Meatless Monday

Tonight's meatless Monday was a fun and super fast one. I want to keep things fun when I'm trying to introduce veggies to my husband and toddler. My husband and I love mushrooms but my toddler not so much, so I decided to make homemade pizza and hide the mushrooms. When she was about one or two I would puree vegetables into her food and I slowly would add chunks of vegetables to her favorite meal every week. This really helped and now she asks for certain ones! However, she still does not like carrots or mushrooms. I can sometimes get her to eat a cooked carrot from stews, baked etc. but it can be tough. Mushrooms, forget it. She tried them three times and still can't stand them. Tonight, I decided to add the mushrooms to the sauce to give it a beefy flavor. Since they were chopped small and cooked she couldn't even tell. I was a happy mom and she was a happy child eating her pizza : )

Homemade pizza is one of my favorites to make but waiting for the dough to rise is a pain! I found a recipe that allows for you to bake the pizza without waiting for it to rise, I added a few things to the dough and it came out great! My husband even liked it! believe me it's not easy to get him to eat something "healthy" (he thinks anything homemade is healthy ::sigh::)

you know what the best part was?? IT WAS WHOLE WHEAT! ha! I got my hubby to eat whole wheat with no complaints! score one for mom...now onto the recipe

Whole Wheat No Rise Pizza Dough

1 packet of active yeast

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cup white flour

1 cup very warm water

Combine yeast, sugar and water. Let sit for a couple minutes to activate the yeast.

Next, add the olive oil, salt, and both flours (at this point I added garlic powder and dried basil) using your fingers combine till a ball forms. Flour your counter surface and knead till a smooth ball forms. I'm lazy and I hate messes so I just through some flour into the bowl and kneaded the ball in the bowl. It worked just as well : )

Let the ball rest for about 10- 15 mins. (Hey, it's better than 2 hrs!) While the dough was resting I sauteed the chopped mushrooms and preheated the oven to 425 degrees.

Normally, I make my own sauce but sometimes when you're in a pinch homemade sauce just will not do. It's been awhile since I bought jarred sauce and I was shocked by all the crap they shove in those jars! Even the Organic had things I couldn't pronounce. I did find a sauce by Good Housekeeping that had all natural ingredients. It was a little pricey but the pizza was still have the price of takeout so I'm not complaining.

Once the sauce and mushrooms are combined, roll out the pizza dough on a greased pizza pan. When I make homemade crust i always bake the crust for about 5-10 mins before adding the toppings. Soggy dough is just gross. I formed the dough into a circle and added a drizzle of olive oil. Oh My Lord the house smelled so good! I took the pizza out and added the sauce and cheese. I like to use a good cheese like Sargento and please don't use fat free, that stuff just looks like plastic when melted. 2% or part skim is a good way to go : )

Put the pizza back in the oven for about 10 mins to melt the cheese. If you can hold out try to let the cheese cool before cutting. Let's just say I didn't wait and I have the burn to prove it.

The pizza came out really good, I was honestly shocked. I thought it would be rubbery and tasteless but it reminded me of French Bread Pizza. and the sauce was AMAZING I will definitely be buying that again. The pizza was doughy in the middle and crunchy on the bottom. The husband and toddler have already asked for it again but with pepperoni next time hahahaha Oh I love my carnivores : )