Whole Wheat Pizza

You guys know my obsession with Trader Joes, right?

The last time I was there I picked up this great whole wheat pizza crust and I’ve finally been able to use it.  By the way, it’s just been sitting in my freezer waiting for me.  It thawed really great; just left it overnight in the fridge and then pulled it out about 20 minutes before I wanted to cover it in deliciousness and bake it.

I decided that I wanted to make some pizza and freeze individual pieces for lunch during the week, so that’s what I did.  AND, I was pleasantly surprised at the calorie count on the FOUR slices I got out of this baby.  I’m talking 4 HUGE pieces.  I’m super excited because if I’m going to eat a piece of pizza, it better be substantial.

So here we go!

Ingredients:
1 whole wheat unprepared pizza dough – about 16oz…you can sub an already prepared crust, too – just recheck the math on your calories
1/4 cup Contadina pizza sauce or sauce of your choice
3/4 cup shredded whole milk mozzarella
4oz sliced baby bella mushrooms (this is about 1/2 of a container from the produce section)
1/2 cup frozen spinach or fresh baby spinach – about 1 1/2 cup
1/2 cup chopped fresh broccoli
1/2 medium red bell pepper, sliced
25 slices turkey pepperoni
2 spicy chicken sausage links (I buy the Al Fresca jalapeno version), sliced
garlic powder and red pepper flakes, to taste

Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 425

Let’s build this!

Okay, fun fact, I used to make pizzas at a well known pizza delivery chain so I can slap some dough out like no one’s biz…but if you don’t possess mad pizza dough slapping skills like me, just throw down some flour and spread the dough out as best you can onto a baking sheet or pizza stone or whatever you have…doesn’t have to be super pretty.  I decided I’d make a rectangular pizza this time.

Once your dough is ready, spread the sauce out.

Add 1/4 cup of cheese to sort of adhere the first layer of ingredients to your dough.

I built in this order, but this is YOUR pizza so you do it YOUR way:

Sauce, 1/4 cup cheese, mushrooms, spinach, peppers, 1/4 cup cheese, pepperoni, broccoli, sausage and the rest of the cheese.

I finished it with sprinkles of garlic powder and red pepper flakes.

Toss it in the oven and bake until browned – about 20 minutes or so.

Remove from the oven and if you are eating it right away, dig in!

Otherwise, I let mine cool down a bit, cut it into 4 slices and bagged each and threw them in the freezer.

That’s it!!  When I’m ready to eat it, I’ll take it along to work and zap it in the microwave for about 1:30.

Nutrition:
Each Slice:
Calories 428 / Carbs 54g / Fat 15g / Protein 26g / Fiber 5g / Sodium 1104mg

You can certainly cut this into smaller pieces if you so desire…I, do not…