Flatbread Pizza Salad

We have a deep affection for whole wheat flatbread in our house.  Laela loves it toasted with olive oil and topped with hummus, and as weird as it may sound to some, steamed broccoli.  Kyle loves it made as a basic pizza with sauce, mozzarella cheese, and whatever kind of meat we have on hand.

My favorite thing to do with flatbread is make what Kyle calls "Flatbread Pizza Salad".  It's super easy to make, and when I have that insatiable craving for pizza, with less of the guilt that tends to come with your typically deliciously greasy slice of tastiness, this is the pizza I turn to.

Flatbread Pizza Salad

You'll need:

• 1 slice of whole wheat flatbread
• 1tsp olive oil
• 3Tb Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2Tb Parmesan Cheese (I prefer freshly shredded)
• 1 Sprig Thyme (leaves only)
• 1 Sprig Rosemary (chopped)
• 3 Slices of roasted peppers, jarred is easier, fresh fine too. (You can also use sundried tomatoes or jarred artichokes)
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/2 Lemon
• 4 large handfuls of spring mix, or 50/50 arugula/spinach mix

Instructions:

• Preheat your oven to 400-degrees.
• Use a pastry brush to "paint" the olive oil on both sides of the flatbread. (You may use more or less oil than specified, depending on the size of your flatbread.)
• Place the oiled flatbread on a cookie sheet.  Put the cookie sheet in the oven for 10 minutes.
• Chop the roasted peppers.
• Take the flatbread out of the oven.  Top with the thyme, rosemary, cheeses, roasted peppers, salt, and pepper.
• Bake for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
• When cheese is melted, take the flatbread out of the oven.  Slice into servings (our flatbreads usually serve 2 people, unless Kyle is super hungry.)  Top with the salad mix (you can stop here if you're not a salad fan!).
• Squeeze a bit of lemon onto the salad.  Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper.

Enjoy!!

Nacho Cheese!

I have this deep, unabiding love for nachos.  I love nachos topped with just about anything you can think of, but especially when they're topped with ooey, gooey, delicious cheese. The unfortunate thing is, nachos are not one of those things that I'd check into the "healthy category" of my life.

I refuse to deny my nacho craving, so I came up with a healthier recipe for nacho cheese.  Truthfully, the process is really not much different than making the cheese for macaroni and cheese, so if you've made homemade mac and cheese before, this should be a total cinch!

Nacho Cheese Sauce

You'll need:

• 1 cup Non-fat milk
• 1/4 tsp yellow mustard
• Hot sauce
• 1/2 tsp Onion powder
• 1/4 tsp Garlic powder
• Salt and Pepper
• 1Tb Butter
• 1Tb All-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup low-fat Mexican blend grated cheese (you can use extra cheese if you'd like)

Instructions:

• Heat a large saucepan to medium-high heat.
• Whisk together the butter and flour to create a roux (a thickener for the sauce).  The butter and flour should be well mixed, looking like a paste.
• Whisk in the milk, hot sauce (a little if you're not a spicy food lover, a lot if you are- remember, you can add more later), a few shakes of salt and pepper, mustard, onion and garlic powder. 
• Whisk until a thick sauce is created (a bit thicker than mayonnaise).
• Once the mixture is thickened, whisk in the cheese.
• Taste to correct seasoning.
• Serve!