Gluten Free Pizza Crust in Seven Quick Takes

These are super quick takes.  I'm realizing that I should have taken a few pictures of the pizza, but it's too late every crumb is gone!

1

Since discovering that I'm gluten intolerant, live has greatly changed.  I feel a million times better than I have in well, as long as I can remember.  However, most of our Lenten Friday favorites are now off the table--literally!

2

Every summer we participate in a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and come home with bags and bags full of vegetables each week. It's been a learning experience, and I generally set aside Mondays to cook, freeze, pickle, etc the bounty. Thankfully, once Fall roles around, and school begins, we start getting vegetables that are hardy enough to last week's, even months before we have to eat them.

3

We usually amass no less than 15 pumpkins and/or winter squashes. If you are wondering where the pizza comes in, just keep reading, we are almost half way through. :) I let the children take turns picking which pumpkins or squash come home each week.  

4

Every year, Buddy invariably picks one of the largest Long Island Cheese Pumpkins he can find. While, he is fine with me cooking and storing any of his other picks, Cheese Pumpkins are his favorite. It becomes his pet for the winter.  Every time I suggest cooking it down to make this or that, I get the same response, "Mom, that recipe just isn't special enough for my Cheeeeessseee Pumpkin!"  Sigh.

5

One year, he held onto it until May!  May, folks!!! As in, half a year since he picked it. If you want to know how long a Long Island Cheese Pumpkin can last, it's a few days less than he kept it, because we woke up one morning to an exploded, rotten pumpkin. Very unpleasant to say the least. 

6

So, I was once again on a quest to find a worthy recipe and since it is already late March, I had hit feverish pace. Just about the time I thought we would never cook the pumpkin, Buddy had a brain storm. "Could we make it into pizza?"

"Buddy, I will make it into anything as long as you let me cook it before it explodes!"

A boy saying goodbye to his pumpkin.

7

So, here is the recipe that I created. I mixed it all in my ninjas, but a food processor or blender would work also.

3 cups cooked pumpkin

1/2 c coconut flour

3/4 c corn flour

1/4 c flax meal

1 Tbsp baking soda

1 Tbsp olive oil

Add everything to Ninja and pulse for about a minute. It will create a very soft dough.  Pour onto pizza stone and use a spatula or spoon to gentle press the dough into the pan. Work from the center out until the entire stone is covered. Put into preheated 400°oven and bake for about a half an hour, until crust is crispy and lightly browned. Top pizza with sauce, cheese, and toppings of choice and return to oven on 250° until cheese melts. Enjoy!

The after shot!

Reviews from the peanut gallery:

Hubby: "This is actually really good, even blog worthy!"

Little Man: "More, More! Yum, yum. MORE!"

Cowgirl: " I still like cauliflower pizza better, but this is nice because you can actually pick it up like real pizza, and it doesn't even taste like pumpkin."

Buddy: (My very picky eater!) "This is the best meal, ever! I love pumpkin pizza, can you make this again and again! Ahh, it's so good!"

So, there you have it! 

*If you are wondering how I cooked the pumpkin, here is my super easy, fail proof method. Wash pumpkin, rinse well, don't dry, drop in crock pot, cover and cook on high 4-5 hours. Scoop out flesh when soft. (This pumpkin I had to cut in half but still did the same method just scooped out seeds first. Don't worry, seeds and stingy goo separate from flesh SO much more easily after its cooked.)

Linking up with Kelly.