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South Beach Pizza
By Vanessa Balchen
We eat a lot of pizza in this house; at least once a week I throw the dough together in the KitchenAid and let it rise for 24 hours in the refrigerator before I turn out a couple of personal pizzas for the guys. Of course personal-sized pizza for a teenage boy is about the size of a cookie sheet.
But here's the thing, we can't eat pizza every week...or rather we could but at some point we have to stop. Stop the crepes, the pancakes, cookies, muffins, cupcakes, pound cakes, pies, custards, etc...etc! It's all because we've reached the fatty-bo-batty stage where our favorite jeans are too tight for comfort...and honestly comfort trumps carb-rich meals any day. It's at that point that we return to phase one of the South Beach Diet. I say this grudgingly but in total acceptance of my fate...I must do it now before fruit season starts
because once the berries and apples are in season there is no way I'm giving up their juicy goodness.
For those blessed enough to not have to know what South Beach phase one is I'll give you the brief overview...you can eat any protein, green vegetables are your friends, dairy is okay. Fruits, potatoes, bread, and any sort of simple carb is off limits. That's not so bad is it? No sugar, no flour, no potatoes, no fruit for at least two weeks. Oh, no wine...that's the kicker!
On pizza night I made our pizza with a chicken breast crust. We had to eat it with with a fork but the flavor was excellent and it was an almost pizza.
South Beach Pizza for 2
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup grated low fat mozzarella
1 Italian sausage
8 mushrooms, sliced medium thin
1/2 medium white onion, sliced thin
Pizza sauce
Preheat oven to 425°.
With a sharp knife butterfly the chicken breast at it's thickest part in order to make it all the same thickness. Place the chicken between saran wrap and flatten it with a mallet or something similar. Repeat this procedure with the other breast.
Remove the casing from the sausage and break it into small, bite-sized chunks. Heat a heavy skillet on a high flame and add a dab of olive oil. Sal the breast and place it in the hot pan. Let it brown and then flip it. Remove it from the pan once both sides have browned. Repeat with the other breast. In that same pan, with the heat on medium, brown the Italian sausage. Remove it from the pan and rest it on a paper towel.
Place both of the chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Spread pizza sauce on both and then add the cheese. Top next with the sausage, onions, and mushrooms.
Bake in the oven until the cheese and toppings are bubbly and golden brown.
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Published: Jul 12,2008 10:40
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Andy Cowan
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Paul M. J. Suchecki has more than 30 years of experience as an award winning writer, producer, and cameraman. He's written numerous newspaper and magazine articles. Currently he writes, produces and shoots for LA CityView Channel 35 and his more than 250 articles for Ehow.com are approaching half a million readers.
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Dan Rafter has covered the residential real estate industry for more than 15 years. He has contributed real estate stories to the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Business 2.0 Magazine, Home Magazine, Smart HomeOwner Magazine and many others.
Jack Nargundkar
Jack Nargundkar has been repeatedly published in Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. He is also an author of "The Bush Diaries" published in July 2005.
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