Cauliflower crust pizza!!!!

I saw this recipe today and, since I have a head of cauliflower laying around, thought I MUST try this!  So I am posting it here to be able to remember it.  Perfect for gluten-free pizza!  It has rave reviews too.  And if you want to make it even healthier?  Try doing a 1:1 ratio of steamed broccoli puree with marinara for the sauce!  Recipe here:  http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/2012/05/cauliflower-for-the-pickiest-eaters-yep/

Cauliflower Pizza .
Ingredients
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1/2 Head of cauliflower (mine was a smallish head)
2 C shredded cheese divided (I used mozzarella, but any medium/hard cheese will work)
Italian seasonings (I used oregano, parsley, fresh garlic and some onion)
1 egg
Pizza sauce or marinara sauce of your choosing
Toppings (we used sausage, black olives and pineapple)
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Instructions
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Grate your cauliflower. I used a food processor with the grater blade (cause you don’t want it to become pureed, just shredded). Place the grated cauliflower into a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 6-8 minutes (depending on your microwave). You want to make sure the cauliflower is soft but not mushy. Do NOT add water or anything to the cauliflower.
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While the cauliflower cools off (I put mine in the freezer to cool it quickly), preheat the oven to 450* and prepare a cookie sheet or pizza pan by spraying it with cooking spray. This is also a good time to prepare your toppings – cook your sausage, cut up your pineapple, whatever…
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To the cauliflower add 1 C shredded cheese and spices and combine. Add egg and mix well with your hands. Press the crust onto a pan and shape into a 9-12″ pizza (depending on how thin you want the crust). I did mine closer to a 12″ and it worked great! Spray the top of the crust with cooking spray (to help brown) or brush with oil.
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Bake the crust for 15 minutes (or until golden brown). When you pull out the pizza, turn your oven to broil.
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Add your toppings (we did 1/2 sausage and 1/2 pineapple/black olive) including 1 C cheese and put pizza under the broiler for 3-5 minutes. Just broil it long enough to melt the cheese and caramelize the toppings a bit.
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Seriously delicious! My husband will eat cauliflower, but doesn’t love it. I am one of the pickiest eaters on the planet. My daughter is another one of the pickiest people on the planet. We ALL loved it!! I made this Sunday and they are already asking for it again!! Cauliflower! Who knew??

Homemade Pizza Crust

I had heard about this easy recipe from a fellow blogger and decided to try it last night for some yummy homemade pizza.  IT WAS SOOOOOOO GOOD!  The recipe is called "Jay's Signature Pizza Crust" and I got it off http://www.allrecipes.com/.  It has 4 1/2 stars and A TON of reviews, so it had to be good right?  Right!
And so easy!  Here is the original recipe:

Ingredients
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions
1.In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
2.Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
3.Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.
4.Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.
5.Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Here are my add-ins:  I put in some Italian Seasoning and some garlic powder and onion powder in the yeast/oil mixture, right before adding in the flour.  It made it very savory!  I also put pieces of string cheese in the edges of the crust before baking to get that cheesy crust all the pizza places are raving about!  
 
On my homemade pizza, I just use a traditional pasta sauce (special pizza sauce is so overrated!), mozzarella, and whatever veggies and meats I have on hand.  Last night, I topped my pizza with a small can of mushrooms (drained of course), 2 sliced up LARGE tomatoes, some thick cut ham, and a red bell pepper.  I had to cook it on my pizza stone for 20 minutes because of all the juices, but it was so good!  
I ate it again for lunch.  Cold.  Straight from the fridge.  I love eating pizza leftovers!
(Sorry no pictures, my camera battery is dead and is yet to be charged.  I haven't taken pictures for 3 weeks!  lol)

.:California Club Pizza:.

Another pampered chef recipe from Camilla's party! I haven't made it yet, but it was tasty!

INGREDIENTS
- 1 t. vegetable oil
- 1 pkg. (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza crust
- 2 c. diced or shredded cooked chicken
- 2 c. (8 oz.) shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend
- 2 plum tomatoes
- 1/4 medium red onion
- 1 medium avocado
- 1 lemon
- 6 slices bacon, thinly sliced, cooked, and drained

DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 425
- Brush pan with oil
- Press dough into bottom of the pan (a cookie sheet would work great!)
- Top crust with chicken and sprinkle with cheese
- Bake 16-18 min. or until golden brown
- Slice tomatoes in half, lengthwise; scrape out seeds and dice
- Slice onion
- Dice avocado
- Combine avocado, tomatoes onion, and juice from lemon (2 T.) and stir
- Distribute tomato mixture evenly over pizza
- Sprinkle with bacon

Yields: 8 servings