...and the adventure begins!

First up, PIZZA!!

Who doesn't love that cheesy, garlicky yumminess?!  When pizza hut delivers, I love to open up the pizza box and breathe in all of the aromas: the sweetness from the yeast of the crust, the zestiness of the garlic and oregano, the pungency of the mozzarella, the spicy meatiness of the pepperoni.  Mmmmm.  In fact, just thinking about it now is making my mouth water with anticipation.  Can anybody identify with me here?

Last week, I couldn't stop thinking about pizza.  The smell, the taste...needless to say, the craving was substantial.  So in search of supplies, off to the grocery store I went!

Grocery List:

Pizza Crust - Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins.

Pizza Sauce - I already had some Prego tomato sauce in my fridge, so I went with that.

Cheese - Part Skim Mozzarella and Mixed Cheeses.

Toppings - I decided on a jar of Sliced Jalapenos.

Seasonings - I used what I found in my spice cabinet: Basil, Oregano, Garlic, etc.

Salad - Lite Caesar Salad

Wine - Red Moscato (to balance out the spiciness of the jalapenos...)

Pizza is one of those dinners that I choose when I'm too tired to do much preparation.  Thus the pre-made sauce, shredded pre-packaged cheeses, and jar of jalapenos.  If you wanted to make your own sauce, shred your own cheese, and dice your own jalapenos, more power to you.  I am, however, too lazy to do so!

Confession:  Bread is my weakness.  I love the soft, sweet taste of fresh bread.  The biggest sacrifice of this recipe (for me) is making a thin crust pizza.  I tried to find a whole wheat mini Boboli crust or a whole wheat pizza crust mix, but was completely unsuccessful.  I contemplated using whole wheat english muffins, but then saw the sandwich thins at the store and had to try them!

I chose to do a simple cheese and jalapeno pizza because I had tried it once before on thin crust and loved it!  It seemed like a yummy way to have my pizza without the greasiness and calories of pepperoni (my usual pizza topping of choice.)  Stay tuned for my version of a pepperoni substitute.

So to make my delectable little pizzas:

I pre-heated the [toaster] oven to 350 degrees.  Then I split the sandwich thins into 2 sides, ladled 1Tbsp of tomato sauce on each side, split 1/4 cup of the cheese between the two sides, put 5 jalapenos on each side and popped them into the oven for about 10 minutes.  Right before I pulled them out of the oven, I switched to broil for just a minute to brown the cheese a little bit.

(As a side note, I'm not a huge sauce girl, thus  the 1Tbsp per side.  Feel free to up it.  I'm far more concerned with the crisp crust and the gooey cheesiness.)

While my mini pizzas were cooking, I tossed together a small (lite) caesar salad.  I like variety in my meals...I'm a huge proponent of appetizers and multi-course meals.

Once the cheese was nice and bubbly, I took the pizzas out of the oven, sprinkled them with a little bit of italian seasonings, and enjoyed them with a glass of wine!  Yum!

The best thing about these little mini-pizzas, besides the taste, was the calorie count:

203 Calories for 2 Mini-Pizzas

Pair that with a small (lite) caesar salad (59 Calories) and a glass of wine (approx. 120 Calories) and you have a delightful dinner without the guilt!

In retrospect, they were good.  Things I would change: The 'crust' was not quite as crispy as I would have liked.  Next time, I will toast the thins before putting the sauce on.  Also, the sauce was a little sweet and lacked the spice I usually like.  (I used a Tomato, Basil, and Garlic sauce because it's what i had.  Next time, I'll use a spicier, zestier sauce.)  And lastly, the jalapenos were overpoweringly spicy hot.  Next time, I will rinse the jalapenos before placing them on the pizza as a topping.  

I'll keep you posted as to how my second version turns out!