Friday Night Pizza

In our family, we have homemade pizza for dinner every Friday. Everybody loves it. Sometimes I make big, pan size pizza, sometimes I make individual crusts and let the kids build their own. Sometimes I make roll out the dough, put on the toppings, and then roll it and cut it like cinnamon rolls. Those are fun for dipping in marinara sauce. I make the dough with freshly ground whole wheat, and I activate the yeast with honey instead of sugar. All in all, it's not a bad crust.

But. As someone who struggles with every pound, I do look for ways to cut down on my carbs. So when I came across this alternative pizza recipe in one of my Biggest Loser books, I thought I'd give it a try.

It's pretty simple, really--you just switch out your crust for some portobello mushroom caps!

I was skeptical at first, because I've never really been a big fan of mushrooms. I like them okay, but it's not usually my taste of choice.

But I gave it a try, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved it! To the point where I didn't even miss my oh-so-loved homemade crust.

Basically, you get your mushrooms from the grocery store, bring them home, and cut off what little stem there will probably be. Set them top-side down on a cookie sheet, and top the same way you'd top a crust.

Pizza sauce first, (I have an awesome, easy sauce recipe) then whatever you like! I love adding olives, sliced tomatoes, onions, sometimes some lean ground turkey sausage--whatever suits your fancy!

Bake at 425 for 9-10 minutes. And...voila! This one is a sausage and onion pizza, with some mozzarella and some fat free cheddar cheese.

(You'll want to eat these with a fork!)