Today I’m cooking another type of pizza that my family loves. I’m using low fat ingredients so it’s a healthy choice when my family wants pizza.
Ingredients:
One roll white bread dough—bought frozen then thawed the night before
One pound extra lean ground hamburger—96-4%
4.5 oz. sliced turkey pepperoni
8 oz. mini portabella mushrooms
One large bell pepper
One can black olives
One large onion
One bag, two cups cheddar cheese—low fat, low sodium
One cup parmesan cheese—low sodium, low fat
Small 14 oz. Jar of low sodium pizza sauce
Prep work:
Cook the hamburger. Then drain the grease and place the meat in a bowl lined with paper towels to absorb the grease; let sit.
Next chop the mushrooms, olives, onion, and peppers. Put everything including hamburger into separate bowls. Discard grease soaked paper towel. Place all items in the fridge until later.
Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Spray your pizza pan with non- stick; I prefer either canola or extra-virgin olive oil non- stick for heart healthy cooking.
Dough Ready To Roll
Making the pizza crust. I use my counter top. I sprinkle the counter lightly with flour and unwrap the dough. It should look like a large, white mushroom ball.
Put the dough on the flour then flip it over. Begin rolling. Roll enough to fit your pan—don’t excessively roll. Dough stretches easily in the pan. Do this quickly. Carefully remove the dough from the counter; it peels off. Lay in the prepared pan with the edges sticking over the rim of your oven pan. If the dough isn’t quite big enough, that’s ok. Gently rub from the middle to the outside edges. It stretches easily on the non-stick sprayed oven pan. Complete this process quickly as well; don’t play with it.
Tuck the excess dough inside the rims. If there’s a tear in the dough—don’t worry. Use some of the excess dough on the walls and fill in the tear(s); pinch it off and rub it in the holes.
Prick small holes in the crust with a fork so it doesn’t bubble while baking; make many prick holes. But, don’t destroy your work; just vent it well. Sprinkle on the spices, basil, garlic, Italian Seasoning, oregano, parsley, pepper. Whatever spices you like.
Pizza Crust Seasoned And Ready To Bake
This is what my pizza crust looks like before baking.
Bake the crust for 6 minutes at 400 degrees on the top rack. Remove from the oven.
Make The Pizza:
I start with ½ bag, one cup, of cheddar cheese on the crust ( spread evenly)
¾ of the jar of pizza sauce (save the rest for dipping sauce)
hamburger
onions
bell peppers
black olives
portabella mushrooms
The remaining ½ bag, one cup, of cheddar cheese followed by the parmesan cheese
Lastly; turkey pepperoni on top.
It’s ready to bake. I bake my pizza for 8 minutes then remove from the oven.
My Cheddar Cheese Pizza Ready to Serve
I cut it, and bake for 20 more minutes. The total baking time is about 30 minutes—until the top edges are golden brown. Also my pizzas are typically ¾ of an inch thick when ready for cooking—and full of natural juices. Portabella mushrooms are a trade-off; they add tremendous flavor along with a lot of extra juice. If you don’t want the liquid—maybe skip portabellas.
Here’s a picture of my low fat cheddar cheese pizza. It’s full of flavor and my family gobbled it down. Also check out my Maxx Zeqster blog at: https://detectivemaxxzeqsterscreepycrawlyamazingadventures.wordpress.com/
Thanks for stopping by. J. A. Ireland.
Season first with Kraft Fat Free Italian Dressing; then with freshly chopped rosemary, garlic powder, and fresh ground pepper.
