Cauliflower Pizza Crust... whhaaattt?!

Yes, yes, cauliflower pizza crust... mmmmhhmmm, so good!

How did we get here? Well let's start with Bountiful Baskets! You can check out their Facebook page here! They are a food co-op that pools all the money and then spends it all where the grocery stores shop. They have a bunch of volunteers show up at different locations around the country and divide up the produce so that the participants can show up to take home their (bountiful) baskets and bread.

If you are a veggie/fruit lover and want to save some cash, I highly recommend this program, and that you get involved so that it can keep running! 

That's where my wonderful cauliflower pizza crust started, right here in my bountiful basket. Take a look at my haul (for $15)... Notice the head of cauliflower right in the middle! (Thanks to Whitney Stogner for the picture).

Tomatoes, potatoes, corn, apples, bananas, romaine lettuce, orange peppers, pineapple, cauliflower, etc.

I wanted to make sure that I used all of the produce quickly so that it wouldn't be wasted, so I started looking for recipes, but I already had one up my sleeve! Cauliflower Pizza Crust... 

I talked to several people today, I also had several people over to the house and everyone wanted to get the recipe because it either sounded or tasted delicious! My kids and husband agree, therefore it is all true.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• olive oil (optional)
• pizza sauce, shredded cheese and your favorite toppings

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Always start here.

To "Rice" the Cauliflower:
Get out your large head of cauliflower, take off the stems and leaves, and chop or pull off the florets into chunks. Now you need to shred it. I have a kitchen aid with a shredding tool that I can do it very quickly with. You can also use a food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. A regular cheese grater will work too.

Put your 'riced' cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes (adjust that cooking time for your microwave). Don't add any water... there is enough moisture in the cauliflower to steam it all by itself :)

One large head should give you about 3 cups of riced cauliflower, but mine gave me 5+.  I used the extra to make more pizzas and a "cheesy bread" with no toppings. It can also be stored for up to a week in the fridge.

Time to Make the Pizza Crust:

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. Move to the baking tray, and using your hands, pat out into a 9" round. 

This is where the olive oil is optional. You can brush it on here!

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. I did 10 in my convection oven and it came out great.

Take it out and add your toppings! (Make sure all your toppings are pre-cooked since all thats left is the short broiling.) I used pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni, pineapple, canadian bacon, and some more veggies! Put the tray in under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (about 3-4 minutes).

Left to Right: "Cheesy bread," pepperoni pineapple,  canadian bacon & pineapple, & pepperoni and veggie

You WILL LOVE this! Here are a couple of pictures... sorry I forgot to take them before we started digging in!

Please dont think this crust is going to taste or have the consistency of pizza dough bread... it definitely is different... but it IS very tasty! There is a lot of flavor in it. You will probably have to eat it with a fork, but you may be able to pick it up. Whatever you choose, you will still enjoy it!

It was a hit with my family when I first made it, and continues to be a favorite! Even a few of the ladies at our Women's LifeGroup tonight tried it and liked it! EXCELLENT! :)

So that's what we had for lunch today! Matt had the day off so we took the kids to the movies this morning! It was nice having him there with me... usually I do the Summer Movie thing with the kids on my own or with another mom, but I enjoyed having Matt there!


We do the Summer Movie program at our local theater... its great, we get to see a movie a week for 10 weeks, for less than $1 per movie. Not a bad deal... the theater also has a "Loyalty" shirt and cup deal where you purchase a t-shirt and/or cup at the beginning of the year and every time you go you show them your shirt and you get a free popcorn. Bring back your plastic "loyalty" cup and get a refill for $1... so we go to the movies, all the kids and me, and we spend $3 :) That's my kind of deal! 


Summer movies, Cauliflower Pizza, some time with my disciples and then LifeGroup... wonderful day! :)