Cherry Pie Bites & Pizza

 We were invited to my brother and sister-in-law's for New Year's Eve and I made these ridiculously easy Cherry Pie Bites. Usually I make my Triple Ginger Gingersnaps every year but I didn't even have the energy to do that. Even so, everyone raved over these sweet treats. Crescent roll dough (which is vegan) and a can of cherry pie filling topped with a glaze of powdered sugar and soymilk. You can find the recipe here. 

I was craving some pizza so I was good and made my own! I used a pre-made pizza crust and for the sauce I had some "Fast and Fresh Tomato Sauce" from La Dolce Vegan in the freezer. I had frozen the leftover sauce with a few Gardein meatless meatballs chopped up in it after eating pasta one night. It was perfect for the pizza sauce with the bits of meatballs. 

~ Italian Sausage, Meatball, Zucchini Pizza ~

I chopped up two Tofurky Italian sausages, some zucchini and red onion and sauteed them with a little onion seasoning and some red pepper flakes. I layered that over my sauce and topped it all with some Daiya shredded mozzarella. It satisfied my pizza cravings. YUM!!

Swiss Chard and Caramelized Onions & Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Vegcookbookclub February:

From The Vegan Table:

~ Swiss Chard & Caramelized Onions Pizza ~

Sauteing the chard with the already caramelized onions. I don't remember ever cooking onions like this. I like the sweetness it gives to them. The recipe suggests using the veggies for a pizza topping. What a great idea! I had two thin pizza crusts in the freezer so it worked out perfectly. 

The Swiss Chard & Onion Pizza

Italian Sausage and Onion Pizza

I made another pizza using pizza sauce, some of the caramelized onions, chopped Tofurky Italian sausage and Daiya mozzarella. They were both delicious.

Of course, the hubby preferred the one with the pizza sauce and "meaty" sausage!

~ Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Onions ~

Roasting the Brussels sprouts, green apple and red onions. I love sprouts but these ended up being kind of bitter and mushy. Maybe because I roasted them on foil or used olive oil and margarine; I don't know. But I like my sprouts crispier around the edges. I sprinkled some bacos on top and ate them with my baked potato and I managed to eat them! 

Margherita Pizza and Chik'n-Zucchini Pizza

Vegcookbookclub December 2013 ~ 

from Betty Goes Vegan:

I was hungry for pizza and instead of ordering a dairy cheese laden pizza I got myself up off the couch and whipped these two yummy pizzas together. I used a pre-baked thin pizza crust; there were two crusts in the package so I just made up another pizza to go along with the Margherita Pizza. 

Margherita Pizza

For the second pizza I had some Morning Star Farms Chik'n Strips that I sauteed with some zucchini and sliced onion seasoned with a little Italian seasoning. I layered premade pizza sauce, sprinkled some vegan parmesan, and then added the sauteed chik'n and veggies topped off with Daiya mozzarella.

Chik'n-Zucchini Pizza

I'll have some of each please!

Both of these pizzas were yummy. I loved the thin crust. I liked the Margherita Pizza better and my hubby preferred the Chik'n-Zucchini one. 

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust & Mexican Stuffed-Crust Pizza

Another great recipe from Betty Goes Vegan. 

Found a pizza stone at the outlet store.

Waiting for the dough to rest after kneading.

The soyrizo, red onion and black bean topping. The recipe called for a whole package of soyrizo but I only had half a pkg. It was plenty for the pizza. 

More toppings-sliced tomato, black olives and sliced jalapeno pepper (with the seeds removed to make it less hot).

My pizza crust with Daiya cheddar "stuffed" into the crust edges.

My only complaint-The recipe said to cook for 15 to 20 minutes. I cooked the pizza for 20 minutes and the crust was still raw in the middle; added another 5 and then another 5! This whole wheat crust was very dense and hearty. Next time I'll use a different pizza dough recipe. I also should try heating the pizza stone up in the oven which might help.

Mexican Stuffed-Crust Pizza topped with avocado and cilantro. I also topped it with some Pace Picante sauce. Very tasty but I wasn't too thrilled with the crust. 

Sausage-Zucchini Pizza

Quick and easy pizza for supper!

I like meals that are healthy and quick to make when I don't feel like cooking. This is really easy to put together and tastes great!

Freschetta Artisan Thin Pizza Crust (it's vegan)

your choice of pizza sauce and amount

1/2 C. Lightlife Gimme Lean Sausage-sauteed and crumbled

1/2 medium zucchini, quartered and sliced

1/4 C. red onion, chopped

      -lightly saute' zucchini and onion in small amount of oil until crisp-tender

3-4 red sweet mini peppers, sliced

1/2-3/4 C. Daiya mozzarella shreds

Layer all ingredients in order and cook following pizza pkg. directions.

The Joint's "Cheese Burger" Pizza~pg. 171

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I didn't think I was going to like this one-pickles and mustard on a pizza?!  But it was pretty darn tasty. Instead of making a crust I found a ready-made vegan pizza crust the other day-Freschetta Artisan Thin Crust. I was so excited I bought two and put one in the freezer for later. I also used pizza sauce instead of just plain tomato sauce for the base. This is another recipe from Sarah's book where I usually have everything on hand. Love it!

Tyler & Phoebe's Perfect Pesto Pizza~pg 152; Faux Feta Cheese~pg 292

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:
Skipping around the month of March's recipes for the challenge. I had alot of basil I needed to use so I chose to make the pizza from 3/24.

This pizza is very low-calorie! (if you believe that. . . . )

Faux Feta marinating. (pg. 292)

I only used half the recipe for my pizza.

Tyler & Phoebe's Perfect Pesto Sauce (pg. 177)

Delicious recipe-lots of olive oil! I could have used a little more basil;

it seemed too oily this time. It made the pizza a little oily.

Pizza Crust (pg. 301)

Have used this recipe before and it makes a delicous crust. But I must remember that it makes alot of pizza dough! I should have split it between 2 12" pans or 1 extra large industrial size pan! What was I thinking.

The finished product!

You can see it is about ready to explode off the pan. I baked the pizza for about 17 minutes to get the extra thick crust done. The flavors are delicious. Love the Faux Feta; gives it a tangy bite. Yep, next time 2 pans. I would like to buy one 24" pan though. That would be fun to make an extra large pizza-pie-a!

I "forced" myself to eat 2 slices of this.