Monday, May 5, 2014

Recipe! Balsamic Strawberry Pizza

Over the weekend I went grocery shopping to stock up for week 2 of Tone It Up's Bikini Series (which you can read more about here) and while I had a ton of food, I had NO clue what I wanted to eat for lunch. I have been having a random craving for caramelized onions lately, so I knew I wanted to incorporate that, butttt how?!

Pizza. The answer is always pizza.

The next challenge was what else to put on it?! Balsamic glaze? Yes.  How do you even make a balsamic glaze?

Finally.. toppings?! I had eaten a balsamic fig flatbread type of pizza from my work that was AMAZING, but I didn't have any figs. Butttt I had strawberries. Why not, let's try it.

Put it all together..... *drumroll please*.....
OH MY GOD IT WAS DELICIOUS.
Slightly time consuming, more so than I generally prefer, but worth it.

I ate a piece before I took the pic hehe




















So here it is, my recipe for Balsamic Strawberry Pizza:

Ingredients:
Caramelized onions
Side note: honestly. mine didn't turn out that well, I had JUST enough for the two mini pizzas I made after weeding out the severely burned ones, so feel free to google whatever recipe you think will turn out the best for you.

For the balsamic glaze:
1 Cup Balsamic vinegar
1/4 Cup brown sugar
(You'll end up with leftovers, so I poured the remainder into a small mason jar and stuck it in the fridge for the next time I make this because there definitely will be a next time.)

For the pizza:
2 whole wheat pitas, but next time I will make a bigger version and use Trader Joe's pre-made pizza crust (it's vegan)
1 Cup Trader Joe's Vegan Mozzarella Shreds (or adjust to your liking)
2 Large Strawberries sliced into several pieces
Big handful of arugula
1 Tbsp Olive oil

Directions: Start with caramelizing your onions, those take the longest. The balsamic glaze was super easy, in a sauce pan over medium heat, combine the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar and stir until the brown sugar is dissolved, bring the mixture to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350. One the balsamic glaze is done, get your pitas and lightly coat them on both sides with olive oil. Get about 1 Tbsp (or more!) of the glaze and spread it on the pitas. Then layer the cheese, caramelized onions, and strawberries. Put both pitas on a cookie sheet and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Cheese should be bubbly and edges should be lightly browned. Once out of the oven, cut into 4 slices, throw a big handful of arugula on top and nom on those bad boys because you'll definitely eat both of them, even though one was supposed to be for your boyfriend.