Shrimp Flat Bread Pizza

On a recent rainy day, my little guy and I decided to make some pizza dough to use for making flat bread pizza that night. He came to the kitchen equipped with his work goggles and then enjoyed playing with the dough when it was all mixed and ready to rise. We had a lot of fun, and ended up making our best ever homemade pizza!

Shrimp Flat Bread Pizza

Ingredients

Pizza Crust:
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1Tbsp kosher salt
1/4 oz active dry yeast
1Tbsp sugar
2 cups lukewarm water

Topping:
1/2 pound cooked shrimp, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 organic red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup sliced red onion
Olive oil, for brushing on rolled-out dough (~2 tsp)
Balsamic vinegar, for drizzling (~2 tsp)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shaved parmesan cheese
1/2 cup organic curly parsley, chopped

Directions

1. To make pizza dough, place flour and salt in large mixer with dough hook attached. Combine water, yeast and sugar in large measuring cup or small bowl and mix with a fork. Let sit for 5 minutes. Turn mixer on low and slowly add yeast mixture. Once all yeast mixture is added, allow dough hook to continue kneading dough for about 3 minutes.  Cover dough and bowl and allow to rise for about 2 hours. If you are not using the dough for several hours, place it in the refrigerator until ready to use.

2. Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. Oil rectangular baking sheet with olive oil.

3. On floured surface, roll out 1/4 of pizza dough into thin rectangular shape. Place dough on oiled baking sheet. Lightly brush dough with olive oil. Top with shrimp, bell pepper, onion, balsamic vinegar, and cheeses.

4. Bake for 13 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown.

5. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Top with parsley and serve.

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Whole wheat flour is less refined than all purpose flour so provides more fiber and nutrients, particularly B vitamins, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, phosphorous, zinc, copper, and iron. Shrimp are an excellent source of protein, providing 18g of protein in a 3oz serving. Shrimp are also a good source of vitamin B12 and omega-3 fatty acids. Bell peppers are one of the best food sources of vitamins A and C. Onions are rich in quercetin, a type of antioxidant, as well as vitamins and minerals, including vitamins C, K, folate, thiamin, and minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium and manganese.

Mushroom & Onion Whole Wheat Pizza

Making a homemade pizza is a really great way to use up vegetables that are just sitting in your fridge that would otherwise go bad. When I opened my fridge this time, I had some red onion and mushrooms that needed to be used up, so onto our pizza they went! I had some of this whole wheat pizza dough in the freezer already, and I find that if the dough has been frozen, it actually rises again as it thaws, and is much easier to roll out, as compared to when I have just freshly made the dough. I have found some really good canned organic pizza sauces, and some brands, such as Muir Glen, use BPA-free cans. Canned and jarred tomato products provide more bioavailable lycopene, as compared to fresh tomatoes, which is great. But just beware of what brand you are buying so that you can be sure that it is not in a canned lined with BPA. Here is a link for a list of companies whose cans are BPA-free: 

http://bpafreecannedfood.wordpress.com/bpa-free-canned-food-brands/

Mushroom & Onion Whole Wheat Pizza

Ingredients

Whole wheat pizza crust (use 1/3 of dough and freeze the rest)
1/3 cup red onion, chopped
6oz fresh cremini mushrooms
1 cup organic pizza sauce (I used Muir Glen because their cans are BPA-free)
1 1/2 cups organic mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Grease rectangular cookie sheet with olive oil and roll out pizza dough until thin and in rectangle shape. Place dough on top of cookie sheet and remove excess dough around edges of pan with a knife.

2. Place pizza dough in preheated oven and bake for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and top with pizza sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and place vegetables on top. Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese is lightly browned and bubbling.  Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Whole wheat flour is less refined than all purpose flour so provides more fiber and nutrients, particularly B vitamins, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, phosphorous, zinc, copper, and iron. Canned tomato products contain more bioavailable lycopene compared with fresh tomatoes, and are high in vitamin C. Red onions are rich in quercetin, a type of antioxidant, as well as vitamins and minerals, including vitamins C, K, folate, thiamin, and minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium and manganese. Mushrooms  are an excellent source of minerals selenium and potassium as well vitamins riboflavin, and niacin, and are the only item you will find in the produce section that supplies some vitamin D!  Mozzarella cheese provides lots of protein and calcium.

Balsamic Chicken & Roasted Vegetable Whole Wheat Pizza

We are defrosting our refrigerator and freezer this weekend, so I needed to do something with some food from the freezer for dinner tonight. I had some of this whole wheat pizza dough in the freezer from the last time I made a big batch, as well as some chicken breasts, so I decided to make a grilled chicken pizza. To make it dairy free for Charlie, I roasted some vegetables from the refrigerator and made a balsamic glaze to give the pizza lots of flavor. I put grated parmesan on 3/4 of the pizza for me and Ted.

To save myself time at dinner time, I roasted the vegetables, made the balsamic glaze and grilled the chicken in the morning and just stored it all in the refrigerator. When it came time to make dinner, all I had to do was roll out the pizza dough and top the pizza.

We have a circular pizza pan, but we prefer to use a rectangular cookie sheet. It easier to roll the dough into a rectangular shape, and we like the square-shaped cuts of pizza from a rectangular pan.

This pizza dough is so easy to prepare and makes enough dough for 2 big pizzas. It freezes really well so I usually freeze half of it for future use. It comes in handy, just like it did tonight!

Balsamic Chicken & Roasted Vegetable Whole Wheat Pizza

Ingredients

Pizza Crust:
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp sea salt (optional)
1/4 oz active dry yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
2 cups lukewarm water

Grilled Chicken:
1 pound organic free range chicken breasts
Salt, to taste (optional)
Pepper, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil

Roasted Vegetables:
1 small bunch fresh asparagus
1 cup fresh grape tomatoes
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt, to taste (optional)
Black pepper, to taste

Balsamic Glaze:
1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp honey

Seasoning Before Baking:
Parmesan cheese, grated, to taste
Salt, to taste (optional)
Black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. To make pizza dough, place flour and salt in large mixer with dough hook attached. Combine water, yeast and sugar in large measuring cup or small bowl and mix with a fork. Let sit for 5 minutes. Turn mixer on low and slowly add water mixture. Once all water is added, allow dough hook to continue kneading dough for about 3 minutes.  If you are not using the dough right away, place in an oiled bowl, cover it and place it in the refrigerator.

2. To prepare the vegetables, preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Chop asparagus, into 1-inch pieces and combine in large mixing bowl with grape tomatoes. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Mix until vegetables are evenly coated. Spread vegetables on a baking sheet. Place in oven to roast for 20-25 minutes, until softened.

3. To prepare chicken breasts, slice in half to make thinner and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place in large sealable bag with olive oil and manipulate until chicken is evenly coated. Heat grill pan, with top, over medium-high heat. Place chicken on pan and grill for 4-5 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Remove from grill pan and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice into small strips.

4. To make balsamic glaze, combine balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and honey in sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly, for about 20 minutes until thickened (should coat spoon). Remove from heat. Store, covered, in refrigerator until ready to use. 

5. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Grease rectangular cookie sheet with olive oil and roll out pizza dough until thin and in rectangular shape. Place dough on top of cookie sheet and remove excess dough around edges of pan with a knife.

6. Place pizza dough in preheated oven and bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and brush crust with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Top with roasted vegetables and grilled chicken. Drizzle with balsamic glaze. Season toppings with salt and pepper. Sprinkle grated parmesan over toppings (I only put on 3/4 of pizza so a portion would be dairy free). Place in oven and bake for 7 more minutes. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Chicken is an excellent source of protein and is rich in B vitamins. Asparagus is high in vitamin K and is also a great source of vitamin A, folate and iron. Tomatoes are an excellent source of lycopene and vitamin C. Balsamic vinegar is rich in polyphenols - a type of antioxidant. Whole wheat flour is less refined than all purpose flour so provides more fiber and nutrients, particularly B vitamins, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, phosphorous, zinc, copper, and iron.