Tag Archives: pizza

Breads, Italian Inspired Recipes, Pork, Sandwiches

Calzone-Style Sandwiches are Delish!

Calzone Pizza photo

In my mind, and in the ones bought locally, the calzone has always been like a pizza sandwich. Mind you, I’ve since heard that real calzone has ricotta and other cheeses in it and no sauce or gravy, as they say back east. Nonetheless,  I love the dough, which is like pizza dough, and the convenience of a pocket sandwich.

I’ve tried several low carb flour brands to create a passable pizza crust and the best one I’ve tried is from LC Foods, their Pizza, Calzone, and Bagel flour mix. I’ve also tried Dixie Carb Counters All Purpose Flour and it works, but the dough is sweeter than I like. Other flours may work, but nut flours don’t give as good a result. For one thing, the yeast doesn’t seem to work well on them.

Ready for the oven, calzone made with DCC All Purpose Flour.

Basic Calzone Recipe

Based on the LC Foods Recipe for pizza crust.

3/4 cup LC Pizza Flour
3/4 tsp Sugar Substitute
1/8 teaspoon Salt
3/4 teaspoon Rapid Rise Yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons Olive Oil
1/4 cup Water, warm

Mix sweetener, salt, and yeast into flour. Add water and oil and knead dough by hand until a gluten film forms and the dough doesn’t break. You can use a bread hook or a bread mixer if you wish, but it is just as easy to do it by hand.

Pull the dough together in a  ball, then place in an oiled bowl or on a bread board and cover then place in a warm place for the dough  to double in size, around 30 to 40 minutes.

Calzone dough flat
Dough rolled into a 5 to 6 inch circle.
BBQ Pork filling.
Calzone with pork filling ready to fold.

 

 

 

 

For  calzone, divide the dough in half, then roll or stretch each out on a lightly floured, using low carb flour, bread board into 5 to 6 inch thin rounds.  Place on baking screen or stone and fill one half with desired filling. Fold it over to make a half circle and pinch the edges closed. Small gaps for air vents are okay.

Bake at 415 degrees for 9 to 12 minutes until browned or crisped to desired level.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 147 Fat: 3 g Net Carbs: 3 g Protein: 16.5 g

BBQ Pork Calzone.

BBQ Pork Calzone-Style Sandwich

This is more a BBQ Pork sandwich in a calzone pocket than an actual calzone. It is delicious though and not too difficult to make. Works great with left over pork ribs.

1 Pizza Dough recipe made up and split into two balls
2 cooked boneless Pork Ribs (about 3 oz.), chopped or shredded
1/4 cup Sugar-free BBQ Sauce (I used Walden Farms, 0 calorie & 0 carbs)
1/4 cup Bell Pepper, chopped
1/4 cup Onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Cheddar Jack Cheese, shredded
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 415 degrees (F.).

In a small skillet, heat the Olive Oil, then add the onion, peppers, and garlic and cook until almost tender. Add the pork and the BBQ sauce, stir together, and cook a couple of minutes.

Roll out one ball of dough to make a 5 to 6 inch circle. It will be very thin so try not to break through the dough. Place the dough on top of a pizza screen or on a pizza stone. If you have to use a baking sheet, line it with parchment paper.

Put one half of the toppings on one side of the dough leaving a slight edge clear. Fold the dough over the filling and press the edges together to seal it into half-round pocket. Brush a little melted butter over the top. Make the other calzone in the same way.

Bake in the oven about 15 minutes until the calzone is golden brown. Let cool a couple of minutes then serve. You can add an additional small dish of BBQ Sauce for dipping if you wish.

Nutrition Information for filling only:
Calories:180.1 Fat: 12.0 Net Carbs: 2.9 g Protein: 14.5 g

Nutrition Information with calzone dough:
Calories: 327 Fat: 15 g Net Carbs: 5.9 g Protein: 31 g

Pizza calzone
Pizza-Style Calzone made with LC Foods Pizza, Calzone and Bagel flour.

Pizza Style Calzone Sandwich

This is a simple variation of the same recipe only using typical pizza ingredients for the filling. You can add in pepperoni or ground beef or any other meat of your choice without altering the carb count too much unless the meat has a lot of carbohydrates in it.  For reference, I used Bertolli Vodka Pasta Sauce for this recipe. A couple of other pasta sauces are lower in carbs.

1 Pizza Dough made up and split into two balls
3 oz. Italian Sausage
1/4 cup Pasta Sauce of Choice (Look for lowest carb)
1/4 cup Bell Pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped or slice Olives
2 tablespoon Mushroom slices, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Mozzarella or other white cheese, shredded
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup Greens of choice (optional)
1 teaspoon Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 415 degrees (F.)

In a small skillet, add cook the Italian sausage until lightly browned, remove and set aside. Add garlic and bell peppers to the pan and saute. When bells are getting soft, add the mushrooms and cook for about 30 seconds more. If you are using the green, stir them into the pan and cook until they start to wilt. Remove from heat. Add the sausage back to the pan and stir in the olives. Mix in the pasta sauce.

Roll the dough out for the calzones and place on pizza screen or on pizza pan. Spoon filling over one half of the calzone dough, sprinkle on cheese, and fold it over. Seal the edges, leaving a couple of open spots for venting. Sprinkle a little cheese over the top if you wish.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.

Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition Information for filling only:
Calories: 188.4 Fat: 14.9 g Net Carbs: 3.0 g Protein: 10.9 g

Nutrition Information with calzone dough:
Calories: 368.5 Fat: 17.9 Net Carbs: 5.9 g Protein: 25.4 g

Tip: To get a golden brown and shiny bread, you can brush with  olive oil or spray with an olive oil or butter baking spray before  baking.

Atkins Diet Tips, Italian Inspired Recipes, Main Dish, Pork, Poultry, Recipes

Induction Eating Plan Day 12

At this point, there’s quite a few things that can be eaten from the refrigerator even with the small batches I make. So, breakfast starts with a make over of two prior dishes, then a simple roll up lunch, but the finale is the dinner… pizza! Yes, you can make a pizza that works while in the induction phase. You just need to be careful about the pasta sauce you use.

Here’s the menu for the day:

Food NC
breakfast 1/4 Flax waffle 0.3
Cauli-rice Chorizo 3
Tea 0
B12 Gummie 1
lunch Ham & Mozzarella Rollup 1
Tea 0
dinner Sausage Chicken Pizza 2.9
Lettuce & cabbage salad 4.5
Mini Cheesecake 1.6
14.3

 

First, for breakfast, I took the other half of the flax waffle from yesterday and buttered it. Then I took about 3/4 of a serving of the cauli-rice chorizo from a couple of days ago and put that on top, then sprinkled a little shredded cheddar cheese over the top. Then I microwaved it for one minute. This could vary with the power of your microwave, but it will be about that. If your egg starts to explode, turn the microwave off.

Hot ham and cheese served on a fashionable paper plate. Who wants to do dishes?

For lunch, I did a hot ham slice with mozzarella cheese inside. Simply put a large slice of ham in a skillet with a tablespoon of butter and cook until it sizzles and browns a little, then turn it over. Spread the cheese over the ham and continue to cook over medium heat until the cheese begins to melt.  A lid over the pan will help to hold the heat in and speed up the melting. Fold the ham over the cheese like a taco and hold it down with a spatula until it bonds with the cheese.

On the serving plate, put a large leaf of lettuce with mayonnaise. Use a spatula to remove the ham from the pan and put on top of the lettuce. Fold or roll the lettuce over the ham. 1 net carb

And this brings us to the pizza. This is one of my favorite low carb pizza options – a chicken crust pizza. Believe it or not, it is delicious and it doesn’t actually taste like chicken. When the pizza sets up, the crust is sturdy enough to pick up and eat. You just need to let it cool about 10 minutes. Many thanks to Your Lighter Side for turning me on to this crust.

Chicken Crust Sausage Pizza

2 large Chicken Breast s
1/4 teaspoon Oregano
1/4 teaspoon Seasoning Salt
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder

3/4 cup Spaghetti or Pasta Sauce
1/2 large Sweet pepper, sliced into strips
3 Green Onion stalks, chopped
8 oz. Hot Italian pork sausage
1/2 Garlic clove
2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
3 1/2 cups Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (F.). Put a sheet of foil in a baking pan and put the chicken breasts in it. Bake for about 40 minutes until the chicken is done. Test with a fork. If the liquids from it run clear, then it is done. Remove to a paper towel covered plate, pat excess liquid off and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Cut the chicken breasts into pieces and put in a food processor. Process until it is broken into little pieces, then measure 1 1/2 cups of chicken and put back into the food processor. Add 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, cover and run until the mixture resembled fine breadcrumbs. Add the oregano, seasoning salt, and garlic powder and pulse a few more times to mix the spices in.

If you have a 11 to 12 inch spring form cheesecake pan, then put a sheet of parchment paper on the bottom and lock the ring over it. Trim off the excess paper on the outside. Spray with a cooking spray for easy release. Press the chicken mixture into the bottom of the pan and push it as firmly as you can to make a dense, firm, and even crust. Bake for 20 minutes until the crust is lightly browned around the edges.

While the crust cooks, add a pat of butter to a skillet and add the garlic and chopped onions. Cook for about a minute, then add the sweet peppers and cook until slightly tender. Remove to a plate. Add the sausage, breaking it into small pieces and cook until it is just browned, then remove to a paper towel covered plate to drain off any excess grease.

When the crust is cooked, spread the pasta sauce over the top, then add the vegetables and meat on top. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top, then spread the mozzarella on it. Put in the oven and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and is browning a bit. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan, cutting, and serving. I leave mine on the pan base until it is mostly gone.

Makes 8 servings and reheats well. If you are very hungry, this is low enough in carbs that you can easily eat two pieces.

Nutrition Information per 1/8 piece serving:
Calories: 314.3 Fat: 19.4 g Net Carbs: 2.9 g Protein: 29.7 g

Note: If you would like a thicker pizza crust, use 2 cups of chicken and an equal amount of mozzarella cheese.

Breads, Breakfast & Brunch, Italian Inspired Recipes, Pork, Poultry, Recipes

White Pizza for a change of pace

Every once in a while, a body wants a packed-with-goodness pizza. That’s not always easy to do when you’re watching your carbohydrates. But it’s not impossible. You can use a couple of substitutes for the pizza crust that are pretty good, like chicken, portobello mushrooms, sliced eggplant, low carb tortillas, and this one I used for this recipe, a cauliflower pizza. Now, if you don’t like cauliflower, then choose one of the other options and just follow the toppings part of the recipe.

I made a vegetable-packed white sauce pizza. In this case the white sauce is simply an Alfredo pasta sauce. I used Classico because it is pretty low in carbs, but there are others that are also good for it. Check the jar and if it is around 3 net carbs per 1/4 cup, you’re in the ballpark. The taste of this is really great and the vegetables can be pretty flexible to what you like on it. Want it completely vegetarian, leave off the chicken and bacon, but it will have cheese. I’ve listed the carb counts for the crust separate from the toppings and the total combined as well. The crust is good for any pizza you’d like to make.

White Sauce Vegetable and Chicken Pizza

For the Pizza Cauliflower Crust
2 1/2 cups Cauliflower, grated
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 Egg, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon Ground Oregano
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Dried Basil

For the Toppings:
1/2 cup Brussels sprouts, sliced or shredded
1/2 cup Mushrooms, pieces or slices
1/2 cup Kale, chopped or torn
1/2 cup Spinach, chopped or torn
3 tablespoons Bell Peppers, chopped
1/4 cup Onions, chopped
1 1/4 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese, shredded
1 cup Alfredo sauce (Classico)
1 cup Chicken Breast, cooked and sliced or shredded
2 slices Thick Bacon, cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F.)

Crust:

Put your raw cauliflower in the food processor and pulse until it resembles rice or couscous. Or you can grate it by hand with a food grater. Put the grated cauliflower on a clean towel (flour sack towers are great for this), fold the towel over the cauliflower and squeeze to get as much water as possible out of the vegetable.

Put the dried cauliflower in a bowl and add the parmesan cheese, oregano, garlic powder, and dried basil. Mix in the egg, a dash of salt, and stir until completely blended. You can form it into ball at this point.

Put a sheet of parchment paper over a round stone or on a baking sheet. I used a baking pan lined with foil and it also works. Spray the foil with baking spray before you put the cauliflower in it. Shape the cauliflower dough into round pizza or a rectangle. Press it firmly together.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the crust is a golden brown. Pull it out and let it rest about five minutes, then add your toppings.

Vegetable Pizza

Prepare all the vegetables while the crust is cooking. Only the chicken and bacon are pre-cooked, although you can parboil the Brussels sprouts if you cut them in slices so that they aren’t too crunchy. Put them in a pan of boiling water for three minutes, then rinse in cold water and drain. OR put them in a bowl in the microwave for three minutes then drain.

Before the final cheese is spread and the pizza cooked.
Before the final cheese is spread and the pizza cooked.

Spread half of the Mozzarella cheese over the crust, then spread the Alfredo sauce over the top of that. Distribute the chicken and vegetables evenly over the crust and top with the bacon pieces. Sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella over the top and bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Cut and serve. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Information per serving (crust and toppings):
Calories: 418 Fat: 26.2 g Net Carbs: 9.7 g Protein: 36.4 g

Nutrition Information per serving (crust only):
Calories: 92.5 Fat: 5.1 g Net Carbs: 2.5 g Protein: 8.1 g

Nutrition Information per serving (toppings only):
Calories: 325.8 Fat: 21.1 g Net Carbs: 7.2 g Protein: 28.3 g

Breads, Main Dish, Pork, Recipes

Pumpkin and Pizza equal yummy!

Do you like pumpkin? Do you like pizza? Are you game to try something a little different, but really good?  Then here’s a real trick for a Fall treat!  Combine pumpkin with pizza for a delicious dinner.

When I first saw this recipe, I wasn’t too sure about it, but I have eaten pumpkin and other winter squash in several savory dishes, so why not?  I made a few adaptations to it to add more flavor and, of course, a low carb crust.  For my base, I used LC Foods Pizza and Bagel flour mix for a small pizza crust.  You can use a cauliflower, chicken, or flax and almond crust or any other preferred crust.

For toppings, I used Italian sausage, onions, and spinach along with Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. You can vary these however you like.  While this particular sauce doesn’t use tomatoes in it, I just found a jar of pumpkin chipotle pasta sauce made with tomatoes in it also, so it works if you want tomatoes in it also.

Savory Pumpkin Sausage Pizza

Small LC Foods Pizza Crust from Mix or 1/2 pre-made crust
1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree
3/4 cup Chicken, shredded or Italian Sausage, crumbled
1/2 sweet Onion, diced
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
1/2 tsp. Sugar Substitute
1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano
1/4 teaspoon Red Chili Powder
2 tablespoons Red Wine
1 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Shallot, sliced
1 tsp. fresh Thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cups freshly grated Havarti cheese or Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup Spinach, chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh Basil, chopped

Prepare pizza dough and let rise.

In a small pot, add the pumpkin puree, turmeric, sugar substitute, oregano, chile powder, wine, thyme, salt, pepper, and garlic and heat on medium until it starts to bubble. Lower the heat to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a skillet, cook the sausage until it is just browned. Add the onions and cook until they are just softened. Set aside.

Chop or tear spinach leaves, shallot, and fresh basil.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F.).

Pizza with toppings before adding mozzarella cheese.

Roll out or press pizza dough into the pan. Spread the pumpkin sauce over the top and to the edges. Add sausage and onions, then spinach, shallots and basil. Sprinkle Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses over the top. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes until cheese is melted and browned to your preference.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Information (without crust)- 1 serving
Calories:235 Fat:15.3 g Net Carbs: 4.5 g Protein: 15.9 g

LC Foods Pizza Crust – 1 serving
Calories: 125 Fat: 2.5 g Net Carbs: 2.5 g Protein: 11.2 g

Breads, Italian Inspired Recipes, Pork, Product Review

Product Review & Pizza Recipe

2 Comments

LC-Pizza & Bagel Flour

I’ve been meaning to try LC Foods flour for making pizza, calzones, bagels, and English muffins for quite some time now. The only recipe actually included on the package is for pizza. I found a bagel recipe that sounded good and I tried that one before I tried to make a pizza. I can say that it works very well for the bagels. So this week, I mixed up the pizza dough and had a go of it.

First, this is a fine-textured flour that is excellent for baking these types of breads. LC Foods has severl milled flours in their online store that can be used for a variety of baking including pasta, cake, and bread, as well as the one for pizza. The flour is not as low priced as regular wheat flour, but it is a low carb flour and it’s worth the difference for a flour that is low in carbs and still produces a product that rises with yeast, tastes like bread, although not entirely like its wheat counterpart, but close enough that you can enjoy it. It’s also a sturdy pizza bread.

Note, this pizza flour is not gluten-free. It is made from a blend of wheat protein isolates, resistant wheat starches, flax seed meal and vital wheat gluten. You will need to add fast rising yeast, a bit of salt, a little sugar substitute, and olive oil to the mixture. The personal-sized pizza crust makes a 7 to 8 inch pizza round that will

For those who don’t want to make a pizza crust from scratch, LC Foods also sells a pre-made, partially cooked large pizza crust. You can add your favorite toppings and bake right at home and have a great pizza in no time.

So, on to the pizza dough and the toppings I used for this personal-sized pizza. For reference, each 1/4 cup of the flour is 2 net carbs and the whole small pizza used 3/4 cup of the flour. You can also shape the pizza dough into bread sticks, calzones, and strombolis. To make bagels or English muffins, you need to refer to a recipe for those breads as they have other ingredients and measurements. I will be putting up the basic bagel recipe next week.

I do have to say that of all the low carb flours I’ve used to try to make yeast breads, this flour has done the best job of rising, browning, and tasting very good. I give this flour my five cooking spoons of approval.

5-spoons

LC Pizza with Meatballs

This is made with LC Foods pizza and bagel flour. I bought pre-made poerk meatballs from Wal-Mart that are about 1 1/2 inch in diameter. Use a low carb pasta sauce. I used Mario Batalli’s Vodka sauce, which is one of the lowest I have found.

3/4 cup LC Pizza and Bagel Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt
3/4 teaspoon rapid rise Yeast
1/2 teaspoon Sugar Substitute
1/4 cup warm Water
1 1/2 teaspoons Olive Oil

Toppings:
1/ cup Onions, chopped
3 mini Sweet Peppers
1 teaspoon minced Garlic
1/4 cup Pasta Sauce
6 medium-sized Pork Meatballs
1/2 cup Mozarella Cheese
2 tablespoons Parmesan Romano Cheese

In a medium bowl, add pizza flour, salt, yeast and sugar substitute and mix together. Add the water and olive oil and stir it together until combined and it begins to form a ball. Use your hands to knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Clean the bowl, dry and lightly oil. Put the dough in the bowl and put in a warm place to rise. Cover with a plate. Allow it rise 30 to 40 minutes until the dough doubles.

Lightly oil a pizza pan or pizza stone. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F.)

Pull and stretch the dough into a circle and shape with your fingers until you have about a 7 to 8 inch round. Put on the pizza pan and bake for 5 minutes to get a partial bake on it.

Meanwhile, put a teaspoon of oil into a skillet and sauté the onions and peppers until just tender, then add garlic to the mix. Remove to a bowl. Cut the meatballs in half and if not already cooked, brown them in the skillet until they are almost done.

Spread the pizza sauce on the crust, then spread the vegetables evenly. Put the meatball halves even around the pizza and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top, then the Parmesan Romano cheese over the top of that.

Bake for 10 more minutes until the cheese is melted and slightly browned. Let cool for a few minutes to set, then cut into pieces and serve.

Makes 2 to 4 servings, depending on how hungry you are.

Nutrition Information per one-half pizza:
Calories: 404 Fat: 21.3 g Net Carbs: 10.4 g Protein: 14.7 g