Cauliflower Pizza Crust

I’m not good at being sick.  I get bored.  I lay down to rest and think of all the tasks I should accomplish instead of resting.  All I really want to do is go to the gym to sweat all my germs out, but it isn’t fair to expose all gym goers to my nastiness.  To combat my boredom I entered the kitchen and accepted the challenge of creating a meal with vegetables in my fridge that were approaching their expiration date…I found a purple onion, a bag of cauliflower, and a box of cherry tomatoes...TADA!!! Cauliflower crust pizza topped with homemade cherry tomato sauce and baked chicken!  HOLY DELICIOUSNESS!

Cauliflower Crust Ingredients:

• 1 bag washed cauliflower
• ½ cup mozzarella cheese (or ¼ mozzarella and ¼ parmesan cheese)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
• 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 1 egg

Place a pizza stone in the oven, or baking sheet if you don’t have a pizza stone. Preheat oven to 450ºF. On a cutting board, place a large piece of parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking oil.

This entire process would have been MUCH easier if I had a food processor…but instead I used my hands/fist.  If you have a food processor then I recommend using it, the cauliflower should turn into a “powdery snow.”

Place cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and cook for four minutes.

Allow cauliflower to cool.  Once cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the dish towel OR a TON of paper towels, and wring the heck out of it. You want to squeeze out as much water as possible. This will ensure you get a chewy pizza like crust instead of a crumbly mess.

To create the dough: combine squeezed cauliflower, cheese, salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed.  Add the egg and mix thoroughly!

Place the dough on the oiled parchment paper and create a tight crust – don’t make it too thick or too thin.  Place the parchment paper on the baking sheet.

Bake for 8-11 minutes, until it starts to turn golden brown.

It’s TOPPING time!  Top the crust with whatever you fancy!

Cook for another 5 to 7 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and slightly golden.

Enjoy!

Cherry Tomato Sauce:

• 1-tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• ¼ cup purple onion
• 1-container cherry tomatoes
• Salt
• Pepper
• Italian seasoning 

Let me be honest, this sauce recipe was an experiment, I didn’t measure any of the ingredients or accurately assess the time; my advice – watch the skillet.  Place olive oil in a warm skillet with crushed garlic cloves and purple onion.  Cook until slightly golden, add tomatoes and seasoning to taste.  Simmer 15 to 20 minutes.  I wanted a smoother consistency to my sauce so I crushed all tomatoes with a potato masher.