.:cauliflower pizza:.

per usual, i started this blog post a few weeks ago, but a few things came up that prevented it from getting published (i.e. wedding planning, traveling)....either way, enjoy!

i am going to be completely honest, but as i am typing this healthy pizza recipe, i am eating a piece of greasy pizza from a hole-in-the-wall place here in St. Paul. drew has been busy with school all day and while i made a whole chicken and roasted veggies last night, i am not about to go to grocery shopping when i am gone for work all next week. so, pizza night it is. judge me. (p.s. if you haven't tried Checkerboard pizza, you are seriously missing out!).

ok, switching gears to healthy pizza - here we go!

>> 1 large cauliflower
>> 2 cloves garlic, minced
>> 2 eggs, lightly beaten
>> 4 oz mozzarella cheese (who actually measures out cheese when making pizza?!)
>> small can of pizza sauce (you can skip this or swap it for butter or spaghetti sauce)
>> 1/2 tsp onion powder (i used garlic salt, same diff, right?)
>> couple shakes of basil, oregano, salt and pepper
>> your favorite toppings - we chose sweet italian sausage (cooked via stovetop) mushrooms, tomatoes, feta cheese and more mozzarella cheese

chop cauliflower into chunks (removed most of the big stems) and microwave for 5 minutes to soften - i put the chunks in a pie dish with a little bit of water in the bottom to help steam. cool and put softened cauliflower in food processor or blender until it reaches the consistency of mashed potatoes - i added some EVOO to help! in medium bowl, stir mashed cauliflower with eggs, cheese and seasonings until well-mixed. spray a baking sheet and spread mixture on sheet, about 1/2 inch thick. bake at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. i baked the cauliflower crust alone for about 20 minutes and then added the toppings and bake for another 10 minutes (keep in mind, the sausage was already cooked). that's it!

i will be throwing this into the regular recipes because 1. i almost always have cauliflower (is that weird?) and 2. it is actually much easier than i expected! also, drew likes it and seriously, how often does one crave pizza? helpful tip - the crust should only be about 1/2 inch thick. i didn't have the right size pan so the mixture didn't cover my big pan, but was almost overflowing my small pan. of course, i went with the smaller pan and the crust turned out pretty mushy since it was about 1 1/2 inches thick - it still turned out great, we just ended up eating it with forks :)

before oven



after oven

 

 

always striving for more,

dee b.