Tomato and Corn Pizza

Last week, Jade tagged me in a Getting-to-Know-You Challenge. So here it goes!

1) What was on your To-Do list today:

-Laundry. Clean towels have become a hot commodity at home, so this has got to get done tonight.
-Running! If you followed my 365 blog, which has been sadly neglected, you know Caitlin and I are training for an upcoming 5K. Trust me, in this heat, this is a big to-do that I'm dreading.
-File paperwork at work. Yuck!
-Try to menu-plan. I have such a hard time with this and I have got to figure out a system that works for me.
-Clean house. Although, this is a daily to-do that never seems to fully get done. :)

2) 5 Snacks you enjoy:

-Sargento cheese sticks and the White Cheddar cheese slices
-Peanut butter
-Thomas's bagel thins
-Chocolate
-Yogurt

3) 5 Places you have lived:

- Born in Southern Louisiana
- Mississippi until I was 8
- Home with my parents
- Sorority house (ADPi!) at University of Arkansas
- Little Rock, AR for a brief moment in time after college

4) What were you doing 5 years ago:

Five years ago, I was fresh out of college working at a job I hated in Little Rock. Frankly, I hated living in Little Rock because my family and friends were in Northwest and Western Arkansas. I was in a toxic relationship that I needed out of and thankfully came to my senses. Then I met Brian and remembered what I was looking for and needed in a man. Oh and I got my wonderful puppy, Jack.

5) 5 things you would do if you were a Billionaire:
- Travel! There is so much of the world to see and I want to go out and see it.
- Donate money to charity
- Build a bigger house with a HUGE kitchen!
- Pay of debt
- Take care of our families

Ok, now it's your turn! I'm going pass this challenge along to some fellow bloggers!

The Beaty's at Beaty Photography
Laura at a little bit of this...a whole lot of that
Meredith at A Work in Progress
Sarah at Adventures in Ava Land
Tyler at Rants. Raves. Ridiculous.

Now on to the food.

One of the magazines most Southerners are very familiar with would be Southern Living. My mom has subscribed to this for ages and I always remember looking at the recipes. In this year's July issue, I saw this pizza but kind of glazed over it.

Then I heard from a TON of people about how wonderful this pizza was. I figured I'd have to make it and see if it lived up to the hype. Even while I was putting it together, I thought to myself that there was no way this could be as good as everyone was saying.

Oh boy was it ever. It has just the right amount of salt and balanced nicely with the sweetness from the fresh corn. Please use fresh ingredients. Please. You will not be disappointed at all. Brian even loved it, even though he thought it was so weird to put corn on pizza.

Tomato and Corn Pizza
Source: Southern Living, July 2010

3 small plum tomatoes, sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 (14-oz.) package prebaked Italian pizza crust
Parchment paper
1/3 cup refrigerated pesto
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (From one medium ear of corn)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon sugar
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
3 tablespoons fresh whole or torn basil leaves

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 450°. Place tomato slices on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; let stand 20 minutes.

2. Place pizza crust on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet; spread with pesto. Stir together corn, Parmesan, and sugar. Top pizza with corn mixture, tomatoes, and mozzarella slices.

3. Bake at 450° for 14 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden. Remove from oven, and top with basil leaves.


Printable Version

Deep Dish Pizza Casserole

Two Weight Watcher Friendly posts in two days?! I'm on a roll!

Brian's a fanatic for casseroles. If I mention the word casserole, he'll eat it. If you've read my blog before, you might have picked up that I'm a somewhat picky eater. Casseroles have never been my thing because I end up picking it apart once it hits my plate. Making casseroles have somewhat helped me get over my picky-ness because at least I know what's going into the dish.

This casserole is very versatile and you can change it up to match any of your family's likes or dislikes. We added turkey pepperoni and mushrooms. I cooked the mushrooms after cooking the beef and then added the beef back into it once the mushrooms had browned and softened.

Deep Dish Pizza Casserole
Adapted from Weight Watchers 5 ingredient 15 minute cookbook

1 pound ground round
1 (15 oz) can tomato Sauce seasoned with Italian Seasoning
Cooking spray
1 (10 oz) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
Optional: chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, chopped green peppers, black olives , turkey pepperoni, fat free ham, mushrooms

Preheat oven to 425. Cook meat in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat until browned, stirring until it crumbles. Drain, return to skillet, add tomato sauce and cook until heated.Coat a 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray. Unroll pizza crust dough and press into bottom and halfway up sides of the baking dish. Top the pizza crust with meat mixture. Add optional ingredients. (figure extra points)

Bake uncovered at 425 for 12 minutes. Top with cheese and bake 5 minutes or until crust browns and cheese melts. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

8 servings @ 6 points each