Guilt-Free Friday: Paleo Pie Crust + Paleo Mayo/Ranch Dressing = Veggie Pizza

Four recipes in one post?? Jackpot!  All at once you're going to learn how to make a pie crust, how to make mayonnaise, how to turn that into ranch dressing, and how to combine all those to make the popular party food, veggie pizza!  Which is rather convenient considering all the family gatherings you have coming up with the approaching holidays, right?

A bunch of us moms got together one evening for some social time for us and playtime for our kiddos, and turned it into a potluck-style dinner, which worked great.  Chili, hot dogs, and dessert were all accounted for, but I've come to a point in my life where if I don't have a veggie with my meal then I feel all out of sorts.  It's weird.  I realized this the night my whole family was all together after Granny's funeral helping polish off some of the donated food.  Huge pan of lasagna, huge pan of spaghetti, and lots of garlic bread.  I felt so lost.  So many carbs... no balance... agh...  I'm pretty certain that was when my body decided to revolt and make me sick.  So now I'm being careful when I attend gatherings.  Sure I'll indulge and eat crap but it's nice to have some balance.

So I volunteered to bring some sort of veggie to this gathering, and of course my mind wandered to the classic veggie pizza - you know - Pillsbury biscuit crust, ranch dressing loaded with processed junk and preservatives, shredded cheese (did you know that stuff also has a bunch of additives that help keep it in shredded form and not clump together? yum yum...), and veggies on top to make you feel like you're eating something totally healthy.  But not really.

I needed to switch up the crust and the dressing.  Cheese, eh, I'd throw it on there even though dairy is still gray area in my book, but I shred my own cheese so I know it's ONLY cheese that I'm eating.

So I found this pie crust recipe on Elana's Pantry  and I doubled the recipe plus added some baking powder to fluff it up a bit.  Here's what we've got:

4 cups almond flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

4 tbsp melted coconut oil (refined so you don't have the flavor, unless you want that)

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°.  Combine all four ingredients in a bowl and mix by hand or with a hand mixer until a dough forms (you might have to get in there with your hands too).  Place between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out into a rectangle, about 1/4" thick.  Trim the edges smooth if you're OCD about that.  Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 8-12 minutes.  Let cool before adding any toppings.

Then for the mayo, which is so crazy easy I know I'll be making it all the time, I found this recipe on Eat Live Grow Paleo, and here's how it goes:

1 egg

2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

3/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

 

Combine egg, garlic, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper in a food processor.  Once thoroughly combined, keep the processor running and begin pouring a very SLOW, THIN stream of oil into the mixture.  It should begin to emulsify.  Keep the stream slow and steady until all the oil is incorporated.  Mine is actually a lot thinner than I would expect mayo to be when it's done, but after refrigerating it for a bit it thickens up and acts just the way I want.  Yummy!  Bring on the chicken salad!  This recipe makes one cup.

 

Okay so turn that into ranch dressing with:

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp dill

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp paprika

Mix it all together with your cup of mayo and voila!  If you'd like it a little thinner, add some unsweetened coconut milk to it, about 1/4 cup is probably about all you need, and pour that over a salad!

THEN, chop up some cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots, take your cooled crust, slather it with ranch dressing, shred some cheddar cheese on top of it, and top with the veggies and take it to a party!  Ta da!