Pizza Sauce

I love pizza.  It is my great vice in this world.  According to most cooking forums the key to pizza sauce is tomato sauce, tomato paste, a dash of sugar and then any other italian-y spices you can think of.  After looking over lots of ideas, I came up with this:

When Hubby got home, I told him to try the pizza and tell me what he thought of the sauce:
Him: I really like your sauce.
Me: Really?
Him: Yes.
Me: Enough to keep me around?
Him: Yes.
Me: Enough to buy me a great present?
Him: Yes.
Me: Enough to father my offspring?
Him: I already did that.
Me: And all future offs that I may spring?
Him: Yes.

It’s the positive feedback I get that keeps me going. : )

Homemade Pizza Sauce

• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1/2 Tbs. oregano
• 1/2 Tbs. basil
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder

Put both tomato products in a mixing bowl, blend together till you have an even consistency.  Add spices one at a time, stirring at each addition.

Kim’s notes:  This recipe makes enough sauce for 2 normal homemade pizzas, with a little left over. If you don’t use lots of sauce on your pizza it might even stretch to three pizzas. If you’re only making one pizza at a time, the sauce can be stored in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for longer.  Also would make a great dip for bread sticks.

Ideas for making pizza healthier:
Homemade pizza is a great way to get the flavor we love, while controlling some of the fat/calories.  I used turkey pepperoni and was so impressed with it that I may never go back.   The flavor was great and there were no pools of grease sitting on top after baking.  I will say that the texture wasn’t like normal pepperoni, but it wasn’t bad either.  It also helps to use a very fine shredded cheese – it covers the pizza but with lots of holes so it isn’t as thick of a cheese layer.

Chicken Fajita Pizza

This is one recipe that I’d recommend to anyone, even if you don’t like peppers, it’s incredible.

Make it pizza style, or just use the meat mixture for amazing burritos, tacos, or taco salads and it is sure to please.

Chicken Fajita Pizza

• 2 chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and cut to bite-size pieces
• 1/2 large onion sliced
• 1 c. sliced yellow pepper (yellow is my preference, but you could use others)
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbs chili powder
• 1 Tbs fresh cilantro (I use a bit more because we love it)
• 1 pizza crust (prepared or that you make yourself)
• 1 can refried beans (non-fat)

Saute chicken until outsides are cooked. Add all vegetables and garlic to chicken and cook until the onions and peppers are softened. Add cilantro and chili powder, mix well and let simmer a few minutes. Meanwhile prepare pizza crust by spreading a layer of refried beans over it as a “sauce.” Top beans with the meat and veggie mixture, then bake according to crust directions.

This is a lactose-free recipe, but if desired you can top the finished pizza with sour cream and/or cheese.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

This is an absolute favorite in our house.  Yesterday the hubster told me that it is up there right with the pizza he gets at his favorite pizza place - that is quite an honor since this throw together pizza is something that I just thought of one day, and is crazy easy.

I love to impress my man.

This recipe, is really just more of an idea, that you can change up according to your tastes:

BBQ Chicken Pizza

• 1-3 cooked and shredded chicken breasts (amount really depends on the size of your pizza and your own taste preferences)
• 1-2 c grated mozzarella cheese
• fresh cilantro, chopped
• thinly sliced onions (white or red)
• Your favorite BBQ sauce
• pizza crust (my naan recipe works great, or you can buy pre-made crusts)

Cook and shred chicken early. I generally boil mine since the sauce gives it plenty of moisture. Put the shredded chicken in a ziplock bag with lots of cilantro (use lots here because it sticks to the side of the bag and you lose some) and lightly drizzle it with BBQ sauce. Shake bag until the chicken is coated. Just use a little, so that it gets on the chicken, but not so that it is sopping. Refrigerate until ready to cook pizza.

When you're ready, either make the crust from scratch, buy a Boboli or those packet crusts. I've used all of these options and they all turn out fine so do whatever works best for you.

Once crust is prepared, spread the BBQ sauce over it. This doesn't have to be a heavy layer since BBQ sauce can be quite strong and salty. Cover crust with cheese, then add the thin onion slices and chicken. Add more fresh cilantro over the top and lightly sprinkle with additional cheese if you wish.
Bake according to crust directions.

*Kim's notes: To cut back on fat and calories, I will often load my pizza with toppings, then sprinkle a little cheese over everything (the pictured pizza was made that way).

Just like with all pizza, toppings are up to you. Some fresh pineapple goes great on this, mushrooms, or some peppers if your family likes them.  For yesterday's pizza I caramelized the onions ahead of time, and added spinach too.  It was heavenly.

Chicken Caesar Pizza

HoLEE COW!

I've been seeing a lot of recipes lately for pizzas with lettuce toppings.  Not wanting to be left out of the loop, I thought I'd give Chicken Caesar Pizza a go.

I did it begrudgingly.  I blame food blog peer pressure.

However, despite my reservations going into this project, this pizza is a new favorite of mine.  My hubby was late coming home from work and he's lucky that I saved him some it was so good.

Like most of my recipes, you can make this as health conscious or as fatty as you want - I took it the healthier route and used my Naan Recipe for the crust and my Caesar Dressing for the sauce.  I recommend those since that's the taste I had last night that knocked my socks off, but if you don't have the time for all that, then any prepared pizza crust or dressing will do the trick.

Let's take a look at what you're going for without the lettuce barrier:

Beautiful, huh?  Okay, here's the idea...

Chicken Caesar Pizza

• Pizza crust (prepared or homemade, I used my Naan recipe)
• Caesar dressing (mine was incredible for this and can be found HERE)
• Shredded chicken (amount depends on preference, the pizza pictured has about 1 1/2 breasts worth of meat)
• Tomato, sliced very thin (light should shine through thin - this will make it become a part of the sauce, if you want more tomatoes you can chunk them and add them later)
• Spinach, shredded (about 1/4 cup or more according to taste)
• Onion, thinly sliced
• Mozzerella Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese
• Romaine lettuce, torn

Beforehand, shred the chicken and seal it in an air tight bag with enough dressing to coat the chicken.  Let chill in the fridge until it's time to cook.  Prepare crust according to its directions.  Smear crust with Caesar dressing, then lay the thin tomato slices on top of the sauce.  Next lay down the spinach and onion slices.  Top veggies with the prepared chicken, then cover everything with the two cheeses (if you're trying to save on calories, use a fine shredded cheese and keep it light).

Bake according to the directions for your pizza crust (mine baked at 350 for about 12 minutes).

Remove pizza from oven, top with torn lettuce and additional dressing if desired.

Pizza with Naan Crust

Naan pizza is a fantastic way to “healthify” a favorite comfort food of mine.  Naan is oil free, I use turkey pepperoni, and went light on the cheese, giving me ALL of the glorious taste without grease puddles to mop up.  Heaven!

To try this: Make Naan as directed (recipe HERE), but break it up only into 3 sections.  Roll them out, place on a sprayed cookie sheet for the second rising.  After the second rising, top dough with your favorite pizza ingredients, and bake at 350 degrees for 11 minutes (or as long as it takes to cook through and lightly brown the edges).