You may have heard me talking about the online cooking class I've been taking lately through Portland Community College. 
"Luscious, Low-Fat Lightening-Quick Meals" is the name of the course in PCC's Community Education listings.
Every week I have to make 2 recipes out of several the instructor provides. I don't say 'have to' like it's a drudgery--truth be told, the homework assignments have been helpful in figuring out 'what's for dinner.' So far, every recipe I've had to make has been a keeper AND low in fat. Recently we were learning about seasoning and 'flavor profiling' to add in flavor when some of the fat is removed from a recipe. I chose to make the Greek Pizza.
It turned out really nice...and we ate it all!



I changed the recipe just a bit and added some chopped tomatoes and fresh basil leaves from my garden on the top.
Here's the recipe for Greek Pizza,
with my changes included:
For 8 servings:
1 pizza crust--store bought or make-your-own
1 cup Greek Pizza Sauce (recipe follows)
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 yellow, green or orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped black olives
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1 chopped fresh tomato
a few torn up fresh basil leaves


Preheat oven to 400 degrees, or higher if you've made your own crust. (The pizza crust recipe I often make calls for a 500 degree oven.)
Spread pizza sauce on crust.
Sprinkle pizza wth mozzarella cheese. Mix the onion, bell pepper, olives, and mushrooms together in large bowl and then spread on top of mozzarella cheese on pizza.
Sprinkle feta cheese and chopped tomatoes on top of pizza.
Bake for 20 minutes or so.
When it's done, sprinkle more fresh basil leaves on top!


Greek Pizza Sauce
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon dried basil--or 1 tablespoon fresh
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano--or use fresh
2 minced garlic cloves
1/4 teaspooon cinnamon
Mix all ingredients together. Use 1 cup of sauce for a 12-15 inch pizza. (Recipe makes 2 cups)


Per serving, this Greek Pizza has only 3 grams of fat and 106 calories!

With school back in session, I'm getting back into the swing of making lunches in the morning for my daughters. We trade off with this job---I make the lunches one week, then they make their own the next.
They usually 'request' a bean and cheese burrito from me. What follows is the routine I follow at 4 in the morning---a burrito tutorial of sorts.
Any super organized person would do this the night before...
that would not be me!


While my coffee is brewing I start warming up my faithful cast iron skillet:



I toss in a flour tortilla:



A couple dollops of canned refried or black beans gets slathered on the tortilla:



Some cheddar cheese gets grated on top of the beans:



And finally, some salsa is poured on it all:



At this point the tortilla is warm and bendable and gets rolled up to enclose the beans, cheese and salsa. I keep it on the heat to 'toast' the tortilla a bit...



...then I wrap it up in foil and roll it into a cloth napkin.
At about this point, my coffee is ready.
Good morning!