Sunday, July 10, 2011

Sausage and Pepper Goat Cheese Pizza

Start to Finish: 30 minutes


Ingredients:
12 ounces extra lean ground turkey
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Olive oil spray
1 cup thin, 1-1/2" long green bell pepper strips
16 ounces all-natural, low-fat whole wheat pizza dough
1 cup all natural low-fat, low-salt, no-sugar-added marinara sauce
2 ounces crumbled goat cheese

Directions:
1. Place an oven rack in the bottom position. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the turkey, fennel, parsley, pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder until well combined. Set aside.
3. Lightly mist a medium nonstick skillet with spray. Place it over medium heat. Add the peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 6 minutes, or until tender. Remove the peppers from the pan and set them aside. Mist the pan again with spray, turn the heat to medium high, and add the turkey mixture. Cook the turkey, breaking it into bite-size chunks (do not crumble it), for 4 to 6 minutes, or until no longer pink.
4. Meanwhile press out the dough into a 14" nonstick pizza pan (do not add oil or flour or anything to the pan), being careful not to create any holes. Spread the marinara sauce evenly over all but the outer 1/2" diameter. Sprinkle half of the peppers, half of the turkey mixture, then the remaining peppers and the remaining turkey mixture evenly over the sauce. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top. Bake for 11 to 15 minutes, or until the crust is crisp and the cheese is melted. Allow the pizza to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer it to a cutting board (as not to ruin your nonstick pan) and cut it into 8 equal wedges. Serve immediately.

Variations: Since it is a pizza, you could add any toppings you want. Tomatoes would be a yummy addition to this recipe.

Notes: Maybe this is my first time really eating goat cheese, but it was delicious. The sausage was great in this recipe, but it was noted in the recipe that it should not be eaten on it's own as the saltiness of the dough, cheese, and sauce make it taste great, but on it's own you would need to add salt to give it the flavor of traditional sausage. All of our kids and my husband liked this recipe.

Servings: 4 (1 serving equals 2 slices)

Estimated Price: $9.00

Source: The Biggest Loser Flavors of the World Cookbook
Nutrition Facts per serving: 421 cal., 8 g total fat (2 g sat. fat), 677 mg sodium, 53 g carbo., 8 g fiber, 33 g pro.