smoked mozzarella non-pizza

I crave pizza all the time, but feel pretty terrible after eating a pile of nothing but carbs, cheese and grease. This recipe, which I threw together with a few vegetables and stuff I had on hand, fills the pizza craving without the heaviness. I would recommend making double the recipe below if you want any leftovers.

Ingredients:
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 zucchini
half a ball of smoked mozzarella
parmesan cheese
romano cheese
6 fresh basil leaves
spaghetti sauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread evenly on baking sheet. Roast in oven for 30 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven and sprinkle with parmesan and romano cheeses. Top with slices of smoked mozzarella and sprinkle with fresh basil leaves. Roast in oven 10 minutes.

Spread a layer of warmed spaghetti sauce on a plate and top with the roasted vegetables and cheese.

spaghetti squash spaghetti

2 spaghetti squash
2 cups of pasta sauce
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
4 tbsp Parmesan cheese
fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Place squash on a rimmed baking sheet. Make 2-3 vents in the top of the squash by poking deep slits with a sharp knife. Bake in oven for 60-65 minutes at 350 degrees.

Remove from oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Cut squash in half, length wise, and scoop out seeds (use two spoons to remove seeds easily). With a fork, shred the inside of the squash.

Season squash with a little salt and pepper. Add in 1/2 cup of pasta sauce to each squash half. Mix well until all the squash "noodles" are covered. Top with 1/4 cup of shredded cheese. Sprinkle each half with 1 tbsp of Parmesan.

Place squash under the broiler for 5 minutes until bubbly and melted. Chop fresh basil and sprinkle on top.

Adapted from Family Fresh Meals

pizza - roasted eggplant style

After trying it out on a vacation in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, we just had to try to create our own version of roasted eggplant pizza. This simple dish turns out perfectly, especially if you use high quality ingredients.

2 small eggplants, peeled
1 cup of basil - chiffonade
1/2 cup of mozzarella, shredded
1 cup of sun-dried tomato basil pasta sauce

Slice the eggplants in rounds about a quarter inch thick. Lay all the slices on a greased pan and sprinkle with olive oil. Broil for 6 minutes, flip the slices over, sprinkle with a bit more olive oil and broil for another 5 minutes until slightly golden brown on both sides. Remove from broiler, coat the top of each slice with tomato sauce, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and then cook in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Broil for 3 minutes or until golden brown. (Use this last ten minutes to cook a steak!) Remove pan from the oven and sprinkle with basil chiffonade.

Enjoy!!