Pizza is great for dinner. But if you're like me, you often find yourself with the hankering for pizza at lunchtime or even as a snack. However, it's not exactly wallet friendly to order delivery just for myself, and I personally don't want to put the effort of making homemade pizza from scratch just for lunch or a mid-afternoon snack (since my time and effort in the kitchen is reserved mostly for dinner). It's during those times that I opt for some quick and easy variations on a traditional pizza, using things I have on hand.
Here are two substitutions for traditional pizza crust that will make pizza at home, much less of a chore. Things that you might have sitting at the ready in your pantry or bread box!
Option 1: Flat'za
For thin crust lovers, try making your pizza on a tortilla wrap! It cooks up crispy and delicious in minutes. Pre-heat your oven to 400F (I use a high heat, because we're just quickly warming and melting, nothing really has to bake). No need to grease or oil your pan, just place your wrap on your pizza pan, top with your favourite pizza sauce, add your toppings including cheese of choice. Pop into your hot oven for about 5 min, turn up to broil/grill to get the cheese melty and bubbly and watch closely so it doesn't burn. Depending on your oven it can take 2-5min on broil to get the top to your liking.
(TIP: I suggest standing by the oven and keeping close watch, as it's super easy to burn things by just going a minute over on broil, since the top is blasting down high heat!)
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| (Flat'za Style Pizza) |
On my Flat'za I used about 1 1/2 Tbsp of original Ragu (bottled spaghetti/pasta sauce), topped it with fresh garlic, grape tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, low fat mozza, crumbled feta, red chili flakes and Italian seasoning.
Option 2: Naan Bread Pizza
For those of you who haven't tried naan, it's an South Asian/Persian/Indian flatbread traditionally made in a tandoor oven. And it's delicious! It resembles a pita bread, but it's much softer than most grocery store varieties of pita. It's become widely available in most grocery stores in the past 2 years, and can be found near the other flatbreads (such as tortilla wraps). You can use regular naan, or opt to use garlic naan for your pizza, both work well, depending on how garlic-y you like your food. Use it just as described with the Flat'za, but since it's a thicker style flatbread instead of super crispy, you'll have a crust that's softer and more filling. This will appeal more to those who like regular, non-thin crust varieties of pie.
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| (Pizza on Naan Bread) |
On my Naan Pizza I used what I happened to have on hand that day. The same Ragu pasta sauce as my base, topped with two light and lean deli shaved slices of black forest ham, fresh mushrooms, red peppers, low fat mozza, low fat mild cheddar, slices of hot house tomato, crumbled bacon, and a couple shakes of Club House Italiano one step seasoning.
Slicing a few fresh veg, grabbing your deli meats, and shredding some cheese, while the oven preheats, are your only prep steps. (TIP: Save even more time by buying pre-shredded cheese blends!)
Don't have flatbread on hand? Try making your pizza(s) on burger buns, sausage/sub/hot dog buns, bagels, English muffins, etc.
Another great tip, don't want to use your conventional oven? These all work great in toaster ovens too!
I hope you enjoyed our Fast and Easy Pizza! Stay tuned for more recipes, food ideas, and reviews from Food-N-Flix!
