Rockstone Pizzeria & Pub {Fishers}

A gourmet pizza joint opened last year in Fishers. If you haven't checked it out, you should! Local restaurateur Ed Sahm, along with business partners Ryan Bucksot and Bill Greenman, opened the restaurant with a menu of customizable pizzas featuring locally sourced meats and vegetables, baked pasta dishes, salads, house-made foccacia for sandwiches, wood-fired crackers and desserts. Gluten-free options also will be available.

Ed Sahm is a great guy, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Megan S Ott Foundation (an organization founded by my late friend, Megan, right before she lost her battle to Breast Cancer). I love supporting his restaurants, and haven't been to one that isn't great!

Photo by Nuvo.net

I can't say that everything in this restaurant is clean, but I can say it tastes fresh and they source local fresh ingredients. Their City Ham, Capacolla and Chorizo are from Goose the Market. Their chicken is Indiana Amish chicken which is free of any hormones or antibiotics and free range. They order how many whole chickens they will use for the week and they are delivered without ever hitting a freezer. Their pork shoulder is also from the same producers of their chicken. All meats are sourced from Indiana.

Wood Fired Buff Chick Pizza

Another added bonus is that all of their sauces, dough, dressings and desserts are made in house daily.

Rockstone Pub serves a seasonally changing wine and beer menu with 24 local, regional and imported beer options on tap and 30 bottled beer varieties. Twenty-five wines wines are offered as well, along with sake and sangria cocktails.

The 4,800-square-foot restaurant seats 80 in the bar area and 40 in the family dining area. So if you are concerned with dining with a bunch of kids I can assure the areas are very separated. 

Check out their website: www.rockstonepizzapub.com

Gluten Free {clean} Tex-Mex Polenta Pizza

I love Mexican food and I love pizza, so I was excited to give this recipe a try. Also, I had a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce waiting to be used (odd, I know).  

This recipe was very simple.  My husband and I both really enjoyed this recipe. I will be making it again in the future. Another recipe for Meatless Monday or any other meatless day of the week.

Gluten Free Tex-Mex Polenta Pizza

Recipe from : www.cleancusineandmore.com
Serves: 4-6 


Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, divided (plus more for greasing pan)
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup cornmeal (polenta)
• 1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (look for these in the ethnic section of your supermarket)
• 2 cups shredded carrots (to save time, buy bagged pre-shredded carrots)
• Cumin, to taste
• 1 cup shredded, low-fat organic mozzarella cheese (I prefer Chipotle Gouda, white cheddar, or Monterrey Jack instead)
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:
1)Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and lightly coat an 81⁄2-inch springform pan with extra virgin olive oil.
2)In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Whisking constantly, slowly add the cornmeal and 1 tablespoon oil. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, until the polenta starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 4–5 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper.
3)Remove from heat. Spread the polenta over the bottom of the prepared pan, using a spoon to form a raised edge. Set aside for 10 minutes to set.
4)Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, purée the black beans, remaining oil, and chipotle pepper until mixture is smooth and creamy. Using the back of a spoon, spread the chipotle–black bean hummus on top of the polenta. Layer the shredded carrots on top. Season carrots with cumin to taste. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the carrots.
5)Bake polenta pizza for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle the chopped cilantro on top. Return polenta pizza to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Allow polenta pizza to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the springform pan. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

NOTES:  I did things a little different than the recipe. My family doesn't like to see their carrots in random dishes so I pureed it all. I put the beans, oil, cumin (2 tsp), chipotle pepper and carrots into the Vitamix and created a one layer hummus spread. Then I topped with cheese. I only had mild cheddar on hand. We topped with lettuce, cilantro, and tomatoes.  
I like to steam my carrots first to make them sweeter. It's easier to hide them in the dishes. 

{zucchini} pizza bites

It's my first year to grow zucchini in my garden. First year, success! Well, except the fact I didn't realize how MASSIVE the plant size becomes. Next year I will plant in a better location. It's time to focus on ways to use this free produce! First up....{zucchini} pizza bites.

These were BEYOND simple to make and Oh So delicious and nutritious. Give them a try for yourself.  Especially if you are wanting pizza and not the gluten that comes with most crust.

This makes a great option for Meatless Mondays!

 When the heavenly smell of pizza filled the house, my 4 year old asked to try one. Then two. Then THREE. Then, MORE MORE MORE! I didn't even wait to feed them to him for dinner because I was so shocked and supportive he was eating a vegetable!

Call the vegetable people and let them know this great news! Quick! Let's celebrate...Pizza Bites for everyone!

{zucchini} pizza bites

Ingredients:

• One or two zucchini (slice in 1/4inch thick circles)
• Organic Pizza Sauce (Or you can use Mama's Pizza Sauce)
• Freshly grated Mozzarella Cheese (I do NOT used bagged cheese, they are loaded with preservatives)

Directions:

1) Set the oven to Broil (high)

2) Spray sliced zucchini rounds with Olive Oil on both sides and place on oven pan (If you have a slotted grill pan that would work even better).

3) Broil on high for 2-3 minutes on first side

4) Turn them and repeat for another 2-3 minutes

5) Remove from oven and top with sauce and cheese.

6) Put back in oven and broil an additional 2-3 minutes (keeping close eye as to not to burn the cheese)

7) Let cool for a few minutes. Enjoy!

NOTE: Chop tiny bites of any fresh veggies or olives you love and add them as well. You could add fresh mozzarella and Pecorino Romano cheese like I do for my pizza. 

{clean} Cheeseburger Pizza

I saw a Cheeseburger Pizza recipe in my Clean Eating Magazine a few weeks back and decided that was something I wanted to try for Pizza Friday. The recipe is the magazine wasn't quite what I was going for so I set out to create my own Cheeseburger Pizza recipe.  

This pizza is the best of both American classics, cheeseburgers and pizzas. I don't eat red meat very often but I decided to give a low fat, good quality beef a try.  I truly enjoyed sinking my teeth into this pizza. I hope you enjoy it as well.

{clean} Cheeseburger Pizza

Ingredients:

• Wheat Pizza Dough
• 1 can {organic} tomato paste
• 2 Tbps {all natural} ketchup
• 1 Tbps {all natural} yellow mustard
• 1 Tbps {all natural} worcestershire sauce
• 1 small sweet onion (chopped)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 Tbps Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Approx 1 lb. Grass-fed {extra lean} ground beef 
• Cheddar cheese (I use Trader Joe's Mild Cheddar, which is rBST free), shredded
• Fresh Mozzarella , shredded
• baby dill pickles, sliced
• fresh tomatoes, chopped
•  romaine lettuce, chopped

1)  To make the sauce combine paste, ketchup, mustard, and worchestershire sauce. Set aside.

2)  To make meat, saute garlic and onions until translucent (Remove from heat to a small bowl) then add beef to pan. Cook until no longer pink. Drain any grease and return to pan, adding in the onion/garlic mixture plus the Italian seasoning.

3)  To make pizza roll out dough and top with a thin layer of the sauce.  Add ground beef, tomatoes, pickles and cheeses. 

4)  Bake at 450 degrees 10-12 minutes on a preheated stone. Top with lettuce.


NOTE: A little amount of good quality cheese goes a long way, don't over do it! Also this would be great with any type of cheese that you like on your burgers!  I get my dill pickles at Trader Joe's. I can't seem to find them many places without added colors.  

CHICKEN MARIACHI PIZZA

I have always loved the flavor in Donato's Chicken Mariachi Pizza. That should come to no surprise to any of you that know my love affair with Mexican food. I knew as soon as I started this journey that it would be top on my list to create my own {clean} version of it. 

Chicken Mariachi Pizza

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 6oz can of {all natural, low sodium} Tomato Paste
• 1 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1/2 tsp Coriander
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Sea or Kosher Salt
• 1/2 tsp Oregano

1) Mix tomato paste with one tomato paste can full of water (or 1/2 cup if you like to measure), stir until well blended.

2) Add all other ingredients and stir.

NOTE: This sauce is enough to make approximately 3 Medium Pizzas. This is a MILD sauce. Feel free to add Crushed Red Pepper or Cayenne Pepper for heat.

Toppings:

• 1/2 lb Chicken breast -Cooked (diced into small cubes)
• {all natural} Smoked Provolone Cheese (shredded)
• {all natural} Mild Cheddar cheese (shredded)
• Roma Tomatoes (sliced)
• {all natural} Black Olives (sliced)-best are at the olive bar
• Jalapeño Peppers (sliced and seeded) 

1) Make the WHEAT PIZZA DOUGH or 100% WHOLE WHEAT CRUST

2) Top pizza dough with Mariachi Sauce

3) Add toppings to your liking and top with cheeses.

4) Bake on pizza stone at 450° for 10-15 minutes. (Adjust accordingly the first time you bake in your oven)

NOTE: 

When {eating clean} try to avoid bags of processed shredded cheeses. It's always best to get blocks of fresh cheese and shred at home. (Read those LABELS) It's often hard to find good quality smoked cheeses that don't break the bank. If you find a smoked cheddar instead, use it and get regular provolone. Or simply try them non-smoked and see if you like it.

PIZZA PASTA

What better way to use up all the leftover pizza toppings than to make PIZZA PASTA. It's super simple and yumm-o!

Pizza Pasta

Ingredients:

• Leftover vegetables from pizza night (I used red peppers, mushrooms, black olives, tomatoes, green olives, and sliced turkey pepperoni)
• Fresh Mozzarella cheese (sliced)
• Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• Leftover Mama's Pizza Sauce (if you didn't use fresh basil, I suggest adding some to the pasta)
• one box of Whole Grain Pasta 
• Olive Oil

1)  Saute the leftover vegetables until tender in approx. 1 Tbps of olive oil.

2)  Mix vegetables, olives, sliced pepperoni, sauce, and cooked pasta together.

3)  Transfer to a baking dish, add mozzarella cheese. Stir.

4)  Cover and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until heated thru.

5)  Top with grated cheese.

NOTE: I usually use regular pepperoni on my pizzas now (and just add a small amount), but I thought I would add turkey pepperoni to the pasta dish to cut down on calories. It seemed to work well. If you aren't watching your calories, I say go for the real deal. It's soooo good! And you can even get the cute little bite size pepperonis. And, for those of you wondering, pepperoni probably doesn't fall into the {clean} food group but we all can't be perfect! Moderation people. 

KID APPROVED??? yes, but they had a separate batch with just cheese and pepperoni. 

PIZZA FRIDAY PARTY TIME!

At our house we love PIZZA FRIDAY!!! I try to make it just as fun for the kids (or in my opinion, more so) than going out to your local pizzeria.  We have the funny chef (me, "Mama"), the Italian music (I've even created our own pizza Friday playlist on Pandora), and on occasion we get out the tea pots and china (yes, you can bend the rules at your own pizza parlor)!

Look at these cute kids enjoying Papa Mama's pizza.

 Precious!

These "cheesy braid stix" are a fun way to serve the traditional bread sticks.

Check out how much money you can save by having your own weekly 

pizza party at home here:  PIZZA MATH

PIZZA MATH

People ask me all the time, what is the cost difference between your {clean pizza} and delivery pizza? Well, I finally sat down and did the "pizza" math. The results are.....

let's just say, eye opening!

Startup Costs:

  Ground Flaxseed       $3.50 

  Wheat Flour           $3.60

  Sea Salt              $1.00

  Yeast                 $1.00

  Olive Oil             $5.50

  Crushed Tomatoes      $3.25

  Tomato Paste          $1.00

  Dried Oregano         $1.00

  Red Pepper Flakes     $1.00

  Dried Basil           $1.00

  Honey / Agave         $4.00

  Garlic                $0.50

  Fresh Mozzarella      $4.99

  Pecorino Romano       $3.00

                Total:  $34

Per Pizza Costs:

             Batch     Per Pizza

  Dough      $1.60      $0.53

  Sauce      $5.55      $0.93

 Cheese      $7.15      $2.23

                Total:  $3.69   

There you have it, $3.69 for one medium {clean} cheese pizza. Shall we stop here??? Oh no, we're having too much fun, let's continue on this pizza math journey. 

Let's say a family orders two medium cheese pizza's every Pizza Friday for a whole year. Assuming two medium cheese pizzas (avg. price $10.50), including tax and tip, equals $27, then you would spend $1,415 a year.  Taking the homemade pizza costs above, you could save $1,031 per year!  (Just think, that could be his and her iPads!)

Wanna give my {clean} pizza a try??? 

Mama's pizza sauce 

and 

Whole wheat pizza dough

100% WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA DOUGH

I finally made the previous Wheat Pizza Dough recipe I posted with ALL wheat flour. By using the Bronze Chief brand, which is finely milled flour, it turned out awesome! I'm using it from here on out!  Here's a picture of what the bag looks like at Wal-mart:

Ingredients:

• ½ cup very warm water (about 110°)
• 1 envelope (2 ¼ tsp.) instant yeast
• 1 ¼ cups water, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cups whole wheat flour (use Bronze Chief found at wal-mart)
• 2 tbsp. ground flaxseed (or more, if you dare)
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• olive oil or non-stick cooking spray for greasing the bowl

1)  Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room temperature water and oil and stir to combine.

2)  Place all dry ingrediants in a bowl and combine. Add the wet ingrediants and lightly mix so everything is wet. Let stand for about thirty minutes covered with a towel. Using wet hands on a clean and surface, knead the dough for about 3-5 minutes or until it feels smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.

3)  Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 ½ to 2 hours on the counter OR place in the refrigerator overnight to rise slowly.

4) To bake, place a pizza stone in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 450° for at least 30 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form both pieces of dough into smooth, round balls and cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.

5)  Working with one piece of dough and keeping the other covered, shape the dough and transfer to a pizza peel or round of parchment dusted with semolina or cornmeal. Top as desired. Slide the dough onto the pizza stone. Bake until the crust edges brown and cheese is golden brown in spots, about 8 to 12 minutes. Repeat with remaining ball of dough or freeze for later use.

NOTE:  I make my dough in a 2qt. batter bowl from Pampered Chef.  It works great!

2012 UPDATE: I have NEVER mastered sliding the dough onto the stone (I actually just gave up trying)! Instead I take the hot stone out of the oven and make the pizza on the hot stone and then when ready I put it back in and bake. Also, I use WHITE whole wheat flour. 

Artichoke Pizza

It's time to take Pizza Fridays up a notch and try new pizza combinations that I've never had before.  This week was: Artichoke Pizza. I was skeptical because I really like sauce on my pizza and this concept had none. To my happy taste buds surprise, I didn't miss the traditional sauce. This was packed full of flavor. Give it a try! Let me know what you think.

Artichoke Pizza

Ingredients:

• marinated artichoke hearts (chopped)
• kalamata olives (slices or chopped)
• roma tomatoes (sliced)
• feta cheese
• fresh mozzerella cheese (sliced)
• 2-3 tsp olive oil
• 2 garlic gloves (minced)

There is no true sauce for this recipe. I take olive oil and add fresh minced garlic and let it sit for a few minutes to allow the olive oil to infuse with the garlic. (Or you can heat the oil and garlic in a microwave for about 30 seconds) Then I brush the olive oil on the crust, add other toppings, and bake as direction on the Wheat Pizza Dough post.

Enjoy.

Mama's Pizza Sauce

After mastering the dough, it was time to set out to make a homemade {clean} sauce!  This recipe is very easy to make and is a crowd pleaser every time. 

Even though this is a simple recipe, picking the right ingredients is key to having a {clean} sauce. And if you are not looking at the labels you can set yourself up for a big pot of SODIUM sauce! When shopping for your items look for 100% Natural and check out the amount of sodium in each can.  

Here's some that have low sodium that I have used in the past from Kroger:

This is my favorite brand of crushed tomatoes so far and makes the best quality sauce!

(I found it in the Italian section at my local Kroger)

Mama's Pizza Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1  32oz can of {100% Natural} Crushed Tomatoes
• 2  6oz cans of {100% Natural} Tomato Paste
• 1 tsp Dried Oregano
• 1 Tbps (or more) Fresh Basil (1 tsp dried will do)
• 1/3 c Agave Nectar
• 1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 4 Garlic Cloves, Minced (I usually use 8)
• 2-3 tsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 tsp Kosher or Sea Salt

1)  In a saucepan, saute garlic in oil until tender (or you start to smell the garlic)

2)  Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. 

3)  Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, give or take. 

 NOTE:  This makes enough for two batches of the wheat pizza dough.  If you have leftovers the sauce may be refrigerated for up to 1 week.  Keep in mind, you can "tweak" your recipe to make it sweeter or spicier by adding more or less agave and crushed red pepper flakes.  I rarely measure when making this. Shocker, I know!

Wheat Pizza Dough

This recipe was given to me by my friend, Matt, and I have used it ever since because I love it so much(and it's super simple).  My family has homemade pizza almost every Friday night. Pizza Friday! It's also a lot of fun to host a Pizza Party and have a toppings bar for your guest to build their own pizza. 

Ingredients:

• ½ cup warm water (about 110°)
• 1 envelope (2 ¼ tsp.) instant yeast
• 1 ¼ cups water, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cups bread (or all purpose) flour, plus more for dusting
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp. ground flaxseed (or more, if you dare)
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• olive oil or non-stick cooking spray for greasing the bowl

1)  Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room temperature water and oil and stir to combine.

2)  Place all dry ingrediants in a bowl and combine. Add the wet ingrediants and lightly mix so everything is wet. Let stand for about thirty minutes covered with a towel. Using wet hands on a clean and surface, knead the dough for about 3-5 minutes or until it feels smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.

3)  Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 ½ to 2 hours on the counter OR place in the refrigerator overnight to rise slowly.

4) To bake, place a pizza stone in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 450° for at least 30 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form both pieces of dough into smooth, round balls and cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.

5)  Working with one piece of dough and keeping the other covered, shape the dough and transfer to a pizza peel or round of parchment dusted with semolina or cornmeal. Top as desired. Slide the dough onto the pizza stone. Bake until the crust edges brown and cheese is golden brown in spots, about 8 to 12 minutes. Repeat with remaining ball of dough or freeze for later use.

NOTE:  I make my dough in a 2qt. batter bowl from Pampered Chef.  It works great!

I haven't mastered how to get the uncooked pizza onto the stone so I choose to take the stone out and built it on the stone, then return it to the oven to bake. You must work quickly as the dough starts to cook right away.  Also, I prefer to make smaller personal size pizzas.  You can roll as thick or thin as you like.  Have fun with it!