Christmastime's a-Comin'

Invisible Blog People!!!!

We are ONE WEEK away from Christmas Eve!!!!!

ONE WEEK away from being able to travel home to see the fam!!!!!

ONE WEEK away from eating my grandmother's pies and my mom's cooking!!!!!!

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

I remember Christmas Eve being the most magical night of the year when I was a kid -- we'd spend all night at my grandparents' house, then on the drive home we'd look for Rudolph's nose in the sky. Inevitably, there would be some kind of plane flying up above with a red light and we would go CRAZY -- thinking OHMAHGOSH RUDOLPH IS REALLY UP THERE!!!!!

Then there was that year that I was REALLY creeped out by Santa Claus and couldn't sleep AT ALL because I was crying too hard out of fear.

I remember grilling my mom that night about HOW IS IT OKAY that some random strange old man that we've NEVER MET is going to come into our house tonight??? What if he doesn't JUST give us presents and eat the cookies??? What if he creeps around our house and stares at us while we're sleeping??? What if he touches my toothbrush??? That's just WEIRD, Mom!!!!

I think my mom said something to the effect of how she and my dad would keep the doors locked that night so Santa would have to leave the presents outside, then before we woke up they would move everything inside so we'd all stay safe that night.

I'm pretty sure it was around 3 a.m. when I had my freak-out that year (a normal bedtime for a kid on Christmas Eve), so my mom probably would have said most anything just to get me to go to sleep.

That MIGHT have been the same year as the picture with Santa where it was ONLY my sister and brother; the picture with the caption written on the back saying, "Jenny and Stephen with Santa. Lisa was scared."

No joke.

Aaaah. Memories. Gotta love 'em.


But you know what ELSE I love? Pizza.

That's right. MMM-MMM-GOOD Pizza!

And it's even better when it's healthy. #love.

Case and point:

Mmmmm...oh how I love it!

We made this dish right before we left town for our wedding, and then again last night. While it does require a little bit of prep work, it's VERY easy and tastes SO GOOD. (Note: the above photos were taken BEFORE putting it in the oven - we definitely melt our cheese in these parts!)

The twist is, this pizza has a cauliflower crust. YES, cauliflower. It's SO worth trying, even if you're not a fan.

According to the nutritionist that gave this recipe to me, the crust has very few calories and, if you load it up with fresh veggies (and NOT the gobs of cheese that we decided to throw on at the last minute ;) ), it's a MUCH healthier and lighter version that your typical take out pizza joint.

Plus, it's a VERY delicious way to get your veggies in.

We put sliced peppers, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, and turkey pepperoni on ours - as well as a nice mixture of cheese, obvi - and ate it with some spinach & mushroom risotto.

My belly was HAPPY last night :) :) :)

Cauliflower Crusted Pizza
12 servings

1 whole cauliflower, raw

3 eggs

1 cup low-fat, part skim mozzarella cheese

Italian seasoning, to taste

garlic, to taste

Ideas for toppings: pizza sauce, low-fat cheese, spinach, mushrooms, turkey, peppers, tomatoes, olives

Rinse cauliflower and dry completely. Finely chop the cauliflower until it reaches the texture of rice - this process is faster if you have a food processor (or a blender!). In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and add cauliflower, garlic, cheese, and a little italian seasoning. Mix thoroughly then press into a sprayed pizza pan or cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then at 425 for 12-15 minutes. Remove the crust, then add the toppings of your choice.

Bake at 425 for 10 minutes or until the crust is brown and the cheese is bubbly.