Pizza Zucchini Boats

Zucchini, you have become one of my all time favorite foods. Zucchini chips are a staple in my diet. I recently fell in love with a cheesy tomato zucchini bake. I have always loved my grandmother's zucchini bread. And I keep finding new ways to use this delicious green squash. What better way to make pizza healthy than with zucchini?

Ingredients:
zucchini
Italian seasoning, optional
pizza sauce
mozzarella (or parmesan or cheddar or whatever cheese like best)
toppings (pepperonis, peppers, onions, mushrooms, basil, etc.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 360 degrees.

Cut the zucchinis in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds in the center with a spoon. Season with Italian seasoning, if desired. You could also use garlic powder, onion powder, or oregano.

Spoon the pizza sauce into the zucchini boats. You could also you marinara sauce, tomato sauce, or even chopped tomatoes for an even healthier version. Sprinkle with cheese and add toppings.

Place on a greased cookie sheet for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Zucchini Recipes
Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake
Zucchini Chips 2.0
Parmesan Zucchini Bites

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Cauliflower pizza crust is the best thing ever invented and I don't even like cauliflower. I made this recipe more out of curiosity than anything else. Dough out of cauliflower? Really? Yep, really. I have no desire to ever go back to regular pizza crust, it's that good--and healthy! No more guilt about eating pizza! Huzzah! But in the spirit of full disclosure, the crust doesn't get as crisp as regular pizza crust. You can pick up the pizza slices, but it's better to eat it with a fork.

Now, I didn't tell Eric the crust was made from cauliflower (he would have decided he didn't like it before even trying it). He said the pizza wasn't his favorite, but that's more my fault than the crust's fault. I made the crust too thin for his liking and used too much sauce (however, I love lots of sauce). But he never guessed that the crust wasn't made from flour. Both his parents really liked the pizza too--his dad requested more pepperonis though (I guess I need to work on my pizza making skills).

Recipe adapted from here. My recipe makes two cookie sheet pizzas.

Yummy!

*************Update 1/17/15**************

After experimenting with this recipe I now prefer the one below. However, the original recipe is still at the bottom of the bag.

New Recipe
Ingredients:
3 cups cooked cauliflower rice
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Pizza toppings

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and grease with cooking spray.

Cut the cauliflower into florets and place into food processor. Process until the cauliflower looks like rice or grains. Transfer cauliflower rice to the a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on High for 8 minutes.

Allow rice to cool until rice is cool enough to handle. Place rice in a tea towel or paper towel and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. (The more liquid you remove, the crispier your crust will be).

In a bowl, mix together rice, egg, mozzarella, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and salt. Combine well.

Using your hands, flatten the dough on the cookie sheet. You want to make a fairly thin crust.

Bake for 12 minutes or until crust browns.

Remove from the oven and put pizza toppings on pizza. Bake for another 10 to 12 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Enjoy!

Old Recipe
Ingredients:
3 cups cooked cauliflower rice
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 eggs
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder

pizza sauce, cheese, and desired pizza toppings (all toppings must be cooked beforehand)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

To make cauliflower rice you need one whole head of cauliflower. Remove the stem and leaves then coarsely chop the florets.

Coarsely chopped

Put the florets in a food processor and pulse until the cauliflower looks like rice or grain. My head of cauliflower yielded about six cups. I froze the leftovers.

Uncooked cauliflower rice

 Microwave the 3 cups of rice for 8 minutes on high power.

While the rice is still hot, mix it with cheese and eggs until well combined. (Don't worry, it doesn't cook the eggs). Stir in spices.

Spray your cookie pan with cooking spray. Using your hands, flatten the dough on the cookie sheet. You want to make a fairly thin crust.

DO NOT use tin foil on the cookie sheet! I quickly learned my lesson. Even with cooking spray, the crust sticks.

 Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust browns on top.

All pretty and browned

Remove from the oven and add your sauce, cheese, and toppings. Turn the oven to broil and place the crust back in the oven for about 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

I can't wait to play some more with this recipe. I want to try to make the crust on a pizza stone to see if I can make it a little crisper. I might even experiment some more with the rice-egg-cheese ratio. To make the ultimate healthy pizza, I'm going to combine this recipe with my ricotta, basil, and sun-dried tomato pizza. I also can't wait to make garlic sticks out of it, try it with different spices, and make broccoli rice!

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Healthy Cauliflower Recipes
Roasted Cauliflower Popcorn
Basic Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

Ricotta, Basil, and Sun-Dried Tomato Pizza

Eric needs to have pizza for dinner at least once a week--frozen pizza, Hungry Howie's pizza (with garlic butter and Cajun crust), Little Caesar's Hot and Ready pizza, homemade pizza, it doesn't matter. If he had his way, we'd eat it almost every night, only punctuated with orange chicken from Panda Express. I, on the other hand, would be happy with pizza just once a month. Don't get me wrong, I love pizza, but it's not so kind to the waistline. Eric possesses a metabolism that would make a supermodel jealous. I, however, certainly do not, especially not now that I'm in my 30s. This is why I like homemade pizza best. Half the pizza can be mozzarella, tomato sauce and pepperoni and the other half can be ricotta, basil and sun-dried tomatoes!

The old versus the old:

Eric is a pizza traditionalist--mozzarella , pepperonis and that's it. I like mixing things up.

Ingredients:

1 package Jiffy pizza dough mix (you could also use a pre-made crust)
3-4 gloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
(I use my own homemade sun-dried tomatoes)
1 cup fat free ricotta cheese
½ cup part-skim mozzarella cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
5-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
½ cup red onions, sliced

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 12-inch pizza pan.

Prepare Jiffy mix. In a medium bowl, add pizza dough mix and ½ cup hot tap water. Stir until well combined. Cover with a towel and let set for five minutes in a warm place. Knead the dough several times on a floured board. Grease your fingers and press dough on the bottom and sides of your pan. Bake dough for 2 to 3 minutes before adding toppings. 

Mix ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan together in a bowl; set aside. 

Scatter your garlic and sun-dried tomatoes evenly across the crust. Spread the cheese mixture over top (if you put your sun-dried tomatoes on top of the cheese, they’ll burn). Sprinkle basil leaves and red onions over the top of the pizza. Cook for 18 to 20 minutes or until the crust turn a golden brown.

Enjoy!

~Krissy