I like a lot of variety in our meal planning and won’t fix the same thing twice for months and months, until it comes to pizza.  I never get tired of pizza. Ever.  This could be the single most dangerous thing to my fitness goals.  I’ve tried cauliflower crust pizza; it’s gross.   If I’m serious about fitness and have to have a pizza, I’ll put sauce, turkey pepperoni, veggies, and cheese on a Joseph’s pita.  That’s the only thing that is close enough for me.

There’s nothing as good as a soft homemade pizza crust.  I have the best recipe and I’m wiling to share. 

I like to put my toppings on top of the cheese.  I noticed that commercial pizzas are like that and the flavors meld better for me that way.  It works really well with greasy toppings like sausage and pepperoni and moist vegetables.  It helps the water evaporate during baking and not leave soggy puddles.

Chicken breast is a different story.

It’s already so dry that putting it on top just makes it dryer.  Next time it will be sauce, chicken, cheese, veggies.  Live and Learn.

Pizza Dough

Makes 2 large (15″) crusts

1 2/3 cup warm water

1 Tbs yeast

1 Tbs Olive Oil

2 Tbs Honey

2 cups Hard White Wheat Flour

1 tsp salt

2 cups Flour (either whole wheat or unbleached all-purpose)

In a mixer combine water and yeast.  Let stand long enough for the yeast to soften.  Stir in olive oil, honey, and 2 cups of flour.  Let rest (sponge) for 15 minutes.  This is important–it develops the structure of the dough and makes it easier to handle.  After 15 minutes, beat in salt and additional flour.  Knead for 5-8 minutes, then let rise for 30-60 minutes.  The longer you let it rest, the easier it will roll out.  Unrested dough tends to spring back into a ball.

You can also make this dough in the bread machine.  If you have time delay you can start it in the morning and the dough will be ready to roll out by dinner time. Put these ingredients  in this order:  water, oil, honey, salt, flour, and yeast on top.  Start the dough setting.

Divide dough into two balls.  I like to roll mine out onto greased pizza stones.  I know that’s technically wrong, but it works really well.  Once you have the toppings on, bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

1 jar, 16 oz, alfredo sauce  (or homemade equivalent)

8 oz chicken breast, cooked and shredded

1 tomato, seeded and chopped

1/2 red onion, sliced

4 cups spinach

1 tsp minced garlic

12 oz Mozzarella Cheese

Olive Oil

Garlic Salt

To make my chicken, I sprinkled it all over with garlic salt and put it in the slow cooker on low with 1/2 cup of water for 4 hours.  By dinner time it was ready to shred with two forks on a cutting board.

Meanwhile, gentle heat olive oil in a skillet. Saute onion and garlic until fragrant, then add spinach and cook just until wilted.

Top crust with Alfredo sauce, then chicken, then mozzarella cheese, then tomato, spinach and onion.  Brush the crust with olive oil or melted butter and lightly sprinkle with garlic salt.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or utnil cheese is golden brown.