Pizza Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Yum - definitely one of my favorite stuffed pepper recipes. Tastes just like a delicious pizza but without the crust. Mmmm.

2 c cooked and cooled quinoa (1/2 c dry)
3.15 oz pkg sliced pepperoni, slices cut into quarters
8 oz of perline (pearl) mozzarella, liquid drained (I just used shredded mozz)
3/4 c pizza sauce
1/2 c loosely packed fresh basil, more for garnish
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/2 c grated Parmesan
4 red bell peppers, sliced in half and hollowed out

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Place red pepper halves in boiling water and cook for three minutes. Remove and let cool so that you can handle them. (I did not do this part and my peppers were not too hard.)

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except Parmesan cheese and bell peppers. Fill pepper halves with quinoa mixture and place in a large baking dish (9x13 or bigger). Repeat until all pepper halves are full. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over the top and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until cheese is golden brown and peppers are heated through. Enjoy!

Original recipe found here.

Skinny Hawaiian Pizza Pasta

I could have eaten the whole pan!! But I didn't, I ate a serving, which is only 300 calories! Yay! This is so yummy. I love that we have lots of leftovers, making this a perfect school year dish. It really does taste like a delicious Hawaiian pizza. While the dish was baking, it definitely smelled like I had a Hawaiian pizza in the oven. Mmmm.

1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
2-3 bay leaves
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp Splenda granulated sweetener (if you don’t use splenda in your food, use whatever sweetener you choose)
3 c uncooked whole wheat pasta spirals
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks, drained
1 c cooked ham (I used sliced and cut it smaller)
1/2 c mini turkey pepperonis
1/2 lb sliced fresh mushrooms
1 tbsp olive oil
1 c reduced fat mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan, sauté the onion, mushrooms, green pepper, and red pepper for 3-4 minutes until tender. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 more minutes, stirring often. Add tomato sauce, basil, oregano, bay leaves, Italian seasoning, and sugar. Bring sauce to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes and let sauce thicken. Stir frequently.

While sauce is cooking, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta. Discard bay leaves from sauce. Stir in the pasta, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, turkey pepperoni, ham, and pineapple. Transfer pasta to a greased shallow 3 quart baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake for 30 minutes uncovered or until completely heated through. 

Delicious sauce with veggies. Ham/pepperoni not added yet.

 Yum. Combined with meat & pasta sauce mix.

 Sprinkled with cheese!

 And yum.

Original recipe found here.

Portobello Mushroom Pizzas

Another very simple, yet easy recipe! Not much to it! Oh, along with this we had "Skinny" Spaghetti Squash Alfredo boats and salads. I should note that this is the first time Will has ever had the spaghetti squash alfredo. I have made it for myself 2-3 times when he has been out of town. Needless to say, he loved it. Picture at the bottom. :)

The amount of the ingredients depends on how many you want to make, so I just wrote down what I used. Feel free to try other toppings!

Portobello mushroom caps
marinara sauce
part-skim mozzarella cheese
green onions, chopped
tomato, diced
sliced jalapenos
sliced black olives

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place mushrooms on an ungreased baking sheet and bake (cap down) for 5 min. Remove from oven and add sauce, cheese, and toppings. Bake an additional 15 min. I also broiled mine for a minute or two to brown the cheese.

Original recipe found here.

The spaghetti squash boats. Mmm.

Breakfast Mini Pizzas

I had no idea these would be so good! I mean, this looked good enough for me to want to try it, but I wasn't sure it would be something I would have often. Wrong! I loved these.

I am always looking for healthy, easy, high protein breakfasts under 300 calories - this one comes in at 250 cal! Yay! I'm not someone who can just eat a granola bar for breakfast. Also, I NEVER skip breakfast. I don't feel good and I get irritable (and everyone knows we don't need that).

This is definitely something I would be able to make during the school year too. Give it a try before you judge!

1 egg (70 cal)
1 egg white (3 tbsp Egg Beater's Egg Whites - 25 cal)
1 English muffin (Thomas' Light Multi-Grain - 100 cal)
2 tbsp marinara sauce (15 cal)
2 tbsp part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese (40 cal)
Sometimes I stir a few green onions into my eggs

Cut the English muffin in half (if it's not already) and toast in toaster oven on the light cycle. Scramble your eggs, being sure to add some salt/pepper. After muffins are done, spread 1 tbsp of marinara on each half. Top with scrambled eggs, then sprinkle 1 tbsp of mozzarella on each half. I did put mine back in the toaster oven for a couple minutes to get the cheese melted and brown. :)

Original recipe found here.

"Skinny" Mexican Pizzas

I actually made these the night before we went out of town last week... just now getting a chance to post it. This uses ground turkey and you dress up the meat so much you can't even tell... at least Will couldn't! Also, be careful with your tortillas in the broiler. They can burn pretty quickly... broil with caution!

6 whole wheat flour tortillas, medium sized
1 lb lean ground turkey
seasonings - salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, oregano
1 pkt of beef flavored "flavor boost" (concentrated stock)
1 pkg taco seasoning
3/4 c water
1 can fat free refried beans
1/2 cup chicken stock
medium taco sauce
salsas of choice - Herdez red salsa and green salsa verde
1 diced tomato
1 small can sliced black olives
Mexican blend grated cheese
2 fresh green onions, thinly sliced

Spritz the whole wheat tortillas with olive oil spray and broil in the oven about 4-5 minutes per side until puffy and golden. Break up and brown the ground turkey in a non-stick skillet. Add 1/2 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, and 1 tsp dried oregano to the turkey as it is browning. Once it's cooked through, add one packet of beef "flavor boost" stock, the taco seasoning, and water. Let it cook until this makes a thicker sauce, then turn off the heat.

Put the refried beans in a skillet and add about 1/2 c chicken broth. This will thin out the beans and add flavor so you can spread it. 

Assembly: To the bottom tortilla, paint with red salsa, then add meat and a layer of cheese. To the second tortilla, add beans, then flip over where the beans are on the bottom next to the cheese. To the top of the second tortilla, paint with green salsa, add cheese, taco sauce, tomatoes, olives and green onions.

Bake at 400 degrees until all melted or put it back under the broiler in the oven. Cut into wedges and serve with condiments of choice. 

Original recipe found here. 

Taco Pizza!

So fun to make and awesome! Easy too. All around amazing! I love Pinterest. :)

1 lb lean ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 (10 oz) can refrigerated Pillsbury pizza dough
1 (16 oz) can fat-free refried beans
2-3 cups red-fat shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced black olives
4 green onions, chopped

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground beef in a large skillet, over medium-high heat. Drain grease. Add taco seasoning to the ground beef according to package directions.

Unroll pizza dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (I used a 10x15 inch cookie sheet). Let dough sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Press dough over the bottom and up along all 4 sides the of cookie sheet. Bake pizza dough for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven.

Place refried beans into a bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir well and then spread beans evenly over the top of the warm pizza crust. Top with the cooked ground beef mixture, sprinkle with cheese and then add the tomatoes, black olives and green onion.

Return to oven and bake another 10-12 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Original recipe found here.

Homemade Calzone

This was the funnest thing EVER to make! And so good too. A must try! I saw this on Pinterest and found the recipe here. There are great step-by-step pictures at the site to help.

So... this is what is looks like on the website:

And here is ours:

We put a little cheese on top of the loaf so it looks a little different.

Ok, so here's what you will need, and what we did:

pizza dough
pizza sauce
cheese
can of mushrooms
olives
pepperoni

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. I had two things of refrigerated pizza crust (thin crust). So, I put those together on parchment paper, and rolled it out into one big rectangle. Then, put pizza sauce down the middle, followed by pepperoni, olives, mushrooms, cheese, etc. Cut the dough on the sides at about 3/4 inch intervals. After all the cuts are made, start folding them over like the pictures on the website show. If you have used parchment paper, you can easily just pick up the loaf and move it to a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 min. So fun and easy!!!