Fresh Veggie Pizza a healthy alternative for Pizza Night

Friday night usually lends itself to being pizza night, since that’s frequently the time a little pizza-adoring munchkin visits our house on a routine basis. But how to make that pizza a healthy one is a constant challenge.

I loved running across a recipe for Fresh Veggie Pizza. Whole-wheat crust and some favorite veggies as a topping made it a wonderful choice.

Yellow squash, zucchini, mushrooms, Roma tomatoes, and green peppers first were sautéed in olive oil before I piled them on the prepared pizza dough that had baked in the oven for several  minutes to set it. 

Mozzarella and grated Parmesan went on as the top layer before the whole thing returned to the oven for about 15 minutes. The finished product was a pizza success story!

Fresh Veggie Pizza

1 pound frozen whole wheat or white bread dough, thawed (I used refrigerated pizza crust)

2 medium zucchini or summer squash, sliced

1 medium yellow, red, or green sweet pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil

1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

2 green onions, sliced (about 1/4 cup)

2 plum tomatoes, sliced

1 (8-ounce) can pizza sauce 

1/2 cup pitted, coarsely chopped green or black olives

1 cup shredded mozzarella, provolone, or Monterey Jack cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. For dough: Place thawed bread dough on lightly floured surface; let it rest 10 minutes. Roll into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Build up edges slightly. Transfer pizza circle to a greased baking sheet. Using the tines of a fork, prick dough over entire surface. Bake about 8 minutes or until crust is set but not browned. Meanwhile, for veggies: in a large skillet cook and stir zucchini or squash and sweet pepper in hot oil for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add mushrooms and onions. Cook and stir 2 minutes more or until just tender. Remove from heat. Stir in tomatoes. Spread pizza sauce on hot crust to within 1 inch of edge. Using a slotted spoon, spoon zucchini mixture over sauce. Top with olives. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake about 15 minutes or until crust is brown and cheese is melted. Makes about 6 servings. (Source: www.recipe.com)