Recipe: Fall Colors High Fiber Pizza

Fridays are pretty good around here ... meatless meals (which means some pretty creative menu-planning), dad is home for the weekend, and we are all feeling better than we did this morning (which is saying ALOT!). 

I had PLANNED on making sourdough pizza but forgot to start the dough early -- needs a few hours to rise.  So, a quick gander at my various recipes, and I found a pretty good recipe (I think, originally from Family Fun) called "Pizza Bites" that I've used successfully in the past.  This time I "tweaked" it a bit more than usual and it was amazingly good.

Here's my recipe for Fall Colors High Fiber Pizza:
Dough: 

• 2 to 2-1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain High Fiber Hot Cereal
• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup very warm tap water (about 110-120 degrees)
• 2 tbls olive oil
• 1-1/2 tsp sugar
• 4 tsp minced garlic

Soften yeast in the water for about 5 minutes.  In a large bowl combine 1 cup of the unbleached flour, the wheat flour, hot cereal, Italian seasoning, salt, yeast and water;  stir in the olive oil, sugar and garlic.  Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.  
Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.  Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top; cover with plastic wrap and place in warm draft-free spot for about 30-45 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 425.

Punch down and flatten onto large pizza pan (ours has holes in it and is 16").

Toppings:

• campari tomatoes -- about 6, sliced thinly
• 1 orange sweet pepper -- sliced into small chunks
• olive oil
• 2 cups Italian shredded cheese (a mix of parmesan, mozzarella, asiago)

Sprinkle olive oil on top of unbaked crust -- spread to cover evenly. 
Sprinkle with about 1 cup of cheese
Sprinkle tomato and sweet pepper pieces evenly over top
Sprinkle with remaining cheese

Place in preheated oven and baked for 10-15 minutes; I should have removed mine at about 10 minutes but I was making a pot of tea and forgot!  You want to remove when crust is crisp and cheese is just starting to darken.

Serve with a green salad and you've got a great meat-less, high-fiber and YUMMY dinner!

And it must have been good as it gave the kids the energy to go to our very own bowling alley (Lego-style)!

Hope you and yours are snuggled up, like mine, enjoying a wondrous family movie after a satisfying dinner (and of course, ice cream for dessert).  Mine are watching the 3rd of the Tolkein Trilogy -- Return of the King.  A beautiful Friday night!