Deep Dish Pizza

Day 2 of Weight Watchers.

I have to admit, after my post last night, I found myself starving. Trying to fill up on endless fruits and veggies sounds great, but after a pack of strawberries and a whole bell pepper, I just wanted a cracker. Or something salty. I ended up caving later on and went 2 points over my limit so I could have a string cheese.

Today I was better. I had my other saved half of my Panera bagel and honey walnut cream cheese for breakfast along with 10 strawberries. I also had a Dunkin' Donuts caramel coffee with skim milk, which I couldn't actually find points for. According to the WW calculator, a medium caramel coffee with skim is only 1 point, but I know that's wrong. For lunch, I had a leftover portion of my chicken parm casserole and a bag of 12 bell pepper slices.

For a snack, I had 27 (yes, I have to count out my snacks) Special K Honey BBQ Cracker Chips. At least those don't taste healthy, so I felt like I was eating something substantial.

And tonight's dinner I was very happy with. Last night's casserole serves 8, so the portions were smaller. Well, of course they seem even smaller than they are to me, because my old version of a portion was way bigger than it is now. Tonight's dinner serves 6, so the portions are actually a good size. I felt full after eating and I know if I get hungry I have some fruit in the fridge. We're also going to the movies tonight, so I will be occupied. Again, this recipe is from Emily Bites, like last night's.

Deep Dish Pizza
from Emily Bites

1 pkg. refrigerated pizza dough (such as Pillsbury)
1 lb. lean ground beef (I used 93%)
Oregano to taste
Garlic powder to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste
Onion powder to taste
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 small can sliced mushrooms (I only put mushrooms on 1/3 of the pizza)
6 oz. part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425 and lightly spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. Over medium-high heat, brown the beef, seasoning it with seasonings you want.
3. While the beef is cooking, unroll the pizza dough and press into the casserole dish, going up the sides to create the "deep dish" crust. Sprinkle the dough with 2 ounces of cheese.
4. Once the beef is browned. stir in the tomato sauce and heat through. Stir in mushrooms at this time as well if using them.
5. Pour beef mixture into the crust and bake for 12 minutes.
6. Top with remaining cheese and return to the oven for 5 more minutes.

** You could add peppers and onions to the beef as well to add more veggies to the dish!

Sorry for the crappy photo, I forgot to take a picture until we had plated our meals and got ready to eat. If you go to Emily Bite's page, that's exactly what it looks like all cooked up in the casserole dish.

***This dish is 9 points per serving.