This is the fastest dinner for those days you just want to do something other than cook. From start to finish, these are ten minutes. Great with a kale massaged salad or spinach and some nice shavings of Parmesan Reggiano and tomatoes, with a touch of balsamic. These work better on a stove than baked, and most students have access to a kitchen in their dorms, so hopefully these let you do the whole easy eating on a budget and quickly thing. I feel the pain of the college student. As someone who loves to cook, it wasn’t very realistic for me to prep meals throughout the week, and using a meal plan quickly backfired. It was extremely difficult to find healthy choices. Even the salads were extremely processed and low quality. For someone who didn’t have car, I had to rely on other people going to the grocery store to pick up something healthy, and even then the easiness of a green smoothie or a green juice in the morning wasn’t always realistic.
Cooking has been a learning process for me, and there have been many mistakes along the way. My tastebuds have changed throughout the years as well, which has inspired me to cook more with veggies I wouldn’t normally give a chance to. I am happy though that I had this revelation at a young age, rather than waiting till I was 42 and realizing I was giving my body, the only one I have, the worst treatment.
From the melty cheese to the tangy tomato sauce, to the precut quinoa polenta slices, these soak up all that cheesy pizza flavor that screams comfort and nostalgia. I don’t know what it is about pizza, but it is one of my favorite foods. Maybe it is because it is the perfect vessel to showcase beautiful veggies covered in a light blanket of awesome sauce, or maybe it is because it is a childhood staple, but these do not disappoint.
Ingredients
Serves 2
1/2 package quinoa polenta, I found this prepackaged, which is why it is such a fast meal
1/2 cup tomato sauce, (I used a jar for this mostly because I don’t love anything drenched in tomato sauce, but please adjust according to your tastes)
1/2 cup low fat mozzarella, or regular shredded mozzarella (Get the block and shred yourself if you have the time, always tastes better)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil or 3 fresh basil leaves
Turkey bacon, optional
Sautéed mushrooms, optional
Turkey pepperoni, optional
Pineapple chunks, optional
Sliced sautéed ham, cold cuts, optional
Soy chorizo or turkey sausage, optional
Freshly cracked black pepper
Parmesan cheese, optional
Directions
Pan saute the quinoa polenta, sliced.If you don’t want to use oil to sauté them, feel free to wet sauté with some veggie or chicken broth. After you have a good sear on both sides, about three or four minutes on medium heat, top with warmed tomato sauce and your desired toppings. This can be really fun because you can make individual polenta pizzas and make this for a crowd if you want. Everyone is different about pizza, but if you ask me, the best way to have this is margarita style. But I am a mushroom fan as well and that also settles a craving like no other.
Enjoy!
xx
R
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