Monday, January 11, 2010

Pizza!

I'm not a pizza girl.  I know this may sound like blasphemy but I am just not huge on it.  I have one memory of a birthday party I had at home when I was 6.  There were 3 of us and we were having a 'sleepover' in the middle of the day (yep, I was cool already).  We all wore our pajamas, watched a scary movie, and my parents ordered us pineapple and extra cheese pizza and it was the coolest day ever!  I don't get nearly as excited about pizza anymore.
I rarely crave it, but last night was an exception in my usual behavior.  I stopped by the store to buy some apples and bananas and I picked up a pre-made whole wheat pizza crust.  As I drove home I realized I had none of the 'normal' pizza ingredients- no mozzarella cheese, no pizza sauce (yes, I am used to canned sauce- perhaps why I am not huge on pizza) and no fresh basil.  I decided to do a spin-off of a pizza I saw on Hangry Pants and made my Mediterranean Pizza.

Ingredients:
  • Crust of choice (I used Boboli Whole Wheat)
  • "Pizza sauce" of 3 Tablespoons of Trader Joe's Sundried Tomato and Basil Hummus
  • Baby bell peppers 3-4
  • Kalamata olives
  • Spinach
  • Red onions (I quickly carmelized them on a pan before I added them to the pizza)
  • Goat cheese
  • Sprinkle of Parmesan 
  • Chili powder, paprika, and cumin to taste
I topped the pizza with all the toppings and baked at 450 degrees for about 12 minutes.  It was gooey with a crunchy crust and had just enough kick.  I enjoyed it with the usual fiber:

I went back for another piece it was that good.  The hubby gave it a try and liked it too!  I think that variations can include different hummus (probably more than I added), different kinds of olives, feta instead of goat cheese, and fresh basil.

I'm eating it for lunch leftovers and it's awesome!  I just wish I could have had a scary movie to watch it with and wore my pajamas today!

23 comments:

Healthy. Happy. Well. said...

I love how you used tomato basil hummus in place of the sauce. I'm not a huge fan of pizza either as I don't eat cheese, but this looks delicious!

Katie ♥ said...

Hey!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lets have a sleepover and have pizza and icecream too!!!!!! Love it!!!

Awwww thanks for the sweet comments love!!

I know Chicago rocks, glad you feel the same way!!!!! SO amy great eats, shopping, and entertainment!!!! But it's so damn cold in the winter!!!

Your pizza looks good, glad your mike liked it!!!

Have a great night!!!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

I have become more and more of a pizza person as I get older! I just LOVE it! Hummus instead of sauce sounds good too!

Anonymous said...

if you have a marinaria/pasta sauce you love (jarred or homemade) it makes for a great pizza sauce-tastier than what gets called "pizza sauce" in the store.


the thai chick-un pizza from eat drink and be vegan is really good if you want less traditional pizza!

Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg said...

lol-- I would have LOVED to have gone to a middle-of-the-day slumber party when I was 6.

Heck, I would love to do that now!! :-)

Mom on the Run said...

I do love pizza in any variation. LOL!

Mari said...

Damn you just put my Pizza to shame lol...I had frozen pizza for din din tonight lol

Anonymous said...

i totally had pizza tonight too! i used basil pesto instead of sauce (so good!) how are those whole wheat crusts? almost bought em today!

Anonymous said...

wow that pizza looks amazing!! bloggers make the best loking pizzas :) i'm not a huge pizza person either- my junk food of choice is prob chinese!! haha

xoxo
shelley

Naomi(Onefitfoodie) said...

NOT A PIZZA PERSON!?! whhaht?! haha just kidding, i know we all have our faviorite and not so favorite foods. I am not really a chocolate person if you can believe that!

the pizza looks so great! I have had that whole wheat boboli its not bad!!

Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat) said...

I am not a pizza person either! Glad to hear I'm not alone. :)

But I admit, that looks good!

chrystad72 said...

Awesome! That pizza looks fantastic. Those pizza and sleep over days were so fun eh?! I always liked my pizza (even as a kid!) with lots of sauce, veggies and just a tiny bit of cheese. I was never a big cheese person. But I love all the roasted veggies and mountains of garlic on some good quality crispy bread. Yumz!!! Have a great day!

Puppy Love said...

You are brilliant to think of using tomato basil hummus instead of pizza sauce! I don't know what the rest of my family would think about it, but it sounds really good to me - I'll have to try it!

Anonymous said...

The pizza looks fantastic! I could eat pizza pretty much any time. lol

Gina; The Candid RD said...

I'm the same as you, in that I used to LOVE pizza, but now I don't really get the cravings as much. I think it's because I eat it less often. As a kid I ate it ALL THE TIME, I mean how many days did they offer it at the cafeteria?? Pretty much everyday! When I do make pizza (like last night!) I use whole wheat Boboli usually, but I discovered that Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza crust is only 2 dollars, or maybe less. Boboli is almost 5! What a tip off, I'm sticking to the Trader Joe's.

I LOVE your topping choices. I like olives on my pizza, but Nick doesn't. BOO.

Beth @ DiningAndDishing said...

That pizza looks AWESOME!!

I am definitely a pizza lover and this one looks really yummy!

Katie ♥ said...

Hey love !!! Iforget to answer your question too, yes I got those tops at Forever 21 and they would look fab on you too!!!!!!!! Muah!!!! Most of my clothes are from forever 21 or my sweatsuits are juicy or PINK from Vic Secret, I have my staples!!! Thats all I wear, lol!!!

Dawn (HealthySDLiving) said...

Mmm looks great!
I wasn't into pizza for a looooong time. I had a traumatic experience and choked on some of the cheese--so for the longest time I wouldn't eat it and if I did I would take all of the cheese off and just eat saucy dough! lol
Now I still don't get excited but I do eat it with cheese! lol

Anonymous said...

What?!! Blasphemy indeed! I'll take your 2 small slices and eat 6 more please!! (the sad part is that that's no joke)...yummy post :)

Ruby said...

Ohhh that looks so good! I wish we had whole whet pizza crusts available here, I'd have to make my own! I love making my own pizza, but always end upputting too much on top, haha.

Rachel@Coconut Crumbs said...

awesome pizza!! and I love your blog layout. : )

Kelly said...

That looks like a really fun pizza. I love the idea of using hummus in place of the sauce- I might have to try that sometime soon. I actually do like pizza in general but I can't eat cheese which seriously limits my choices of pizza out at restaurants haha.

Abby (Abbys Vegan Eats) said...

YUM YUM and YUM!!!! :) Looks super delish!