Whole wheat pizza with goat cheese and caramelized onions
Hi guys! Hope you’re having a wonderful day <3 Thanks so much for listening to me vent about our moving woes. To make it even better, the Pilot had to work all day today, so I’ve been a moving machine!!
Since I’m in the depths of packing frenzy right now, so thought I’d invite my friend Mara, my favorite pizza buddy, over for a guest post 🙂 Just wish I could eat this pizza tonight when we’re finished… 😉
Enjoy!!
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Hey there Fitnessista readers! I’m Mara, and I write a little (no, really, its little) blog called What’s For Dinner? where I chronicle my daily (ok, near-daily) adventures in the
kitchen cooking fun and interesting things for dinner. Oh, and cupcakes. I love cupcakes…
I haven’t come to you to talk about cupcakes though. This is something much nearer and dearer to our
good friend Gina’s heart… come to think of it, it’s many things close to her heart:
- Pizza
- Goat cheese
- mushrooms
- garlic
See, Gina and I had the pleasure of going out for pizza when she was here in Chicago for the Healthy Living Summit in August,
and since then, I’ve associated all things whole wheat pizza with her. We had such fun, and I haven’t had
pizza that good since she was here in town.
I set out to create a healthy and delicious Gina-fied pizza for you all, and I believe I have succeeded! I
bring you the Fitnessizza! (Wow, holy goatcheesiness there…)
First, you must make your dough. Those of you that are freaked out by making your own pizza dough,
never fear: this is EASY.
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Makes two individual-sized pizzas
Ingredients
* 1 cup warm water (about 110*F)
* 1 Tbsp. dry active yeast (or one packet)
* 1 Tbsp. raw honey (or other honey)
* 2 c. whole wheat flour
* 1/2 c. whole wheat bread flour (or white all-purpose flour, this is necessary for the gluten)
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1 Tbsp. olive oil
DIrections
Pour the warm water into a mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Allow this to sit about 5
minutes, and then add the honey. Slowly stir in the flours, salt, and oil, and knead about 5 minutes, or until
the dough comes together and is smooth and springy. It might be a bit sticky. This is ok! Lightly oil a clean
mixing bowl and place the dough in it, rotating and flipping it to coat all sides lightly with oil. It will look like
this:
Next, start getting your toppings together. I took about a half hour and
caramelized some onions, sauteed some mushrooms, and steeped some garlic in olive oil while the dough
rose.
The husband likes a bit more of a traditional pizza, though I have converted him to
the love of goat cheese, so he opted for a tomato-sauce based pizza.
Once the dough has risen about a half hour to 45 minutes, it should look like
this:
Punch it down to remove extra air, and divide it in half.
Since we’re two poor teachers, and our oven broke about a month and a half ago,
we had to get creative with cooking methods. Our last attempt with grilling pizzas was an epic fail, so I went
back to something I did in college: skillet pizza.
I heated my huge cast iron skillet until it was as hot as it would get. Then, the
dough was pressed into an even circle with the help of a pastry brush dipped in garlic olive oil, and then,
once it was bubbled up a bit, the dough circle was flipped over. Then, I lowered the heat, brushed a bit of
garlic olive oil on top, spread out my toppings and covered it for a few minutes (literally 3 or 4).
The result?
It. Was. AWESOME. I was sad when it was gone. I highly recommend the
caramelized onion/mushroom/goat cheese/garlic combination on pizza, or a sandwich, or in a wrap…
The husband’s was great too:
So there you have it: the Skillet Fitnessizza! Thanks for letting me visit,
Gina!!
52 Comments
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That melt cheese and caramelized onion just stole my heart. Looks delicious Mara! 🙂
this sounds Fabulous… thanks Mara!! 😀
Roomstar, I just posted a ‘zeke tortilla pizza, and you totally put me to shame with the homemade crust! Love it!
That crust looks so delicious — and I’ve never heard of putting a pizza in a skillet! What a neat idea. Thanks for sharing!
The pizza sounds fantastic. Thank you for the recipe/instructions on how to make a pizza base!
OMG! I just wrote a blog post about my epic FAIL with making my own pizza. A long time ago (so long ago it feels like a different life) I lived and Chicago and ate pizza far more than anyone ever should. Since moving to the East Coast, and finding a healthier way to eat I’ve been dying for an easy and healtier option to the pizza delivery man. This may be it! I am so excited…am making the Fitnessizza tonight!
That is *genius*! I’ve been obsessed with my cast iron skillet lately, it has yet to let me down. Cast iron makes everything taste better. Thanks for the idea Mara!
I never thought to make pizza in a skillet! Thanks for the great idea. And for making me drool all over my keyboard! Goat cheese, olive oil, garlic and caramelized onions are my favourite toppings!
Good Golly! Amazing, nice work Mara.
I will definitely try your pizza; love the skillet idea. I can eat pizza for any meal
Gina- we moved on Friday so I feel your pain. The packing is endless! Glad we have done the move but now it’s the unpacking!
Pizza’s look delish. Going to be trying those bad boys out x
What a great idea to cook the dough in the skillet! I must try!
Making a successful grilled pizza isn’t much different than what you did in the skillet. Heat the grill up to med high. Roll/stretch out the dough, and brush one side with olive oil. Put the olive oil side down on the grill and LEAVE IT. It may look uneven, and it does take practice to get it even, but uneven pizza is still delicious. Let it sit for ~2 to 3 mins. Peel up a corner, and if you see grill marks, you’re in business. Brush the ungrilled side with olive oil and flip. Scatter toppings onto the top (the grilled side). Close the grill and wait 2 minutes. Slide onto a cutting board and enjoy!
Oh the process is simple enough… its when my Husband decides to rush it and put the dough on before all the lighter fluid is burned off! EW!
This looks dreamy. I don’t seem to eat pizza very often, but when I do I love it!
Love, love, love goat cheese! I swear I could eat pizza for every meal! Thanks for sharing!
Wow those pizzas look really good. I’ve only made my own pizza a couple times but I should do it more often!
This look great Mara. Goat cheese is my favorite and I also have a huge love for mushrooms and onions (and when they are caramelized, even better). Great post!
This is a sweet recipe Mara! Glad you got to remake the BBQ pizza w/o lighter fluid 😉 hehe. I’m hungry now!
Mara & Gina on one blog = PERFECT!!! Love you guys 🙂
love you too!
That pizza is beautiful, Mara!
Hi Mara – my sister’s name is Mara and you don’t come across that often. I don’t know about you but hers is pronounced like “Mark” with an “a” in place of the “k”…my dad’s name is Mark. Lots of people say it like “Sarah.” I love your skillet idea! Mara (my sis) and I made a version of this on the grill at her house with the same onions, goat cheese & mushrooms. We added one thing that will either ruin it or take it up even another notch for you: pesto made with fresh basil from the garden! So GOOD! I however don’t have a grill so I am trying a skillet. Oh, I wasn’t brave enough to make the dough (bought wheat dough at Trader Joe’s) but now I will try it!
I love pizza. I think I could live on pizza if forced to. Yours looks especially delicious…I love goat cheese!
Thanks for all the love!! The pizza was really stellar… I’m hoping to brave grilled ones again soon!
what kind of camera did you use Mara? It takes such crisp photos
Yumm!
I just made a skillet pan pizza the other day…super good.
Thanks for sharing yours. I must remember to put caramelized onions on
mine next time.
Mmm I love the combo of caramelized onions and goat cheese, especially on pizza! 😀
Looks sooo goood. And what an innovative way to cook the pizza–I feel an undeniable urge to try this.
AWww, love you Mara! So sweet to house sit for Gina while she is a packing machine! 🙂
Great eats, Mara!! I dont even like onions but those carmelized onions maybe could even convert me cuz you made em look sooo good 🙂
Great recipe! I haven’t tried making my own pizza dough yet but I’ve printed off this recipe for my first attempt. 🙂
Oh my gosh, they look fantastic!! Caramelized onions?!? YUM! Thanks for sharing, Mara! 🙂
Oh, I love caramelized onions on pizza!! I used to work at a restaurant that served a caramelized onion, rosemary and Gorgonzola pizza–> it was pure heaven! (and surprisingly popular!)
The “Fitnessizza!” LOL 😀
Love Mara, love pizza, love Gina…what’s not to love? Oh, goat cheese. Not a fan, vegan or not. But I love the looks of that pizza!
That pizza looks amazing. I want that for dinner tonight, too.
Skillet pizza?! I’ve made grilled pizza, but never skillet pizza. Great idea!
Mara nice camera, what kind is it?
I have a Canon REBEL XSi with an f1.8 50mm lens
I’ve never thought to make pizza in my cast iron…I’ve done a corn bread before that was awesome, so I can only imagine how awesome the pizza must be…must try! Oh, and the topping combo is my fav!!!
My husband and I make skillet pizzas all the time. Thanks for the easy dough recipe (and pics)! We are usually pressed for time on pizza night, so we “cheat” and use a whole wheat pita from Trader Joe’s as the crust. It crisps up perfectly! The key is to put a little oil on the bottom of the pan, then put the pita in right away and start building. The crust crisps up without you having to wait on it. We pop it under the broiler to melt the cheese to perfection. My favorite topping combo is Sunny Daze: sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and artichoke hearts.
This dish looks and sounds awesome!
I definitely have to tweet this!
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i want to make this. yummy, does anyone know the cals?
I love it in all its wholewheat goat’s cheese mushroom glory!