Green Pizza

In my ever increasing desire to cook healthier (due to my ever increasing waist line and cholesterol level) here's a recipe for what I like to call "Green Pizza".

Ingredients
1 large whole wheat Boboli® crust (also comes in regular)
2 cups chopped broccoli florets
1/3 cup water
5 ounces chopped arugula, tough stems removed, (6 cups, or spinach can be used)
Pinch of salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup prepared pesto
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preparation
Position oven rack in the lowest position; preheat to 450°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

Meanwhile, blanch broccoli in water in a large skillet over medium heat, covered, until the broccoli is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in arugula (or spinach) and cook, stirring, until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes more. Place both in a bowl of ice water, to halt the cooking process.

Spread pesto evenly over the crust, top with the (drained, patted dry) broccoli/arugula mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until crispy and golden and the cheese is melted, 8 to 10 minutes.

* I usually place several raw arugula leaves on top when it just comes out of the oven (Arugula adds a rich peppery flavor, but spinach can be substituted)   

** It's also tasty to add chopped, baked chicken, if you have someone in the house who thinks it's too 'green'.

Food Memories

What is your first notable food memory? I'm talking that first experience when you realized you were tasting something wonderful, not about 'Memory Food' like corn, or peanuts.

When I was growing up (in Illinois), my parents had a friend who would bring us a big paper bag of Morel mushrooms every fall. My Dad would saute them in butter, and always gave us kids a few. That is a flavor that will stay with me for the rest of my life. The rich, nutty, earthy flavor is wonderful. Back then I thought they tasted like Fritos, which I had mostly only tasted in lunches at friend's houses, but I loved Fritos.

That was the first of many food memories, which are an amazing thing because you just keep building them throughout your lifetime. I don't have the occasion to use Morels in cooking very often, due to their high price here in Texas, but I would if I could!

Food memories. I'm looking forward to hearing about some of yours.

Dinner tonight

Will be pot roast slow roasted with carrots and potatoes in my new dutch oven (which was an anniversary gift from my husband Tom).

Easy peasy, compared to the "Chopped" challenge he had me do two days ago (more about that later, but if you've been on my personal facebook page, you heard all about it : )

Welcome foodie friends!

In this blog you will follow a passion for cooking by a foodie, locavore, and unemployed graphic designer. Hopefully it will ignite some passion of your own!