Pizza…for breakfast!

 

I am all about a piece of cold leftover pizza for breakfast; it takes me back to my college years.  But today’s recipe is a bit more distinguished, although it still qualifies as “pizza for breakfast”. 

The difference?  This is actually a recipe for Breakfast Pizza.

 

 

Last weekend as I was taking inventory of my fridge goodies, I noticed that I had a tube of pizza dough that was soon to expire.  Having already had savory pizza on the menu that week I decided to use it to experiment.

 

 

Breakfast pizza has been on my menu to-do list for a while, so I bit the bullet and loved the outcome.  It was easy, hearty and totally customizable – my favorite.

Here’s how – have fun with it!

 

Breakfast Pizza

Print this recipe!

• 1 can pizza dough
• Cooking spray
• 1/4 C real bacon bits (my favorite shortcut)
• 1-2 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed

• 1 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

• 1/4 cup fat-free milk
• 4 eggs

• salt and pepper for seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Spray cookie sheet.  Press pizza dough into desired shape and crimp edges of dough with fingers to form a rim.
3. Top prepared dough with potatoes, bacon bits and cheese. Combine milk, salt, pepper, and eggs, stirring with a whisk. Carefully pour milk mixture over pizza dough and toppings. Sprinkle with a bit more cheese if desired. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until crust is browned.

Admission - My “edge” wasn’t crimped enough and my egg mixture ran over the sides before baking.  I put it in the oven anyway and just cut the cooked excess egg off after it was baked and it still looked great– the recipe wasn’t ruined; it was still delicious!

 

 

Other ideas:

---Many recipes call for using crescent rolls as the dough – just press the triangles together and follow the same method of crimping the edges.

---Reduced fat or turkey sausage crumbles, sautéed onions and green peppers or any other omelet fillers would be great as toppings as well.

---1 8oz container of egg substitute can also be used.

 

Spin Off

 

A couple of weekends ago as we were headed to the beach we stopped at Publix to gear up and pick up subs as usual.  Mike and I usually split a turkey sub and call it a day, but since pregnant women aren’t supposed to have cold deli meat (heated until steaming is ok which kills the bacteria found in the meat called listeria), I opted for a new (to me) sub: the hot Philly Cheesesteak.

Well, it was delicious and having made Philly Cheesesteak Paninis before at home I knew that I wanted to try these flavors again during the week but with a twist. 

The result?  A spinoff of the original:

Philly Cheesesteak Pizza!

 

 

I didn’t really write down the recipe per se, this meal was one that was more “thrown together” but I can tell you the ingredients that were used:

• pizza dough (I love to buy Publix fresh dough, but canned works well, too)
• sweet onion
• green bell pepper
• sliced baby portabella mushrooms
• roast beef (from the deli or pre packaged)
• 4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, 1/2 C reduced fat sour cream mixed together with a half packed of ranch seasonings (this was used as the “sauce” of the pizza – so good)
• shredded mozzarella cheese (or any other cheese you desire, this is just what we had on hand

 

To prepare:

1.  Roll out the pizza dough.

2.  Sauté onions, pepper and mushrooms and S&P over medium heat until caramelized.

 

 

3.  Chop/dice the roast beef into small to medium sized pieces.

4.  Spread “sauce mixture” (see above) on the dough.

5.  Top with sautéed veggies and chopped roast beef.

6.  Cover with cheese.

 

7.  Bake for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees on a cookie sheet or until desired doneness.

8.  Serve with dipping sauce or eat as is.

 

 

Enjoy!

Holy Stromboli!

I have many, many fond memories from college.  Most of them, the ones that make me laugh out loud, involve my friend Noelle, aka “Nomo”.  She is one of the funniest people I know, has the most entertaining stories (her latest one had her staring down a mountain lion) and makes me laugh every time I talk to her. 
Back in the day, I remember going to an Italian restaurant during one of our college volleyball trips where she ordered Cannoli off of the menu for dessert.  After finishing her dessert I remember hearing her say “Holy Cannoli”, followed by her hilarious laugh about a million times. 



When I found this recipe for Stromboli, I couldn’t help but think about that night and I kept hearing her voice in my head saying “Holy Stromboli” in her own Nomo way.  She is in North Carolina now, but I know if she were closer she would not only want another cannoli, but also love my Stromboli. Miss you Nomo!

Stromboli                                                                                                 Ingredients: 1 tube pizza crust pizza sauce fillings:  turkey pepperoni, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, black olives, tomatoes, ground beef, sausage, bacon, etc.) Olive Oil and Garlic Salt (optional) Directions: Roll pizza dough into a rectangle the length of your baking sheet. It can be wider than the sheet because you will be folding the sides in. Place the dough on the baking sheet. Put sauce on the center half of the dough.

Print this recipe!
 
 
Just like pizza, add your toppings.  Stromboli can be a good way to use up leftovers. Any small amounts of meat, cheese and vegetables can be put into the Stromboli.
Then add cheese.
 

 

 
Now comes the fun part. Cut the dough on the sides at about 1 inch intervals. Don't cut all the way to the filling.  I use kitchen shears for this.
 

 
Then wrap it up.  Start at the bottom and alternating sides, overlap the strips of dough onto the filling in a lattice pattern. You can stretch the pieces to fit all the way over the filling.
 

 

 
Bake your Stromboli at 375° F for about 25-30 minutes.  During the last 5 minutes of baking, I take the Stromboli out and brush on a little bit of olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt for added flavor.
 


Serve alone or with a side salad.  Extra pizza sauce for dipping is also a great idea.

TIPS:

• This recipe is great to take to a party as an appetizer.  Just cut into thin slices and then halve.

• Want something sweet?  Turn this Stromboli into dessert by adding fillings different sweet fillings.  Some suggestions would be apple pie or other fruit pie fillings or Nutella w/ peanut butter and chocolate chips.  Walnuts for crunch would be awesome as well.

• Add scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese, and green onion and any other omelet filling (green peppers, broccoli, onions, mushrooms, ham, etc.) for a breakfast version of this quick and easy Stromboli.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

 
Easy, quick, yum!  This a great weeknight meal which we eat quite a bit at our house.  Enjoy!
BBQ Chicken Pizza

Print this recipe!

• 1 Whole Wheat pizza shell - I use Boboli
• 1 Chicken breast
• 1/2 C thinly sliced red onion – mandolins are great for this!
• 1-1 1/2 C reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese – shredded
• 1 C of your favorite BBQ Sauce, plus extra for chicken

Bake the chicken breast with a bit of your favorite BBQ sauce in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or sauté over medium high heat until cooked through.  Let cool and chop into small pieces.

When assembling the pizza, for the best results you should layer in an "inside out" or in a reverse manner.
First, put a layer of cheese directly on the crust. 

Then spread the chicken on top of the cheese.

 

Next, place the thinly sliced red onion on top. 

 

 

Lastly, pour/dribble the BBQ sauce on top.  The sauce will caramelize and get even sweeter in the oven. 

 

You can do more or less of each ingredient depending on your personal preference.  Don't be afraid to play around with it and make it your own.
Bake on the oven rack at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.
Delish!