Pizza Night!

The Pizza Experiment...

It was that kinda day.

Let's face it, sometimes we just want pizza. 

I'm one of those people who isn't too picky about what's ON my pizza as long as it has red sauce, a crust, and yummy toppings. 

Some of my fav toppings include chopped bell peppers, cheese (of course), olives, pineapple, chopped ham, bacon, chicken, sausage, to name just a few. 

If you can break it into smaller bits, you can bet I'll try it on a pizza. :) 

Tonight I looked at my meal plan, and just said "screw it" let's get pizza. Then I took a deep breath, (cuz I don't have cauliflower to make my usual crust) and decided I could see if there was a zucchini pizza crust recipe I would be up for trying. 

It's all basically the same. There isn't really a "wrong" veggie crust pizza. 

So the kids are napping, the crust is in the oven....

Here's how I made it...(disclaimer, I've never used Zucchini in it before...)

(video to come!!)

Zucchini Pizza Crust

Prep time 5-10 min

Cook time 12-15 min

Preheat the oven to 450*. 

Ingredients: 

2 whole zucchini, grated

1 egg (I used two in the video...too much liquid! :/)

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

1/2 c mozzarella cheese

3-4 cloves minced garlic

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp pepper

*1-2 TBSP gluten free flour to help everything pull together (again not in the video, but SHOULD have been included)

Grate zucchini into a bowl. Microwave for 2 min to slightly cook. Then squeeze as much moisture out of your veggies as you can. 

Combine remaining ingredients in bowl. I find mixing with my hands works best. 

(in the video I didn't use this, but I'm gonna wish I had!) 

Take a piece of parchment paper and lay it on a cookie sheet or pizza stone. Spray lightly with oil. Dump zucchini mixture onto the paper and form into a crust of your desired shape and size. Dab moisture from the edges. 

Bake at 450 for 8 min, then turn the parchment paper and bake an additional 3-5 min at a time until crust is lightly browned. 

Assemble pizza as desired. 

Enjoy!

Isn't she just delicious? 

Great for a weekend family dinner! We'll be making our pizza when nap time is up and sharing some silly pics of THAT process! 

*** Update! I loved the taste of this pizza, but I prefer THIS cauliflower pizza recipe much better! (from eatagreatdeal)

Ingredients

• 1 small to medium sized head of cauliflower - should yield 2 to 3 cups once processed
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil (crush it even more between your fingers)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (crust it even more between you fingers)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• optional a few shakes of crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg
• optional 1 tablespoon almond meal

Instructions

• Desired amount of sauce, cheese for topping, and other toppings.
• Place a pizza stone in the oven, or baking sheet if you don't have a pizza stone. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a cutting board, place a large piece of parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking oil. 
• Wash and throughly dry a small head of cauliflower. Don't get one the size of your head unless you are planning on making 2 pizzas. Cut off the florets, you don't need much stem. Just stick with the florets. Pulse in your food processor for about 30 seconds, until you get powdery snow like cauliflower. See above photo. You should end up with 2 to 3 cups cauliflower "snow". Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and cover. Microwave for 4 minutes. Dump cooked cauliflower onto a clean tea towel and allow to cool for a bit before attempting the next step.
• Once cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the dish towel and wring the heck out of it. You want to squeeze out as much water as possible. This will ensure you get a chewy pizza like crust instead of a crumbly mess. 
• Dumped cauliflower into a bowl. Now add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon dried basil (crush up the leaves even more between your fingers before adding), 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (crush up the leaves even more between your fingers before adding), 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt), and a dash of red pepper if you want. I also added 1 tablespoon almond meal because my cauliflower yielded closer to 2 cups of cauli snow, this is optional and I would not add the almond meal if you have closer to 3 cups of cauli snow. Now add your egg and mix away. Hands tend to work best. 
• Once mixed together, use your hands to form the dough into a crust on your oiled parchment paper. Pat it down throughly, you want it nice and tightly formed together. Don't make it too thick or thin either.
• Using a cutting board slide the parchment paper onto your hot pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 8 - 11 minutes, until it starts to turn golden brown. Remove from oven.
• Add however much sauce, cheese, and toppings you want. I'm not gonna give you measurements for this. You should know how you like your pizza - so go for it! Slide parchment with topped pizza back in the hot oven and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and slightly golden.
• Test your patience and allow it to cool for a minute or two. Probably closer to two. Then using a pizza cutter and a spatula serve up your delicious grain-free cauliflower crust pizza!
  
  
  
  
  I had WAY too much liquid in my zucchini pizza crust and it kinda smells like burnt eggs in my house now. :-p.