12.02.2013

Veggin' Out with Chef Boyardee

Back in October, I wrote about doctoring up your standard, run of the mill Chef Boyardee Pizza mix. I get bored easily. I also cannot make any sort of "boxed" meal without doing at least SOMETHING to it, whether that be adding more noodles, more veggies or different herbs, to make MORE of it and to make it taste at least LESS processed than it is.

(Please note, I never have claimed to be, nor will I ever BE a "foodie"...this should eliminate any expectation that I will never post about Hamburger Helper or frozen pot pies!)

Over the past month or so, I had some major stomach/gut issues and learned that I have that lovely thing called Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  Yay. So, now, in hopes of finding the foods that will not upset my delicate innards, I've been playing around with assorted foods. I know that frozen pizza, fresh cucumbers, barbecued chicken, that lovely creamed chicken that I adore so much and Honey Bunches of Oats cereal all upset me greatly, much to my dismay. Everything I read, however, seems to want you to avoid any kind of healthy food, including vegetables, fiber and what not...so how is it that I can eat more healthy stuff without causing an internal ruckus? (I'll let you know when I fully figure that out!)

I wanted pizza, but didn't want the grease and fat levels of the frozen variety, so I picked up another Chef Boyardee pizza kit, the Cheese-only variety, and some fresh veggies that I knew would go good on top of it and set out to make a veggie pizza of sorts.

Keep reading to see what fresh hell I made!!!




What I added: 1 red bell pepper, two gray zucchinis, a pack of baby bella mushrooms, two large cloves of garlic and one baby eggplant. I cut them into large pieces first, sprayed a baking sheet with olive oil spray, then roasted them at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes.


I let them cool for about 10 minutes, then proceeded to chop the peppers, onions, zukes and eggplant into more bite-friendly pieces. 


Putting the veggies in a large bowl, I crushed the roasted garlic into the bowl (I use a garlic press, much quicker that way!) and sprinkled them with a bit of kosher salt, then stirred gently to disperse the garlic. 


While the veggies were roasting and cooling, I made the pizza crust, put it in a bowl and let it sit for nearly 20 minutes, by the oven vent for warmth. Using the same baking sheet, I coated the bottom with about a tablespoon of olive oil, using a paper towel to spread it around the bottom and sides, then sprinkled the bottom with a bit of kosher salt and a sprinkling of Italian seasoning. 

Then, when the crust was ready, I spread it out over the pan, added the provided pizza sauce, then topped it off with the roasted veggies. 


 I added probably half of a regular-size bag of Italian cheese blend. Personally, I don't mess around with fat-free or even reduced-fat cheese because it doesn't melt right and it's disturbing. If you wanna go completely vegetarian, you could use that veggie mozzarella cheese, but again, it doesn't melt like normal cheese, so it will be a touch different. To each their own, right? 


Voila. Veggie Pizza a la Chef Boyardee. 


All in all, it wasn't half bad. Granted, the husband did not appreciate it as much as I would have liked him to, but for me, it was fairly decent stuff. I roasted the veggies before hand to avoid getting a soggy pie and I think that worked successfully, yet, he felt it was still a bit too soggy/slimy for his palate. It was definitely better the first time around, hot, fresh from the oven. I had some the next day, and I can honestly say it was rather NOT good. So, there you have it. You could probably even use this as an appetizer, cutting it into tinier pieces, but I would still serve it at least lukewarm, rather than cold. 

What do you do to pizza to make it your own?  

2 comments:

  1. That looks so absolutely yummy! My mom always doctored the Chef Boy-ar-dee mix too. I think that's what it's made for. Certainly, nobody just makes it as is! YUK! She added a lot of ground beef and cheese and made a real Italian meat pie. So good!

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  2. I know!!! And you just HAVE to add cheese, because, seriously, do they think that little packet of grated powder will make it a CHEESE pizza? :D We've made pizzas with those preformed Boboli crusts before, and they are DAMNED good, but they just aren't as cost-effective as the good ol' Chef. :D

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