Roasted Vegetable Pizza

So I went to my first yoga class Tuesday night.  It was kind of a big step for me.  An act of courage, of internal bravery.  OK I’ll be honest; I was freaking nervous as all get-out.  I had done a weeee bit of yoga at home before but doing this “omg I have to stretch my leg how?” thing in a room full of complete strangers and the thought of it induced a near-meltdown inside me.  I knew going in that in the midst of a group of people, I couldn’t just give up if it seemed too hard, if a half hour was enough, like I would have done and have done at home where turning off the dvd is an option.

And you know what?  I got through it.  I teased on Instagram that night that I didn’t puke or didn’t pull any muscles (indicating success for me) but I was really proud of myself.  You know why?  Because half an hour into the class, I foolishly looked at the clock and mentally patted myself on the back for making it to the halfway point.

Then another half hour passed and the “oh my ever-loving gawd [don’t forget, I am from New York], this class is an hour and a half long, not just an hour” reality set in.  Sweaty chubby-girl-in-yoga-pants (hi! that’s me) panic proceeded where clear thoughts and deep breathing should have been.  But dammit if I wasn’t making it through that whole class.  I powered on, albeit sheepishly weak and slightly wobbly by that point, and finished.

This class, just like this roasted vegetable pizza was a step in the right direction in the middle of a meatless January for me.  Put simply, we loooved these mini-pizzas.  Made with leftover tortillas, some of my favorite Italian cheeses, and a heaping mound of roasted vegetables, we devoured this meal twice in the course of a week.  They are a cinch to through together, especially if you’ve got leftover roasted vegetables hanging around, and could be served as dinner with soup or a salad or as a light lunch on their own.  I’m adding this meal to our regular rotation and will be adding regular yoga classes to my workout schedule.  My muscles will eventually forgive me for Tuesday night.  I hope.

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Roasted Vegetable Pizzas
source: Smells Like Home

Feel free to use whatever kinds of vegetables are your favorites to roast; ours are Brussels sprouts, broccoli, onions and red peppers.  I suggest using cooking spray in this recipe to keep it light and a Misto filled with olive oil works great.  If you don’t have spray olive oil, a very light coating on the baking sheet and on the tortillas will be fine – the oil will prevent the tortillas from sticking to the pan.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups roughly chopped vegetables, for roasting (see note above)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 (6- to 8-inch) tortillas
• Cooking spray
• 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese, divided
• 2 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Toss the vegetables with olive oil and some salt and pepper on a foil-lined baking sheet (for easy clean-up).  Spread the vegetables out in a single layer.  Roast for 15-20 minutes, tossing halfway through with a spatula, until they are nicely browned.  Remove the pan from the oven.  Reduce the oven temperature to 400.
2. While the vegetables roast, lightly spray a second baking sheet with cooking spray.  Place the tortillas on the baking sheet and lightly spray the tops of the tortillas.  Sprinkle the Italian seasoning evenly over the two tortillas.  Spread 2 tablespoons of ricotta cheese out over each tortilla.
3. After the vegetables have finished roasting, divide them evenly between the pizzas.  Dollop 2 additional tablespoons of ricotta cheese randomly over the vegetables, repeating with the second pizza.  Sprinkle half of the mozzarella over each pizza (as in, each pizza gets 1 oz of cheese).
4. Bake for 5-7 minutes until the cheese starts to melt then turn the broiler on so the cheese gets all melty and starts to brown in spots.  Keep a close eye so the pizzas don’t burn.  Remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the pizzas cool for just 1-2 minutes on the sheets.  Cut each one into quarters with a pizza cutter or long, sharp knife and serve hot.

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