By Lauren, on January 27th, 2012
We may skip a week every now and then, but pretty much every Friday night we have homemade pizza for dinner.
It’s a farewell to the workweek and an introduction to the weekend. We always have a few slices leftover, which John enjoys for lunch the next day.
I have fun coming up with different ingredient combinations, and this one ended up working out really well!
On top of our favorite Whole Foods whole wheat dough is the Kale Walnut Pesto I posted yesterday, crumbled chicken sausage, and my go-to cheese duo of mozzarella and cheddar.
John picked up this tip from a friend “in-the-know” about the inner workings of a pizzeria; the mozzarella melts into that desirable gooey cheesiness and the cheddar lends a sharp flavor and beautiful golden brown crispness.
Can I tempt you to join in our tradition and make tonight “Pizza Friday”?!
by Lauren Zembron
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Keywords: bake pizza main cheese kale chicken winter
- olive oil for drizzling
- 2 links, about 1/2 lb, uncooked chicken sausage (I used garlic herb)
- 1 lb ball whole wheat pizza dough, at room temperature (I buy mine from the freezer section of Whole Foods)
- flour for rolling
- 1 batch Kale Walnut Pesto
- 1 cup freshly shredded low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella
- 1/2 cup freshly shredded 50% reduced fat cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Remove casings from sausage and place meat in a medium nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until crumbled and no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside.
Drizzle a bit of olive oil onto a rimless baking sheet.
Lightly flour a clean work surface. Roll out the dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Transfer rolled out dough onto the sheet.
Spread the pesto evenly over the rolled out dough. Top with cooked crumbled sausage and both cheeses.
Bake for 8 minutes. Carefully remove the baking sheet from underneath the pizza. Bake directly on the oven rack for 3-4 minutes, or until the crust is crisp and the cheese is golden brown.
Nutritional Information will vary depending on type of chicken sausage and pizza dough used
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By Lauren, on January 26th, 2012
Traditional basil pesto embodies summer for me; my parents grow basil – amongst other veggies – in their backyard, and every summer my mom makes many batches of fresh pesto from their crop.
Now that we’re in the middle of winter, basil isn’t the prime choice for making pesto… it’s a good thing you can make the crave-able condiment from other greens.
Such as kale!
Yep, that tough-leaved, cool-weather, nutrient-rich, leafy vegetable can be used to make pesto.
I briefly steamed the leaves to soften them a bit, then pulsed them in a food processor with crunchy toasted walnuts, salty Parmesan cheese, pungent garlic, and a touch of rich olive oil until the mixture came together to form this gorgeous green pesto.
I like my pesto on the thicker side, but if you prefer a more drizzle-able consistency, stream in more oil until the desired consistency is reached.
This texture was perfect for the recipe I used the pesto in – which will be posted tomorrow!
Salty, garlicky, not too oily, and with a bit of chew from the kale, this pesto is a delicious winter version of a summer classic.
by Lauren Zembron
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 seconds
Keywords: boil appetizer side vegetarian kale cheese walnuts winter
- 3 tightly packed cups washed & dried kale leaves (discard stems)
- 1/4 cup toasted walnut halves
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 2 Tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or more if you prefer a thinner consistency)
- Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Bring 1/2 inch of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add in the kale leaves, cover, and cook for 30 seconds. Drain and rinse with cold water. Wring dry with your hands.
Place walnut halves into the bowl of a food processor; pulse until finely chopped. Add in the garlic clove, parmesan cheese, and steamed kale; pulse until combined.
With the motor running, stream in the olive oil through the feed tube until the mixture comes together, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Nutritional Information per Serving (2 Tbsp):140 calories, 12.1 grams fat, 1.8 grams saturated fat, 2.4 grams fiber, 3.8 grams protein
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Contact If you have any questions or just want to drop me an email, you can reach me at foodliving AT gmail DOT com.
"Food is science and love and art and life." - Adam H. Kunz
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