Cute Little Pizzas

Hey folks!  I am either playing in the sand, shopping, or eating, but I didn’t want to leave you with only the leftovers while I am gone.  A huge thanks to my buddy Josh from Beer School Blog for helping me keep things fresh around here.  These pizzas are great-especially for those of us who love a thin crust!

I love to cook. My wife isn’t a fan. When we got married 6 years ago, Amy and I made a deal. I’d cook. She’d clean up. So for the past 6 years, I’ve cooked most of the meals. I plan them out each week and even make the grocery list…and yes, even go get the groceries. I like it. Is that weird?

We eat at home most nights of the week and we both work long days. That said, I’m always looking for quick solutions for dinner. I’ve also been trying to lose weight so I’m always looking for healthy alternatives to the foods that I love.

I could eat pizza every night! But when you’re trying to lose weight, pizza is not your friend. All that dough, sausage, pepperoni…that’s a TON of calories! Knowing that, I decided to come up with a pizza that had all of the flavor and lot less calories. It’s not ground breaking or anything but it’s TASTY! More importantly, you can whip ‘em up in less than 20 minutes. If you have kids, have them help you out. Pizza is easy to make and kids love helping out. Right? I don’t have any…just two dumb cats so I’m guessing here.  🙂

Margarita Pizza

Serves 1, prep 10 minutes, cook 10 minutes

• 1 Whole Wheat Tortilla
• ½ cup Pizza Sauce (any brand but I use Trader Joe’s)
• Chiffonade of fresh Basil (4-5 leaves)
• 3-4 fresh tomato slices
• 8 slices of small pepperoni or 3 slices of big pepperoni (from the deli)
• ½ cup of Sargento 6 Cheese Italian Blend (any brand will work but this tastes GOOD)

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
2. Place tortilla on counter
3. Spread pizza sauce on tortilla
4. Stack 4-5 Basil leaves, roll, slice in tiny little strips (what fancy chefs call a chiffonade)
5. Sprinkle Basil on top of the pizza (under the cheese or else it will burn)
6. Next, add cheese!
7. On top of the cheese, add tomato slices and pepperoni (if you want the calories and awesome taste. If not, skip the pepperoni)
8. Place little pizza on a pizza stone or other pizza cooking device
9. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes or until the cheese bubbles and the edges of the pizza get crispy
10. Eat.

This little pizza is about 470 calories. If you skip the pepperoni it’s under 400 calories. Easy. Quick. Tasty. The only thing that would make this dinner better is a cold beer. Is there a better combo than pizza and beer? I think not.