started on this recipe then used the oven as the "warm draft-free place.]
4. Place pizza stone or tiles on oven rack and preheat oven to 450 F.
5. Uncover dough and punch down several times to work out air bubbles. Turn out onto a floured work surface and cut in half. As you work with the first piece of dough, keep the other covered.Roll one piece of dough into a 12-inch round. Transfer to peel or baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Open the oven door and place the front edge of the peel at the back edge of the stone. Tilt the peel slightly and pull it back toward you, transferring the dough to the stone. Bake for about 2 minutes, or until the dough has firmed up. To retrieve the dough, slide the peel under it, scooping it up. Repeat with the second piece of dough. [I used a 16" pizza pan, but next time I'll use the 12" suggestion because the hubby prefers a thin crust. The 16" turned out like a hand-tossed.]

Pizza with Swiss Chard and Bacon

So the hubby bought me a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer for Valentines Day and I immediately bought "The Mixer Bible". It's been my goal since we moved here to Colorado to conquer Bread and dough recipes that require yeast. A separate blog will be posted about the pizza dough, but for this piece I want to focus on the toppings. After the hubby's trip to the grocery store, I find that we have a refrigerator full of various greens, including chards. Usually I cook them up with lemon juice, onions and mushrooms, but today we asked the question--"Can you put Chards on pizza?" So I looked to google and found out that chards and bacon make great toppings together on pizza. Earlier today we had also purchased pepper bacon at the deli. In addition, I had some hamburger meat, and added yellow onions and cremini mushrooms as well as a red pepper alfredo sauce I already had on hand. I made a 16" pizza and sprinkled mozzarella on top. It turned out more like a pie or a hand-tossed crust because the recipe was actually for (2) 12" pizzas. We usually prefer thin crust, but the hubby said it was the "best pizza toppings and crust" he had ever had. Success!!

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pizza-with-swiss-chard-and-bacon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0778804666/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1