Pizza-fied Grilled Cheese

This will be my last post for a little while. I am going to a wedding in Sedona, AZ this weekend, and need a break from the technology world/research, its been a long 2 months without a break from work/training. Moving on...this is one of my favorite things to make. It's a twist on the grilled cheese, and I always like to eat this with a bowl of tomato soup. Who doesn't like their grilled cheese with two cheeses and turkey pepperoni?

Ingredients
Serving Size: (Entire Recipe) 1 Sandwich
Calories-185
2 slices light bread (around 45 to 50 calories each)
1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss Cheese
2 tablespoons canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
4 slices turkey pepperoni
1 slice fat-free American cheese
1 teaspoon light whipped butter or light buttery spread, room temperature

Lay bread slices flat and evenly spread the upward-facing sides with cheese wedge. Evenly top one cheese-covered slice with crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, pepperoni slices, and American cheese. Top with other slice of bread, cheese-covered side down.

Evenly spread the upward-facing bread slice with 1/2 teaspoon butter. Place in a skillet with buttered side down. Evenly spread remaining 1/2 teaspoon butter onto the upward-facing slice of bread.

Bring skillet to medium-high heat on the stove. Cook until bread is lightly browned and cheese has melted, about 2 minutes per side, flipping carefully.

If you like, season some additional crushed tomatoes with Italian seasoning and serve as a dip. Enjoy!

California Pizza Kitchen BBQ Chicken Pizza

A single-serve BBQ chicken pizza that is SO rockin' it hurts. CPK, eat your heart out...I love this recipe and make it all the time.

Ingredients
Serving Size: 1 pizza (entire recipe) 340 Calories
1 stick light string cheese
3 oz. cooked boneless skinless lean chicken breast, chopped
2 tbsp. your favorite BBQ sauce with about 45 calories per 2-tbsp. serving, divided
1 high-fiber or whole-wheat pita
1 1/2 tbsp. finely chopped red onion

Optional
1 tsp. chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Break string cheese into thirds, and place in a food processor or blender -- blend at high speed until cheese takes on a shredded or grated consistency. (Or just tear string cheese into pieces and roughly chop.) Set aside.

In a small dish, toss chopped chicken with 1 tbsp. BBQ sauce and set aside.

Place pita on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Spread remaining 1 tbsp. BBQ sauce onto the exposed side of the pita, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge.

Sprinkle evenly with shredded/grated cheese. Scatter saucy chicken over the layer of cheese, and then sprinkle with onion.

Bake in the oven for 10 - 12 minutes, until pizza is hot. Top with cilantro, slice into quarters, and enjoy. YUMMMM!

I sometimes top mine with grated Parmesan cheese! It all depends on my mood. Again sorry for the bad pic. My blackberry isn't the best device for taking pics.






The Original Sin: Comparison Time

CPK is a place full of cool, innovative, and delicious dishes. I LOVE that, but there are a few major flaws. First, the portions. Those pizzas are too large to be considered single servings, but too small to be shared without ordering a few. And second, the stats. So many of the menu items are super high in calories. Even the kid-sized version of this pizza has nearly half a thousand calories and double-digit fat grams. This one is NOT hard to make over, people. The key is finding a BBQ sauce you love that has about 45 calories a serving (I use Jack Daniels Original Recipe BBQ sauce), shredding up some string cheese (it melts SO much better than the pre-shredded stuff), and getting some good high-fiber pitas. And this pie ACTUALLY serves one -- it's perfectly sized! So if you know someone who thinks they're gonna steal a slice of yours, you'd better double the recipe. Just a friendly little tip...


Serving Size of a CPK BBQ Chicken Pizza: 1 pizza
Calories: 1,136

Yeah didn't that just make you cry a little...

Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels

My sister got mad at me for having recipe posts with both honey mustard and mushrooms. She explained not everyone likes those things, so here's a recipe I told her over the phone while driving home from the metro. (I'm mostly posting this so she has it handy for when she actually makes it)

So it's another pizza recipe. I know! I couldn't help myself. But this one doesn't involve eggs or mushrooms. And I mean, who doesn't like pizza!

Ingredients
Serving Size: 1 Pinwheel-1/8th of recipe- 125 Calories
2 wedges of The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss Cheese
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and finely chopped
1 package Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Seamless Dough Sheet
16 slices of turkey pepperoni or pepperoni soy protein, chopped
1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
2 sticks light string cheese, pulled into strings

Optional
Crushed tomatoes for dipping.

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees and spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray and set aside. In a small bowl, combine cheese wedges with the sun-dried tomatoes. Mix well and set aside.

Roll out dough into a large rectangle of even thickness, with the shorter sides on the right and left. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the dough, leaving about a 2-inch border of exposed dough along the right side only (if you don't do this, the stuffing of your pinwheel wont be inside the dough when you roll it).

Evenly distribute the pepperoni over the cheese and sprinkle with Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Evenly place string cheese pieces vertically on the dough sheet. Starting with the left side, roll the dough tightly up into a log, and seal by pinching together the right edge and the roll itself.

Using a sharp serrated knife, slice the log into 8 pinwheels, and lay them flat on the baking sheet, evenly spaced. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until lightly golden.

Allow to cool slightly. If you like, serve with crushed tomatoes for dipping. Chew and enjoy!

These are absolutely amazing! I normally eat two with crushed tomatoes, then have a small side salad. Don't worry if your pinwheels don't come out pretty looking. They taste so good no matter what!

Pizza! Pizza! Egg Mug (Put to Little Ceasers Commericial)

Isn't cold pizza for breakfast one of the best things ever! Well it may be tasty, but defiantly not all that healthy for you. Here's another alternative, which gives you a warm satisfying breakfast as well as that awesome pizza taste! This recipe comes from the 300 under 300 recipe book. I made this for the first time this morning and I thought it was fabulous! I will be making this dish often from now on. Cheers to Egg Mugs!

Ingredients
Serving Size: 1 Serving (entire mug) 134 Calories
2 tbsp. canned crushed tomatoes
1/8 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese
6 slices turkey pepperoni (like the kind by Hormel) or soy protein pepperoni, chopped
1/2 tsp. reduced-fat Parmesan-style grated topping

Season crushed tomatoes with Italian seasoning and set aside.

Spray a large microwave-safe mug lightly with nonstick spray. Add egg substitute and cheese wedge, breaking the cheese wedge into pieces as you add it. Microwave for 1 minute.

Stir gently, and then microwave for another 30 seconds.

Mix in seasoned tomatoes and pepperoni. Microwave for another 30 seconds, until scramble is just set.

Stir lightly, and then sprinkle with grated topping. Allow to cool a bit, and then ENJOY! I paired my egg mug with a large gala apple and a large cup of hot coffee!

If you don't feel like opening a can of tomatoes for just 2 tbsp., you can use some jarred low-fat pizza sauce instead!

Pizza-bella

A mushroom dressed up like a pizza? It's so beautiful, it brings tears to my eyes...

I have seen this recipe in two different cookbooks, and I have made this for both myself and my mother, who liked it as well. I love mushrooms and pizza, so combining them wasn't a problem for me.

Ingredients
Serving Size: (1/2 recipe: 1 pizza-bella) 118 Calories
2 large portabella mushrooms
2 sticks light string cheese (around 50 calories per cheese stick)
1/4 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
Dash Italian seasoning
8 slices turkey pepperoni (like the kind by Hormel) or soy protein pepperoni (tofu), chopped
2 tbsp. canned sliced black olives

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove mushroom stems, chop, and set aside. Place mushroom caps on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake in the oven for 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, break each stick of string cheese into thirds and place in a food processor or blender -- blend at high speed until cheese takes on a shredded or grated consistency. (Or just tear string cheese into pieces and roughly chop.) Set aside.

Remove sheet from the oven but leave oven on. Blot excess liquid from mushroom caps and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine crushed tomatoes, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Mix well and equally distribute between mushroom caps; spread until smooth and even. Sprinkle shredded/grated cheese over the saucy layer on each cap. Top with chopped mushroom stems, pepperoni, and olives.

Bake in the oven for 8 - 10 minutes, until cheese has melted. Eat as soon as you can without burning your mouth!

String cheese is basically portion controlled cheesy goodness, which is fantastic! Don't like olives? Not into turkey pepperoni? Don't use 'em! Each standard saucy 'n cheesy mushroom "pizza" has 89 calories and 2.75g fat, so feel free to pick your own toppings and add their stats to those numbers.