Root Vegetable Pizza with Sweet Potato, Rutabaga, Onion, and Acorn Squash

Who doesn't love eating pizza? And who doesn't love eating pizza that's both delicious and healthy? I'm pretty sure we all love pizza (if you don't, please do forgive me for making assumptions ;)), and I have another pizza recipe for you here today that you're bound to love. The inspiration for this pizza came from the fact that I had sweet potatoes and a rutabaga in the house that I wanted to eat up. With veggies like these, I'd typically roast them and eat them as a side dish with dinner or put them on top of a salad. The other day, though, those two ideas seemed boring to me. As I was brainstorming what else I should do with them, it hit me. Make pizza, of course! Just about any vegetable works on pizza really...well, according to the Barbershop rules of the kitchen anyway. :)

I bought whole wheat pizza dough at Whole Foods so I'd have a healthier dough as the base for my delicious pizza pie. I roasted my sweet potato, rutabaga, and onion in an oven around 400 degrees or so. All the veggies were drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, pepper, and dried rosemary. I had actually roasted the acorn squash a few nights earlier so I only had to roast the other three. On top of my pizza dough, I spread a thin layer of canned tomato sauce and then the veggies. I then sprinkled some shredded mozzarella cheese and baked the pizza for about 10 - 12 minutes or so at 400 degrees (my oven cooks quickly; I think it might normally take a bit longer than that).

Oh, and in case you were wondering, before roasting the veggies, I chopped the rutabaga into 1/2-inch pieces (as pictured below) and the sweet potatoes into round slices that were maybe 1/4-inch thick. I don't peel my sweet potatoes before roasting them, but you're more than welcome to peel them if you don't care for the skin. You do have to peel a rutabaga before chopping or slicing though - just an FYI if you've never cooked with rutabaga! I hadn't ever cooked with one until we got one in our CSA last fall.

What here doesn't belong??

Whoops! Guess I snuck in a picture of the other pizza I made the same night. This one was more classic - peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Also a winning veggie combo!

Deeelish! I was so in love with this pizza. I've been enjoying leftovers for lunch at work the past two days too. Leftover pizza's the best and it's even better when it's full of yummy root veggies!

Happy mid-week, friends. :)

Mashed Root Vegetables (Potato, Rutabaga, Parsnip) with Rosemary

Hello hello! Sorry it's been several days between posts. Whoops! This is a tasty side dish recipe that involves very yummy, healthy root veggies that are abundant this time of year. During our last week of our CSA at the end of October, we got a rutabaga! My first ever :) I was debating what to do with it and decided it might be fun to mash it! So I did. I combined it with a parsnip and a couple potatoes...all from our CSA. I kind of just flew by the seat of my pants with this recipe, so the approximate measurements are listed below for you. I feel like this is the kind of recipe that you can make to your own taste, adding a bit more butter or milk (or whatever!) to your liking.

Ingredients:

-1 parsnip

-2 small potatoes

-1 rutabaga

-2 or so Tbsp. of butter

-salt and pepper to taste

-1/4 to 1/2 cup milk (I used 1%)

-a few sprigs of fresh rosemary

Instructions:

Peel veggies and cut into small cubes/chunks. I probably ended up with 2.5 to 3 cups of veggies (I actually only used about 2/3 of the rutabaga). Place root veggies in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and cook for 15 - 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and return veggies to a large bowl. Add the butter, milk, salt, and pepper. Beat until light and fluffy, or mash with a masher or fork. Stir in fresh rosemary (or other herbs of your choice!).

I'm sorry I didn't take any more appetizing photos. I forgot to take any more than just these! I didn't feel like using an electric mixer to beat the root veggies, and I don't have a masher...so I just used an old-fashioned fork. That led to some lumps in mine, but I didn't mind. I actually liked the texture. ;-) I am not actually sure if I've ever had rutabaga before now! I did like it, and I'd definitely make this dish again. I roasted the remaining 1/3 of the rutabaga that I didn't put in this dish. That was tasty too!

Lesson learned here = I ♥ rutabaga. :)