Top This!

I got some super thin pizza crusts in the mail from Top This this weekend and could not wait to fire up a homemade pizza! The crust was calling my name—it was very thin and had really fire grilled marks right in the hand-made and fully cooked crust! The idea of Top This is to make the crust so great that they take the guess work out of creating a great pizza, it is amazing no matter how you slice it! So all you have to do is top the crust (wheat or white) with your toppings of choice then slide in the oven or even onto your gas grill. They have a ton of pizza recipes/ ideas right there on their website so I used the Portabella Mushroom Pizza recipe below:

Portobello Mushroom Pizza
- 1 Top This pizza crust
- 1 cup loosely packed pizza cheese (3 ounces)
- 1/4 cup diced sautéed Portabella mushrooms
(even better if they are flambéed in brandy at the end)
- 1/4 cup diced fresh plum tomatoes
- 1/4 cup caramelized onions
- Optional: 1/4 cup shredded Fontina Cheese

I had gotten bella’s from the farmers market so they were nice and fresh for my pizza. The only ingredient that I did not have on had was the Fontina cheese which was optional anyways and the pizza was perfect even without it.

“Clean” Pizza

Sounds like an oxymoron but it is possible. When you take a Clean Cravings crust and top it with fresh, authentic sauce from Bella Cucina Artful Foods Pomodoro’s Pizza Sauce and then add some fresh mozzarella, veggies and a dabble of meat (or not). You come out with a very healthy, craving-worthy creation. So here is mine:

I loved, loved, loved the sauce on this pizza. I can not say this enough. It is a rare occasion when I make a homemade pizza and have pizza sauce to use that is an actual dedicated pizza sauce. The Pomodoro Pizza Sauce is a classic, handmade sauce that has the perfect mixture of Italian tomatoes and herbs. Not only does Bella Cucina have pizza sauce they have a bunch of other Italian blends to help you get creative in the kitchen. I have Artichoke Pesto Sauce of theirs next in my queue.

A little about Clean Cravings—they make crusts that are pure and simple—gluten free, vegan, soy-dairy-yeast free, no trans fat, whole grains, all natural and turn out totally delicious! They have a variety of “just crusts” for you to work with but they also have actual pizzas. I did sample the Perfectly Pesto Pizza and it was delicious! All it was—a thin, crunchy crust topped with pesto, mushrooms and pinenuts! Yummmmm!

Single Servings, Portion Control and Homemade Pizza

We all know our weaknesses. Lately, I have really been looking at ways to keep my portions in check and control what goes into my mouth by cooking at home. I have found a couple of great tools to help me do that—as far as kitchen helpers I got a kitchen scale, some portion controlled bowls which I love and have been measuring more. As far as portion controlled food—some things I just know if it is available I will over indulge. One of those things? Pizza. That is why I love the single serve crusts by Rustic Crust. They are very reasonable nutritionally (and now have a gluten free option) and they keep your portion in check. I measure out my cheese and use very lean toppings and as much veggies as I like! This pizza turned out great and only needed about 10 minutes in the oven. Rustic Crust also makes an EXCELLENT sauce. For this pizza I used the Italian Herb crust and topped it with their perfectly spiced pizza sauce.

Saucy!

Check out this dinner! Pizza- yes pizza! And not cheat meal pizza either. A natural, delicious, "gluten free & fabulous" cheese pizza. A thin, crispy gluten free crust topped with mozzarella cheese, organic sauce and their very own organic seasoning. So tasty! Thought you couldn't eat pizza on a Monday night? Think again!

Check out the Gluten Free & Fabulous website for more MEAL options like mac & cheese and quinoa pasta with marinara! To end your meal on a "fabulous" note check out their creative cookies in flavors like butterscotch, sweet savory, brownie bites (yumm!), chocolate chip and shortbread. Ordering from this website is a great idea because a portion of the proceeds go to Celiac Sprue Association!