Make your Own Pizza Night

These dishes were actually for dinner last night, but I had so much work to do that I didn't have the time to post about them. I'm actually eating them for lunch right now.

I picked up our veggies from the CSA yesterday. I'm getting kind of tired of winter greens like swiss chard and veggies like carrots. We also got more beets and to be honest, I really don't like beets, they taste like dirt to me. I've tried to like them, I've made roasted beet salad, beet ravioli, and now a beet hummus from Biggest Diabetic Loser, but still the taste buds are still not happy. Some people love their flavor and I just love their color. What a pretty reddish purple! With that said, I don't have much to stay on the beet hummus other than it looks nice. I asked the official taste tester about his comments (he actually does like beets) and he told me to say "It's pretty tasty!" So, decide yourself if you will enjoy this dish or not.

Main dish for tonight was a Swiss Chard and Asparagus Pizza adapted from Farmgirl Fare. I was tired of simply making sauteed swiss chard and throwing it in pasta, so to twist things up a bit we did a pizza. I love the pizza dough from Trader Joe's. They have a plain, whole wheat, and a garlic herb. The dough is so easy to work with and I roll it out onto a metal pizza pan. I use flour to coat my rolling surface, but I have also heard of using plain cream of wheat to give the dough a little more crisp. I also used frozen asparagus from Trader Joe's. These bags are great to have on hand in the freezer. Anytime you're in the mood for asparagus, just pop one of these out of the freezer, run under cool water, and tah-dah! Whenever you want an easy dinner, that is healthy too, try homemade pizza. You can put anything on top, use whatever kind of sauce, and it will be exactly how you want it to taste. So much better than Dominos or Pizza Hut.

A few things I did notice while making the pizza. Make sure when you cook the mixture until most of the liquid has evaporated off. I dumped the moist mixture onto my pizza dough and it was so soggy. It still tasted good, I just had to eat it with a knife and fork because it would fall apart if I picked it up. Also, be wary of topping with too much mozzarella cheese. I am a cheese lover and have a tendency to pile it on too high. With pizza, too much cheese can actually be a hindrance. You're not able to cut the pieces very well, it doesn't melt completely, and it just doesn't look very pretty. So if you want extra cheese with your pizza, make a side of cheesy bread sticks instead.

Beet Hummus

• 2 medium beets
• 2 tablespoons tahini sesame seed paste
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• zest of one lemon
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

Cut ends off of beets and place in a large pot of water. Boil beets for 30 minutes on top of the stove until tender over low heat. Cool, peel and put everything in a food processor and blend until smooth. Refrigerate. Serve with pita chips.

Swiss Chard and Asparagus Pizza

• Pizza dough (use your favorite or I like Trader Joe's refrigerated pizza dough)
• 6 to 8 ounces mozzarella, thinly sliced or shredded
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion (about 5 ounces)
• 4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch Swiss chard with ribs removed, leaves chopped (about 12 ounces or 4 cups packed of leaves)
• 1 lb asparagus, cut into one inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese

If using Trader Joe's pizza dough, remove dough from package and let rest for 20 minutes on a lightly floured surface.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a 4-quart or larger pot. Add onion and chopped Swiss leaves and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes; do not let garlic brown.

Add asparagus into onion mixture. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce. Continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove pan from heat and let chard mixture cool slightly, and then stir in Pecorino Romano.

Roll out the pizza dough and shape into a circle. Place on a pizza baking dish or a pizza stone. Spread the chard mixture evenly over the dough. Top with mozzarella. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges brown the the cheese starts to bubble.