Hamburger Crust Pizza- Low Carb & Delicious

 (this looks a little greasy, however, this is mostly meat juices if you use lean ground beef 88%)

It's amazing how happy the suggestion of a dinner idea can make some people.
After I mentioned this in passing  to my husband, he kept bringing it up.
When are you going to make it?
What do you need at the store?
Need any help?

The funny thing about this dish is that my Mom made it years ago when we were kids, and I remembered it fondly too.  So I guess I was pretty excited to eat it as well.

If you are "low carbing" it , or just want a fun idea for dinner, a hamburger crust pizza will surely fit the bill.  We ate the leftovers in our lunches, and it was a very satisfying lunch too.

Whoops, I forgot something!

Here you see the Canadian bacon and pepperoni that I used!














Serves 4
Ingredients

1 1/2 lb Lean ground beef (88% lean is good- I use fresh from Costco)
Salt & pepper
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1-2 tsp oregano

Mix altogether, press meat mixture into a pie plate and up the sides.  I used the largest quiche dish I have... about 11", but a large pie plate would work too.

Bake, without any topping, at 375 for 10 minutes, pour off any grease.

Foolishly, I added the sauce, so it was a bit tricky to pour off the accumulated fat and juices.








Then add:  
1/2 cup pizza sauce, or thick spaghetti sauce (recipe for a quick one below)
Sliced pepperoni 
Chopped canadian bacon
Chopped onions
Sliced olives
Sauteed mushrooms (raw mushrooms will release too much water...)
Bell pepper, sliced or chopped (optional)
1 cup mixture of mozzarella and cheddar cheese, grated

Bake another 10 minutes
Cut into wedges and serve.

You can see here that the whole thing DOES shrink a bit....

I was able to lift this to a cutting board with two spatulas.

Here's a picture of a slice, ready to eat!

 

Recipe for easy pizza sauce:

1- 15 oz can of diced stewed tomatoes with basil and garlic

1- 4 oz can of tomato paste

A little dried, or fresh garlic

Salt and pepper

Process this in your mini chopper, food processor and blender.  Yummy!

Caulitflower Pizza Crust

Cauliflower crust pizza.  
Hmmm.  I had to try it. I wasn't convinced it was going to be good.
However, we are now believers.  I'm going to be doing this more often.

There are many recipes out there for cauliflower crust and varying techniques.  
I did the easy one first, using my food processor to chop it into a mealy texture.  
This is a very messy endeavor so be fore-warned. 
As you take off the cover to your processor to check out the progress, all the little bits of cauliflower explode all over the place.  I mixed the "raw" (uncooked) cauliflower with the rest of the ingredients and baked it.  This made a softer crust, even with the pre-baking, and definitely needed a fork to eat it. Still. It was yummy.

The other method is microwaving the cauliflower for 8 minutes and wringing it out with a clean dish towel. Wow... that was messy too. However, getting some of that moisture out of the cauliflower will make for a crispier crust, and be something you can pick up.
As to that messy dish towel... I'd recommend shaking it out outside and letting it dry out there.  Otherwise...  you're going to have more little bits of cauliflower all the way to the washing machine and then stuck to all your clothes.  Sigh...

Makes 1 pizza
Ingredients

2/3 head of cauliflower, chopped in a food processor makes about 2-3 cups
2 garlic cloves (chopped with cauliflower above)
1 egg
1/4 cup Parmesan, Romano or Asiago cheese, grated
1/2 cup low fat mozzarella cheese, 
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt


Preheat oven to 450

Chop cauliflower in a food processor until a fine and a consistent texture.

Then, you can pick a method:

• Crisper Pizza- Microwave for 8 minutes, drain off any liquid you see (or even wring it out using a clean dishcloth). Let it cool a bit and then mix with the rest of the ingredients.
• Softer "Fork" Pizza- Mix uncooked cauliflower with all the ingredients.

 Spray baking sheet, or pizza stone, with cooking spray, olive oil or a sheet of parchment. Shape into one large patty about 1/3 inch deep and cook for 20 minutes, then top with pizza sauce, veggies, meat and mozzarella. Cook for 15 minutes more. 
It was surprisingly wonderful.
We made more yummy noises the following day when we ate it cold, standing in front of the fridge... hahaha.

I used a piece of parchment on top of my pizza stone as I was worried that all that cauliflower stuff would stick..

  Here's a view of the crust after I pre-baked it before adding the sauce and toppings.

Here's what's been happening on my blog around, or on, this date over the years...

One year ago: Cherry Tomato Margarita
Two years ago: Mexican Cauliflower Soup for the Soul
Three years ago:  Apricot, Cherry, Almond "Addin" Muffins- Base recipe

Cubano Pulled Pork Pizza

This is my favorite pizza at a favorite local restaurant near us.
I've always liked a Cubano sandwich.
I mean HECK, what's not to love?
Pulled pork, ham, pickles, pepperonicini, mustard and cheese?
Yum... but layer it all up on a pizza, you will achieve a whole other level of happiness.
I love this pizza; to make at home, or to order at our fun place,  The Station Pizzeria in Woodinville, WA. It's not your run of the mill pizza place, and this in not your run of the mill pizza!

I've made this a couple of times, but have been reluctant to post it because I have NOT been happy with my pizza dough.  But franklly, I felt this pizza story really did need to be told with, or without, a recipe for pizza dough.
Just go buy some dough at the store, OR make it with some other recipe.  My recipe for pizza dough has not met my standards of sharing... please stay tuned. I will be delighted to share that when I have it ready.
In the mean time, make this pizza and BE HAPPY!


Makes one 12-14" pizza
Ingredients
1 recipe of pizza dough (Trader Joe's is nice, or make your own!)
1 cup shredded pulled pork
1/2 chopped ham, or thin ham slices
Coarse grain mustard
4-6 slices of provolone cheese
4-6 large dill pickle slices
Pepperoncini  slices (hot pickled peppers)

Sorry for so few instructions, but I think you can get it from the pictures. 
Can't you?
Bake until it's done... ummm, maybe 15-20 minutes at 450 degrees.  
Check it and decide for yourself if it's crisp and bubbly delicious to eat.
I recommend cutting the pizza into quarters and folding your quarter up on the sides like a large pizza taco to eat.  What a wonderful way to really enjoy your dinner!


First step, spread the coarse grain mustard on the unbaked dough, like a sauce. (instead of normal red sauce).

Layer on the pulled pork

Add pickle slices and the ham (either sliced ham, or chopped like shown)

A couple of slices of provolone and some pepperoncini slices. Bake until brown and bubbly!