Upside-Down Pizza Remix

This weekend I decided to revisit the Upside-Down Deep Dish Pizza recipe. I really liked the original way of making it, but thought I'd switch it up a little this time.

The changes I made:

• added green onions to the meat and cooked them a little before adding the sauce
• mixed low-fat ricotta cheese with the broccoli instead of using mozzarella on top
• used refrigerated crescent sheet instead of pizza crust
• added sliced tomatoes and a sprinkle of shredded Parmesan cheese to the top before baking

This version did need to bake longer - I'm not sure if it was the crescent rolls topping or the tomatoes on top, but I think I ended up baking at 375 for 35-40 minutes, just check on it while it's baking.

This time the dish was equally as delicious and I used the extra crescent sheet to experiment with appetizer options. Maybe I'll have to do a post about that sometime soon. :)

Chicken Parmesan Bundles

Recipe From: Kraft Food & Family Magazine

Please click on the above link for ingredients and directions.

Rating: Yummy!
Warming Up: warms up well, may want to cut the bundle in half first though
Notes:
(Ok, I didn't actually make this one, but I picked the recipe. My mom and her husband made the bundles and they were delicious!)

• We used fresh broccoli instead of spinach. This recipe lends itself to a lot of variations.
• You could make it healthier with using more veggies, less cheese mixture. Or, as they point out on the recipe, use reduced fat cheeses and crackers.

Beer Cheese Soup

Recipe From: my friend Penny, who got it from a friend

Ingredients:
4 cubes chicken bouillon OR 32 oz of chicken broth
1 can light beer
4 cups water (if using bouillon)
1 1/2 cups cubed potatoes
1cup each of celery, carrots, and onions - chopped
20 oz package frozen cauliflower and broccoli (or use fresh)
2 cans condensed Healthy Request Cream of Chicken soup
8 oz Velveeta light, chunked


Directions:

1. In a large pot, over medium-high heat, dissolve bouillon in beer and water.
2. Add the potatoes, celery, carrots, and onion. Mix well and cook 15-20 minutes.
3. Stir in cauliflower and broccoli mix, heat 10 more minutes.
4. Finally, add the condensed soup and the cheese. Reduce heat to low and allow cheese to melt. Stir often.

• For a smooth soup, process in a food processor or blender, otherwise leave vegetable in chunks.

Rating: ok. I need to try it again in and may like it better processed.

Notes:

• I only made a half batch.
• I did use the broth option. I also used shoestring cut carrots (to save a little time) and the fresh cauliflower and broccoli.
• I found that I needed to add more cheese to get more of a cheesy flavor.

WW Points*: 2 points per cup (per recipe)

Upside-Down Deep Dish Pizza

Recipe From: Ragu advertisement

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 jar Ragu Pasta Sauce
1 package (10 oz) frozen, chopped broccoli, thawed and squeezed dry (optional)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can (11 oz) refrigerated pizza dough

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef in skillet, drain. Season. Stir in pasta sauce, bring to a boil. Put into a 2-quart baking dish.
2. Top with broccoli, then cheese. Press dough over dish, sealing edges.
3. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until crust is golden. Let stand 10 minutes.

Rating: Delizoso! 
Warming Up: Warms up really well, tastes just as good (if not better).
Notes:

• I used ground turkey and reduced fat cheese to make this a little healthier and lower in fat.  And, of course did use broccoli.
• I did not use Ragu sauce, I would suggest using any jar of pasta sauce you like, since this was from a Ragu ad that's why the recipe calls for Ragu.
• I couldn't find a 11 oz pizza crust (only a bigger size), so just discard what you don't need to cover your baking dish.