Pizza Time

"What's better, a medium amount of good pizza or all you can eat of pretty good pizza?"- Michael Scott

Any Michael Scott fans out there? I would have to go with a medium amount of good pizza. Last night, I created what I believe to be good SCD pizza. There is something so satisfying about pizza. I can remember many a Friday night, mom would make homemade pizza dough, we'd top it with cheese, hamburger, or olives,  and serve it up along with carrot sticks and a "treat" of diet Coke. I loved not only the routine in that meal, but also the way we all sat around the table talking about our days. I have so much to learn from my mother!

So obviously even homemade pizza dough is full of illegal ingredients, so I wanted to find a pizza dough that was hearty enough to replace the crust of my childhood. For the first two years of being on the diet, I used the recipe in Elaine's book "Breaking the Viscious Cycle" (if you don't have this already and are following the SCD diet, please consider buying it, as it was a godsend to me when I first started!). Then, one day I ran across this recipe from the blog Heal-Balance-Live. Not only does it crisp up nicely, but it also holds together well.

One of the great things about pizza is the array of toppings to choose from. When I first started making this pizza, I would top it with Havarti cheese, grilled chicken, SCD-safe black olives, or hamburger. Now, since I am trying to limit my intake of cheese (yes, I do use the Parmesan in the crust), I have tried chicken and pesto pizza, which was delicious. I also most recently tried topping it with homemade pizza sauce, prosciutto, broccoli, and grated Parmesan. It was equally delicious. What toppings do you like to add to your pizza?

Cheers!

Pizza Time!

Last night, I created a pizza which featured my leftover taco salad from the night before as toppings. As a helpless penny pincher, I love using leftovers like this. But I get ahead of myself. First, the crust. I borrowed the recipe from a great blog called: Heal, Balance, Live. The author, Karen, has a great post about a recipe for pizza crust which is delicious! For the first few years on the diet, I had been using the recipe from the Breaking the Vicious Cycle book, which was great, but Karen's recipe is even better. Then, I topped it with pizza sauce, Havarti cheese, and then my taco salad (black beans, Monterrey jack cheese, and homemade salsa). One note about the pizza sauce. A friend who works for a grocery chain, found this product. When he handed me the jar, he said: I dare you to find something illegal in there. I couldn't. It's called Bobby D's. I haven't had any symptoms from it, but make sure if you try it, you test it to see if it bothers you. Here is the recipe for the crust:

SCD Pizza Crust

2 c. almond flour
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/8 tsp. garlic powder (optional)
pinch of salt
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
4 tsp. olive oil

Combine all ingredients together and let rest 5 minutes. Stir dough, it should be as thick as cookie dough, if it isn't add more almond flour a tablespoon at a time until it is. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (I tried to bake it without the parchment and ended up with a mess). Place half the dough in a mound on one half of the sheet and the rest of the dough in a mound on the other half. Cover with plastic wrap and using your hand or a small rolling pin push/roll the dough into a circle (mine were about 8 inches each). Bake in a 400 degree oven for 6-8 minutes or until barely brown. Add desired toppings and bake 5-10 more minutes until golden.

Note: I tried freezing some of these crusts and they turned out great. Just bake for the first 6 minutes then cool. Store in an airtight container. Remove and let thaw, then top and bake.