Pizza Night, From Thought to Table in 20 Minutes

How do you get food on the table when you are short on time?

This was not the question I had in mind when I made pizza tonight,

but it all happened so fast that I am adding pizza to my mental

"Oh, darn, I'm hungry and I only have half an hour"

list of recipes, it is also being added to the

"There is nothing in the house but ingredients and leftovers". 

I can't be the only person with these lists. 

The first list "only have half an hour to eat" is pretty common for everyone.

I have found, though, in eating healthier, I try to be sure not to have pre-made

or pre-packaged things in the house because I binge.

So, I sometimes end up at the end of my fresh groceries

a couple days before pay-day or grocery-day.

ANYTHING can become a pizza, so this is my new go-to recipe.

This pizza has a great fold-able crust, and you can make it without turning on the oven!

The griddle has been my friend lately, it hasn't left the counter since I arrived home from CT a week and a half ago.

For the crust, I used a “pinned” recipe from the blog “4youwithlove”.

The actual recipe is a dough and herb combination for focaccia bread,

I only used the dough portion.

This makes a roughly 12”-ish pizza, perfect for splitting or a larger sized personal pizza.

For the dough

½ Cup Warm Water

1 Tbs Sugar

1 Tbs Yeast

1 Cup Flour

(I eliminated oil and salt from the original recipe because I grilled with oil on the griddle-top and seasoned it with the pizza toppings.)

Always combine water and sugar, first, until sugar is completely dissolved, then add the yeast and allow to proof for a couple minutes. (This is how we make sure the yeast is alive, you should see the liquid get creamy, foamy, and tiny air bubbles on the surface.)

Add flour and knead until smooth and elastic.

Roll out the dough until you find the size, shape, and thickness you prefer.  I like mine about 1/8 inch thick, and in whatever shape I end up with.

Set your griddle to 300’-325’.

You could make these crusts ahead of time,
freeze them on a cookie sheet,
then drop them in a freezer bag.

Using 1 Tbs oil, oil your griddle-top or oil each side of the dough. Place your pizza crust on the griddle.  As it cooks you should see air pockets form in the crust and the bottom will start to brown.  Cook for about 5 minutes then flip and cook 2 minutes on the other side.  

Add your toppings to the pizza and allow to cook for an additional 3-5 more minutes until cheese is melted or toppings are heated through.  

I topped mine with a couple tablespoons of sauce, a few ounces of fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and pepperoni, finished with a dash of red pepper flakes and green onions.  

Now, you can serve the pizza as is, or if you are okay with turning on the oven, I stuck mine under the broiler to finish melting the fresh mozz and to crispy-curl the pepperoni.

I love when pepperoni curls!

And check out that thin.

 but not crunchy crust!

To summarize:

Mix up dough - 5 minutes

Brown one side of crust - 5 

minutes

Brown other side of crust and 

heat toppings - 5-7 minutes

(Optional) Broil to crisp up the 

top of pizza - 1-3 minutes

Grand Total: 20 MINUTES!!!

I can't wait to  try pesto, cherry tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella,

or arugula, spiced pork, and sriracha,

or chicken, alfredo sauce, and broccoli, or....

(The crust without toppings, including the tablespoon of oil for cooking is 17 PointsPlus for the entire crust, 9 PointsPlus if it is cut into 2 servings.)

Weight Watchers and Joanne... A Love Story

Weight Watchers and I have had an on again off again relationship over the years.

We met in high school and WW kept me happy and feeling good about myself.  We drifted apart over the years, like high school relationships do.

Then a couple years ago I started wanting a relationship again.  And I spent some time with a few different diet plans, but I never really felt that connection I was looking for.   I had some good times, but we always parted ways, I always felt unsatisfied.

I finally swallowed my pride and started talking to WW again.  I was very excited as we started a relationship again.  I started moving too fast.  I was trying to eat far below the points WW suggested.  I was grumpy, unsatisfied, and NOT COOKING!  I was focused only on fat-free, sugar-free, “non-food” food dates.  So, I started cheating.  I started to go on secret high point dates, but still show up for my low point veggie filled dates.  I started to get angry with WW for no reason; it really was entirely my fault.  But, finally, I lost it and broke it off completely with WW.

A year or so went by, and I found myself looking at pictures.  You know what that is like; you look at pictures and think of how things would be different or better, somehow, if you had stayed together.  So, after a lot of soul searching and asking myself what was important, I contacted WW online. 

WW took me back!!!

This time WW looked and acted a little differently and that worked well for us.  We spent more time together via my cell phone.  We laid down a few important ground rules.  And I can happily report that we are in a happy, committed, and productive relationship!

Now, to depart from the analogy, I wanted to share my three ground rules.

1)  I can eat whatever I want as long as I plan for it.

2)  Don’t be afraid to eat my daily points AND my weekly points.

3)  Water, vegetables, and movement are the only things I have to focus on.

These rules are what keep me sane and on track.  They translate to:

1)  This is about lifestyle, it is MY lifestyle.

2)  This is about eating more HEALTHILY, not about calorie consumption.

3)  EVERYBODY should focus on these things.

And so, there it is folks, my “relationship” with Weight Watchers.  Like any couple we argue, disagree, and have bad days.  But we always make up, and the good days outweigh the bad (no pun intended). 

All my following posts will have the recipes with Weight Watchers adjustments and PointsPlus values, which I have calculated myself.  I hope this can help someone looking for good food and good cooking!