Meatless Monday: Pizza Dough, Three Ways

This new kitchen of ours has already seen a lot of action – a new fridge and almost being burned down in one day, pumpkin muffins, and spaghetti squash pasta – in its first week with us. However, one signature DOTR item was missing. And that couldn’t continue for too long.

Saturday night we walked to Whole Foods to get the necessities for our favorite meal: Homemade Pizza. Finally. As you’ll soon read, that dough stretched three ways!

Rather than taking the normal route and searching for pre-made Crust with a halfway decent ingredient list (not always easy), I went straight for the dough. And the tomatoes, and the fresh basil, and the shredded mozzarella cheese.

You know my style.

Realizing what a huge ball o’ crust this was, I split it in half & rolled it out. 

FYI: If you don’t own a rolling pin, a big bottle of Olive Oil works just fine! On that note, the key to restaurant-style taste? A drizzle of EVOO, spread around the dough (pre-tomato sauce) with your fingers for an even, light, coat.

DOTR Margherita Pizza Toppings: 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil (mentioned above), WF Tomato basil marinara sauce,  fresh sliced Roma tomato, fresh basil leaves, sprinkle of Oregano.

D’s last minute addition: “We still have pine nuts, right??” Yes Sir, we do!
Sprinkle ‘em on there, a little extra crunch never hurts!

Bake at 400* for ~20 minutes, until edges are golden brown.

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Personal Seasoned Red Pepper & Onion Pizza

Taking 1/2 of the half-ball of dough left (still with me?), I made myself a personal-sized pizza for lunch yesterday.

The trick-for-taste experiment this time? Sprinkling Thyme & Garlic Powder on the dough before the sauce – extra flavor, right in the crust!

Other toppings: Marinara & Mozzarella, Sliced Red Pepper, Diced Purple Onion, Fresh Basil leaves. Bake at 400* for ~15 minutes. Delicious!

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The last of this dough did not make its way to pizza. There just wasn’t enough to stretch & feed two pizza-hungry mouths. So, instead, I made a “crust-wrap”…for lack of a better descriptive word.

Crust-Wrap Fillings:

1 zucchini, sliced vertically
1 Roma tomato, sliced
5 +/- Purple Onion Rings
Fresh Basil leaves
1/4 c Shredded Mozzarella
~2 tbsp Marinara Sauce
~1/2 tsp Olive Oil
~1 tbsp Parmesan cheese
Thyme, Salt & Pepper

 

How-To: Roll out the dough, nice & thin! Lay out the zucchini slices; top with tomato slices, onion rings, mozzarella, grated parmesan, drizzled olive oil, marinara sauce, fresh basil & seasonings – in that order!

Fold up the sides! Bake at 400* for ~15 minutes. Let it cool, slice in half & serve!

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Three meatless options, one pizza dough ball & a few simple, healthy ingredients. Can’t go wrong with that grocery list! 🙂

What’s on your Meatless Menu tonight?