Crustless Pizza Casserole

You know what's really empowering, Foodies?

Making something the way you like it, just because that's how you  like it. Not the way the kids like it or your spouse likes it, but just the way you want it.

I had an epiphany recently. I've spent a lot of my post-op career catering to everyone's preferences in my crusade to get my kids and family to eat healthier. In the process I did several things:

1. I stopped even thinking about what I like the best and why.
2. I put my children under the delusion that they live in a 24-hour diner, complete with a short-order cook.
3. I got a case of "food burn-out."

What's food burn-out? You all have experienced it, I'm sure. It's when you just get tired of thinking about, prepping, and cooking food. So you don't. Instead you eat things that are convenient (and sometimes not healthy). Or worse, you fall back on take-out a lot.

As for me, I fell back on my default foods (stuff I could eat anytime like cottage cheese and Greek yogurt) and let the kids go crazy with take-out. Bad mom!

What I've learned from this is that even when it comes to cooking my needs are important too. So I vow to make more meals the way I like them!

Which is what brings us to this pizza casserole. There are several reasons why my daughters probably won't touch it. For Diva, the Elder, it contains three vegetables that are on her "no fly" list (I've tried to get her to embrace more veggies...she's 16 so at this point trickery doesn't work anymore!). For Diva, the Younger,  (13) she  now eats a pescetarian diet and so the ground meat is no-go. But me? I love it! So here goes.

Nik's Pizza Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 c. whatever veggies you like, diced (I used onions, yellow bell peppers, and zucchini)
• 1 clove garlic, minced (or 1 tsp. already minced garlic)
• 1 lb. Italian-style ground meat (I used turkey)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1.5 c. your favorite pizza or spaghetti sauce
• 1.5 c. shredded pizza blend or Italian-blend cheese (or mozzarella if you like to keep it simple)
• Toppings: I used one serving of turkey pepperoni (17 slices) and 1/4 c. sliced olives, but add anything you like on top of pizza!

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Set a skillet over medium-high heat and let it get hot (2-3 minutes) before adding nonstick cooking spray (or 1 tbsp. of oil if you like that better). Add veggies and saute for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add garlic and saute an additional minute or so.

Add the ground meat, breaking it up with a spatula and mixing in the vegetables. Cook until meat is done through. Drain meat of any excess fluid with a colander.

Turn stove heat to medium-low and add sauce, stirring to fully combine. Simmer about 5-7 minutes or until sauce turns a deeper shade of red. Your mixture should be saucy but not soupy. Ultimately the veggies will continue releasing water as they cook so you don't want your sauce to have too much liquid. If there seems to be a lot, drain some of it off before doing the next step.

Transfer mixture to a casserole dish (this is an 8 x 8) and spread to make sure it's an even layer. Now comes the fun part. Toppings! I love pepperoni and black olives on pizza so that's what I topped mine with, along with the shredded cheese.

I baked mine for about 20 minutes, long enough for the cheese to melt, brown just a bit and for the pepperonis to become slightly crispy. Technically it's ready when the cheese is melted so let it go as long as you want until it's the way you like it!

No need to let this casserole cool. The ooey-gooey factor is part of the joy of it!

This will be my lunches for the week. Meanwhile the kids are eating...something...(shrugs).

Meat Crust Pizza

Yesterday I was going over some old online photo albums I have on the web. I came across this recipe I used to make ages ago. It's totally not mine. I heard about it from my friend, Plump Kitty, who also inspired a few dessert recipes of mine as well.

This one is interesting to me because it's the one time where the kids totally loved it and I was on the fence. I didn't dislike this. It was just that it confused my tongue and brain a little.

So anyway, here's the recipe.

Meat Crust Pizza
(Depending on diameter of the crust you roll our, this makes about a 6-8 slice pizza)

Ingredients

Crust:
1 lb. lean ground meat
1/2 packet of dry onion soup mix
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
One medium egg

Toppings (on this pizza):

Ham
Pepperoni
Green peppers
1 c. jarred spaghetti sauce (adjust to your tastes)
1.5 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
(Sorry, this was taken so long ago I don't have process pics!)

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix your meat, soup, spices and egg. The mixture should be work-able. If it is too wet add a few tablespoons of bread crumbs, but I seriously doubt that'd be a problem unless you use a really large egg.

Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap on your counter. Place the giant "meatball" in the center of it and fold the plastic wrap over it. Using a rolling pin, roll your meat into a disc of whatever size you want. I used to roll it until the disc as about a 1/2 inch thick.

Spray a cookie sheet or pizza baking sheet with nonstick and place your disc, plastic removed, onto it. Bake for 30 minutes. At this point the meat should be cooked through.

Remove from the oven and top first with spaghetti sauce, then with cheese and toppings. Return it to the oven and bake it another 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and cooked to your desire (I like my cheese a bit brown).

Top with Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes or whatever else you want to add.

Literally, my kids LOVED this. After thinking about it, I think my confusion with it is that I am comparing the meat crust with a pizza crust. It does not taste like a pizza crust. It tastes like meat. Sort of like a "pizza meatloaf" if you will. When I thought of it that way, I enjoyed it much more. I will say, though, that the edges of this thing take on a decidedly pizza-esque quality to them. It was crunchy and, as with most outer edges of meat, the seasonings concentrated there and it was VERY flavorful.

And it got pretty good reviews when I posted it on Obesity Help originally.

So..Bon Appetit! If you make it, I'd love to know what YOU think. Leave a message in the comments.

Leftovers Week: Jen's Gobble It Down Pizza

~~posted by Jen

By the Sunday after Thanksgiving, your family is probably moaning and groaning about still having to eat turkey sandwiches (mine already is) so you need to use up all that food but make it look and taste different, right? That's where we come in with Leftovers Week. Starting tomorrow, Nik and I will share two recipes with you each day to "Remix" those holiday leftovers into something delicious that fits your plan AND your family will enjoy! Added bonus, they probably won't even notice it's leftovers!!

If you haven't already done so, go ahead and remove the rest of the turkey from the bone (don't throw the carcass away, we're making stock later this week!), and get your other leftovers organized in the fridge or freezer so you have easy access to them for makeovers this week. That way you're all set to use these yummy recipe ideas all week.

Since it's Sunday and my boys are watching football and/or hockey on tv, I usually make them up some snacks to enjoy during the game(s). They were complaining about turkey sandwiches, so I came up with what I think is pretty clever, it's definitely delicious, and can be cut into perfect sized party "bites" for appetizers on game day or if guests drop by. This is your first taste of "Leftovers Week!" I call it "Gobble It Down Thanksgiving Pizza."

Before I had my RNY Gastric Bypass surgery in July 2008, my favorite thing about Thanksgiving leftovers was taking some turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce and making a sandwich on smushy white bread with lots of mayonnaise. This may not sound like a great combination, but oh my Martha is it tasty together.

I probably couldn't even handle half of one these days, for which I am thankful, but it's one of those "food memories" I wanted to find a way to re-create. Y'all know what that means! Yep, to the "lab" for some experimenting. On a side note, my kitchen now has a new larger fridge and a dishwasher, this benefits y'all more than you may realize!

S'anyway, I was thinking on this idea, and originally I was going to make the same sandwich on an Arnold Thin. But then I thought, "Nahhh", because to me the white bread and mayo are part of what makes this sandwich so divine. Then, as I was testing out the new Arnold "Artisan Ovens" Flatbreads, I had a moment of inspiration. How about a Thanksgiving PIZZA???? 

By George, it is DELICIOUS!!! Even the vegetarian scarfed it down, he picked the turkey off his slices. Here's how I did it:

Jen's Gobble It Down Pizza

Ingredients: (for 2 pizzas, yields 12 small square slices)
2 Arnold Multigrain Flatbread thins
4 tbsp leftover Jen's Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce (jellied or whole berry is fine, your choice)
2 tbsp mayonnaise (light is ok, but don't use fat free or it will taste "off")
4 oz leftover roast turkey or chicken breast, cut into small pieces or shredded
2 oz leftover stuffing
1 cup shredded Italian 6-cheese blend

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the two flatbreads side by side, a couple inches apart, on a non-stick cookie sheet. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the cranberry sauce and mayonnaise. Spread half of the mixture evenly over each flatbread, this is your pizza "sauce."

Sprinkle the turkey meat evenly over the sauce. Then spoon the stuffing into small rounds, I made "pepperoni" from the stuffing. This way you get some in almost every bite without complete carb overload!

Now sprinkle cheese evenly over the top of each pizza. If you like yours less cheesy, you can certainly use less. I tend to like lots of cheese on my pizza, plus it's extra protein and the richness of the cheese complements the sweet tanginess of the cranberries very nicely.

Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted. The pic at the beginning of the post is the finished pizza, fresh out of the oven.

Let cool slightly, then cut each pizza into 6 squares for serving. Don't forget, the cook gets the first bite! Delicious!

 Don't want to serve them now? Assemble the pizzas but don't bake. Instead, freeze them in airtight freezer bags, then the next time guests stop by unannounced or you kids want a quick snack, you're all set! Pull the pizzas out of the freezer then bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.