Jennifer Gardner, as well as many of us, need recipes that can be made in a snap. When she isn’t busy hustling to build her organic baby food company, Once Upon a Farm, you’ll find her sharing her super low-maintenance but still very imaginative ways to fuel her family on her Instagram. She is all about getting delicious and healthy good on the table for hungry kids as quickly as possible. She shared recently on her Instagram of a go-to recipe that is easy to make and easy to prep ahead of time and store in the freezer. She even admitted to having dough usually on standby in the freezer so that it is ready to go whenever she needs it! Making dinner ready in 20 minutes flat.
Here is Jennifer Gardner’s Go-to Pizza Dough Recipe –
Mel’s Kitchen Cafe’s Foolproof Pizza Dough
Ingredients
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon instant yeast
2-3 cups flour (any combination of bread, all purpose, whole wheat)
1 teaspoon salt
For the top— sprinkle of olive oil, big dash of salt, dried rosemary and thyme
Instructions
1. In a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the water, honey, oil, yeast and salt. Add the flour gradually until a soft dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The exact flour amount will vary so go by the touch and feel of the dough versus the exact cup measurements in the recipe. The dough should be soft and smooth (but if I have to pick, I’d choose slightly sticky over stiff).
2. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes (more like 5-6 minutes if kneading by hand or if using whole wheat flour).
3. Let the dough rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
4. Pinch off a chunk of dough the size of your fist and stretch or roll it as thin as possible. It has to be thin to bubble, and the oven has to be HOT!
5. Bake at 475 or 500 degrees on a preheated pizza stone or on a lightly greased baking sheet for 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye, because once it starts to bubble and brown it can be done in an instant.
6. Cool and top with toppings.
Our EBOOST twist is for the pizza toppings and really it isn’t a secret or magic formula in what toppings you should put on your pizza. All you need to do is think of your favorite pizza toppings. If the topping doesn’t seem like the healthiest, try thinking of an alternative that might be. If the topping is one you are just craving, then go for it. It is all about balance. However, if it is a topping that you must have, then try putting less of it on the pizza as maybe you normally would. Here is a recipe for a little inspiration.
Pizza Toppings
tomato pesto or of your favorite tomato sauce
sun-dried tomatoes
artichoke hearts
button mushrooms
coconut oil
good quality lean meat
broccoli
zucchini
low-fat cheese or a nut based cheese alternative
What is your favorite healthy pizza topping?
