Spinach and Onion Pizza

Hey everyone! I know I normally just post bakery type foods but I would like to add other types as well. I receive Cooking Light magazine every month. It is a great magazine for healthier recipes of your favorite foods. In the September 2012 issue they have a recipe for Spinach and Onion Pizza. It sounded delicious so I had to make it Friday night. I tried to make it a little bit healthier than what they had so I used whole wheat pizza dough and low-fat mozzarella cheese instead of the fresh mozzarella. I am not an expert when it comes these things but it has less fat and carbs than regular pizza dough and mozzarella cheese. For those of you on Weight Watchers, one piece of this pizza is 5 points (so 2 for 10 points).

The recipe is pretty simple which is great. All you need is diced tomatoes,  one large onion, spinach, pecorino romano cheese, mozzarella cheese and pizza dough. Everything you can find at your local grocery store. The pizza dough I found near the cheeses and refrigerated tortillas. You can also find Pillsbury pizza dough as well if you do not want a whole wheat pizza dough. 

Start by preheating your oven to 500. Yes, 500. I was a little worried about this at first because I never have set my oven that high but pizza needs a hot oven. Also, add your cookie sheet into the oven. So your cookie sheet is nice and hot. Once you set up your ingredients cup up your onion and let it cook with a teaspoon of olive oil. Remove the onions, add your garlic and diced tomatoes, let that cook. Then assemble your pizza with tomatoes, cheese, and onions. Let that cook for about 12-15 minutes. While that is cooking, saute your spinach just until it wilts. Once the pizza is done, top it off with the spinach and congrats! you just made a pizza :-) Doesn't it look yummy?

Spinach and Onion Pizza

(Adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

12-15 ounces refrigerated fresh whole wheat pizza dough, room temperature

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

2 cups vertically sliced onion

6 garlic cloves, chopped

28.5 ounces of no-salt-added diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1-2 cups of grated mozzarella cheese (I used reduced-fat)

1/3 cup of Pecorino Romano Cheese

4 ounces fresh baby spinach 

Directions:

1. Place a baking sheet in oven. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. 
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to pan. Add onion; cook until softened, stirring frequently. Remove onion from pan.
3. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes, oregano, crushed red pepper, and salt. Let simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. 
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 13-inch circle. Pierce the entire surface with a fork. Carefully place dough on the preheated baking sheet.
5. Add tomato mixture evenly over the dough, leaving about 1/2 inch border. Top with onion and cheeses. 
6. Bake at 500 for 12 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.
7. Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of oil to the pan. Add spinach; saute until spinach wilts. 
8. Top pizza with spinach. Cut into 8 slices.
9. Enjoy :-)