Portabello Pizza

I will admit, I was skeptical about this one.  As a mushroom newbie, I am always hesitant about using mushrooms in well know recipes, especially something I love as much as pizza.  I had some extra pizza dough on hand that needed to be used, so I let my daughter make a mini pizza as a fun project.  I also made myself a mini pizza with dough, just as a backup, but I didn't need it! I was blown away with how much I loved the portabella pizza.  I took one bite of the mini pizza made from white dough and just didn't want anymore. Big day in our house when I prefer mushrooms over bread!  Talk about non-scale victories!  Bonus- this is super easy and super fast.

Margherita Version:

1 large portobello mushroom, stem and gills removed
1 tablespoon diced tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes cut in half
1/2 cup diced mozzarella  (Be sure to watch portion size if you are trying to lose weight or following the 21 day Fix.)
basil
1/2 table spoon extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place mushroom upside down on nonstick pan. Drizzle olive oil on the mushroom.  Place tomatoes on mushroom and top with mozzarella.  Tear basil and add to taste.  Top with a drizzle of olive oil, kosher salt, and ground pepper.  Bake 12-16 minutes.  Top with more basil if desired.

Other ideas:
Crush garlic and mix it with olive oil before drizzling on mushroom in the first step.
Use pizza sauce for a more traditional recipe
Top with black olives, or other veggies
Add meat such as pepperoni, chicken, etc.  (Pepperoni, ham, and sausage will make it less of a "clean" recipe_