Frozen Pizzas and Meal Prep

Meal prep is key if you want to stay on any diet. I spend almost all day one of the days of the weekend cooking and prepping. If I don't have food to eat I either don't eat much (not good), or I eat food that's not good for me... also not good. This is a picture of what my kitchen table looks like when I am prepping.

I get that not everyone has a day to cook- believe me I do- so here is what I do when I don't have that kind of time. I pick two to three things to make each week and try to make sure they have similar ingredients so I am just cooking a lot of chicken or whatever. I also do one crockpot meal because they take little effort with lots of food as a result. If I am ever making a soup or chili I make more and freeze some of it so it is there if I need it.

 I also buy rotisserie chickens A LOT. Costco has them for $5.99 and that's a great deal when you see how much meat you get. It also just saves a lot of time cooking the chicken. I use them for meat on a salad, as the chicken in my Chicken Pad Thai, chicken salads (Buffalo Chicken Salad and Regular), etc. I then portion them into meals I can just grab and heat up... I bought the containers (in the pictures) at Costco and they are microwave and dishwasher safe. I know some of you are still thinking there's no way... eating this way takes time and prepping... sorry! I do cook for people so hopefully in the future you can find someone like me or buy from me and then you are all set in weeks that you find yourself in a pinch.

My recent make-ahead meal is pizza. Frozen pizzas are such a go-to for a lot of people I thought why couldn't I do the same thing? When I make a pizza we only eat half any way so I could turn the other half into a frozen pizza or just make extras. It worked perfectly with my grain free pizza crust and comes out like a crispy and delicious thin crust pizza. 

  I made two versions... Charlie's favorite Applegate Turkey Pepperoni and olives and a BBQ chicken. Both of them I used raw pepperjack cheese. 

Frozen Pizzas
(makes 2-3 Servings per Pizza)

- 1 Cup Potato Starch (** Not the same as Potato flour)
- 1/2 Cup Tapicoa Starch (flour)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Powdered Gelatin**
- 1/3 Cup warm Water
- Whatever toppings you want 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

1. In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients.
2. In a small bowl, or your measuring cup, mix the water and gelatin.** I have made this without the gelatin and it turns out fine.... but still use the water! :)
3. Combine the dry ingredients, olive oil, egg and the gelatin/water solution. Mix until combined... it will be a very soft- to runny dough. Pour it, or roll it, onto a baking sheet lined with parchment, make it as thin as you want. Bake 15-20 minutes. 

4. Top your pizza with whatever you want.

5. Let it cool completely on the counter or put the whole cookie sheet in the fridge. When it is cool, wrap it tightly in tin foil and store in the freezer. When you are ready to eat it- preheat the oven to 425 degrees and cook 15-20 minutes until bubbly. 

** BBQ Chicken Pizza **

- BBQ Sauce is hard to find without sugar... I make my own using equal parts of tomato paste and good balsamic vinegar with a few tablespoons of honey and a dash of cayenne. 

- Pour about 1/4 cup in 1-2 lbs of shredded chicken (I used part of a rotisserie) and toss

- Thinly slice red onions and soak them in cold water for a few minutes so they lose their "sharpness"

- Top the pizza with BBQ sauce as the sauce, the chicken and the onion... add some cheese and you're done!