Quick and Delicious Pizza

The other day I really wanted pizza. I mean, really wanted pizza. It was a craving to top all cravings I ever had when I was pregnant. Nothing compared to this pit in my stomaching that was begging me for some delicious masterpiece of a meal.  Pizza is one of my downfalls, so, yes, this may sound a bit overly dramatic, but something in me triggered and I really wanted some.  I’m guessing it was the mass of emails I’d received to do some secret shopping for pizza places and I had to decline them.  That was hard, but I can be strong-willed when I want to.

In order to tame this craving I had to do something and leaving the house to buy some was out of the questions, as was spending big bucks and high calories to have someone bring me pizza.  Off to the pantry I went to find a delicious substitue, and by golly, I found one and it was amazing.  Here’s how it all went down.

I started off with a tortilla. It’s the only thing I could find in my pantry that resembled a crust with out actually busting out the Kitchen Aid to make my own dough.  Love homemade dough, but it’s so time consuming and I needed this pizza now!  Sorry about the blurry picture, for some reason my camera wouldn’t focus.  It could have been my hands shaking in anticipation of the delectable pizza creation that was in the works.

Next just a small can of tomato sauce.  This is one of my food staples I always try to have in my pantry.  I do a lot of cooking with tomatoes.  I can’t wait until I have a bigger place to plant more tomatoes because I never have enough of my home canned tomatoes, and then I have to turn to store bought, which I’m trying to avoid. Any way, I took a small can of tomato sauce and threw in a small handful of Italian seasoning blend.  I’d give you an exact measurement, but I’m not sure.  Start with 2 tbsp, then increase to taste if needed.  No need to add any additional salt or anything, flavor comes from the herbs and the tomatos.  Yum!

Spread sauce over the top of the tortilla. This only took a couple of small spoonfuls, then I used the back of the spoon to spread the sauce all the way to the edge.  I had a short stint working in a pizza place when I was in college, and my husband worked in one growing up as well, so we’ve shared tips and techniques.  This is one of techniques I’ve always remembered, because I don’t need that extra edge of crust with no added flavor, I eat pizza for the combination of flavors, not just the crust.  I’m sure some will disagree with me, but this is my style and how I like it.  Just remember, with this recipe if you don’t spread it to the edge, there will not be any excess rise in the crust and you also could run the potential of burning the edges since there is no additional toppings to insulate it as it fully cooks.

Next add a small layer of cheese on top of the crust.  This is another tip I picked up.  The cheese on the bottom helps additional toppings stick to the pizza better without sliding all around.  Just don’t put too much cheese on because you don’t want to weigh down the crust since this is a super thin crust.

As a first attempt I didn’t want to overload the crust for fear it wouldn’t hold up and I wanted to make sure it cooked through without burning the crust or top layer. I went light on canadian bacon and onions and scattered them all over the top.  I then added another layer of cheese on top, but I forgot to take a picture of that because I was so eager to get this baby in the oven and subsequently in my belly.

Ok, so I did get a picture of it topped with cheese, I just had to open the oven door and face the wrath of the heat to get a shot of it.  I baked it for approximately 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  You’ll want to adjust that time based on your oven’s heating efficiency and the amount of toppings you add.  I gauged the doneness of the pizza based  on both the melting of the cheese and how crispy the crust got.

Here is the finished product.  It was delicious!  Next time I’m going to attempt a few more toppings because I prefer more veggies, I just didn’t want to over do it this time around. I cut the pizza into four pieces and at the whole dang thing!  Best part, one serving is the whole pizza!  I’m in control of the amounts of toppings so it’s easy to make this a healthy meal.  One tortilla is a serving size, so this is like the equivalent of a pizza wrap, with out the wrapping.  I have to make sure I’m careful on the amount of cheese, because that was the worst part. I love being in control and having the options to make things like this healthier.  I hope you enjoy this recipe too.  Feel free to share your concoctions inspired by this post in the comments.  I would love to hear your favorite topping combinations or even your tips to get the healthiest toppings.