GF Pizza and Quick Easy Salad

Hello and Welcome!

Be prepared, I will be having much more recipes being posted more frequently with the upcoming holidays. Today I am sharing one of my family’s’ favorite meals (and one of the easiest). I’m sure by now some of you have heard, made, or ate cauliflower pizza. The recipe I use has been simplified from the others I have tried. Most that I have seen are flavoring the crust & there is no need. Save yourself the time and flavor your pizza with your sauce & or toppings. I have served my recipe to several kids (not telling them it’s anything then ordinary pizza) and they love it. Often I freeze the crust and use when needed (like a Saturday buckeye game). With the holiday season swing in to gear, having a couple of these in the freezer helps for fun stress free evenings. Enjoy:)

 

Part One: Recipe

                                                                         

Cauliflower Pizza

(Created by Anne Abbott-Merriman)

 

· 1 Medium to Large Head of Cauliflower (makes two pizzas)

· 2 Cups of Shredded Mozzarella (+ more for desired topping)

· 2 Eggsto

· 1/2 Cup parmesan cheese (optional topping)

· 1 Tablespoons of tomato paste

· Desired toppings for pizza (example: pepperoni, green peppers, black olives, etc.)

· 2 Tablespoons of garlic powder

· 2 pinches of sea salt

· 2 pinches of black pepper

 

       I.          Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease medium to large size pizza pan and set aside. (helpful hint: none stick metal pizza pans work better then pizza stones)

     II.          Fill a pasta pan half full of warm to hot water and bring to a boil.

 

    III.          Clean and cut the head of Cauliflower into large chunks (slightly bigger then bit size or so). Put cauliflower chunks into boiling water. Let boil till tender (about 15 minutes).

   IV.          Strain Cauliflower and let sit for about 5 minutes to properly drain water.

 

     V.          Make pizza sauce: Take a medium size mug and put in 1 Tablespoon of tomato paste. Then fill the mug about half way to less than half with warm water (always use less water at first and if the paste is too thick add more water till desired consistency). Mix with a fork till smooth.

 

   VI.          Take the strained Cauliflower and put into a blender or food processor. Blend/puree the cauliflower into a paste. Take out two medium sized storage containers. (Our family uses large plastic soup containers from the Asian restaurant down the street).

 

  VII.          In each container place 2 cups of pureed cauliflower, 2 cups of mozzarella, and 1 Egg. Completely mix with a fork. (If only making one large pizza:  label the extra container and place in freezer until desired time to of use. Please note to open frozen cauliflower and discard extra liquid before thawing.)  

 

VIII.          Place one completed container’s content onto greased pizza pan.  And put into preheated oven for 35/40 minutes (edges will be brown and the middle golden).

 

    IX.          After 35/40 minutes take the crust out of the oven and add pizza sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then add cheese and desired toppings (helpful hint: go light on the toppings, as to not weigh down the crust too much).

 

     X.          Put back in oven with toppings for about 15minutes or until cheese is bubbling and browning.  After taking out of oven let it rest for at least 10/15 minutes (or it will be on the runny side). Sometimes eating the pizza with a fork can be handy but not always needed. One pizza feeds 4 people.

 

Serves 4 to 8 people & (averages $2.75 for a lg pizza)

 

 

 

Part Two: Tip

Quick Easy Side Salad                                                       

Clean/cut one head of lettuce and put in a medium bowl. Add one can of whole pitted black olives and about a ½ cup to a cup of Italian dressing (we use Olive Gardens dressing as a treat). Take a plate that fits or is slightly bigger than your bowl and put on top of bowl. Then shake the current mixture till dressing is covering everything (add more dressing if desired). Remove plate and toss strained giardiniera mix on top. Finish off with a dusting of parmesan. Serves 4 to 6 people & averages $0.80 a person.

 

Part Three: Educational

http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/whatisceliacdisease

 

Part Four: New Item

Pamela’s Ultimate Baking & Pancake Mix vs. GF Bisquick: Both of these are wonderful products so it really comes down to price. GF Bisquick averages $6.49 for 1lb and Pamela’s averages $13.00 for 4lbs (= $3.25 a lb.). It has also been easier to locate Pamela’s products at my local grocery store (in the gluten free or organic section).

When converting a normal baking recipe to gf and the recipe calls for all-purpose flour you can substitute all-purpose flour with the Baking/Pancake mix. I have used both brands to alter Paula Dean’s Pumpkin Squares (find recipe at foodnetwork.com) and both batches turned out wonderful. However we liked the batch that used the Pamela’s Ultimate Baking & Pancake Mix.

Part Five: Grocery List

·       1 Head of Cauliflower around $1.50 at Aldi’s

·       Eggs: One dozen around $1.35 at Aldi's

·       Diced Tomato’s: $0.00 from garden

·       Parmesan Cheese: around $8.00 at Sam’s Club (already in pantry)

·       Canned Olives: $0.75 at Aldi’s

·       Dried Herbs: $1.00 each at Aldi’s or $0.00 fresh from garden

·       Mozzarella Cheese: one 1lb bag around $2.95 at Aldi’s

·       Garlic Powder: $0.99 at Aldi’s

·       1 Head of Lettuce: $0.99 at Aldi’s

·       Olive Garden Dressing around $6.00 for 2 bottles at Sam’s Club

·       1 Jar of giardiniera mix at local store around $3.00

 

Please note that prices may vary with locations different then Central Ohio.