Pizza-licious home-baked pie

These recipes were specifically created with busy moms in mind. Between summertime activities, mothers are often faced with hungry, thirsty children and not much time. Instead of ordering a pizza or picking up fast food, you can make these easy, kid-friendly recipes that are loaded with the fruits and vegetables that children need as part of a healthy diet.

Pizza-licious home-baked pie

Pizza doesn’t have to be delivery once you have this easy, homemade vegetable pie in your recipe file. It’s loaded with vegetables that kids enjoy and the one unusual culprit with the Italian-sounding name, Signor Zucchini, is hidden in the sauce. S-h-h-h, don’t tell. The whole recipe takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish. Just try to get pizza delivery faster than that.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1 package (13.8 ounces) refrigerated pizza crust
• 1 can (8 ounces) zucchini in Italian-style tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons canned tomato paste
• 6 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 can (7 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1 can (8.25 ounces) mixed vegetables, no-salt added, drained
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation Time: Approximately 10 minutes
Cook Time: Approximately 15 minutes

Preparation

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F. Oil a dark metal rimmed 10 x 15-inch cookie sheet with 1 teaspoon olive oil.

Unroll the crust onto the cookie sheet and press to cover the bottom of the cookie sheet, creating a slightly thicker rim around the edge. Brush another teaspoon of olive oil over the crust and set aside.

Purée the zucchini and the tomato paste in a blender or food processor. Spread over the pizza crust. Top with the shredded mozzarella, mushrooms, mixed vegetables, Parmesan cheese and remaining olive oil.

Bake until crust is browned and topping is bubbling, about 15 minutes. Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before serving. Cut in 8 pieces.

Servings: 8

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories 240; Total fat 8g; Saturated fat 3g; Cholesterol 10mg; Sodium 720mg; Carbohydrate 31g; Fiber 3g; Protein 11g; Vitamin A 80%DV*; Vitamin C 6%DV; Calcium 20%DV; Iron 10%DV

*Daily Value

Munchable mini-burgers with flavorful fruit dips

Good food comes in small packages, and these mini-burgers are no exception. They are adorable and infused with all the nutrition of puréed sweet potatoes. This canned vegetable gives these burgers a soft, creamy consistency that little children love, and the natural sugar in the potatoes makes the patties brown beautifully in seconds. Serve them on fresh baked biscuits (or by their lonesome) with one or more of the delicious fruit dips that follow. Each dip recipe makes enough for a whole batch of burgers.

Ingredients

For sweet tomato dip

• 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple
• 1/4 cup ketchup

For tangy peach dip

• 1 can (15 ounces) peaches in juice, drained
• 2 teaspoons mustard, yellow or brown
• 2 teaspoons honey

For apricot mayo

• 1 can (8 ounces) apricot halves, in light syrup
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, light or regular
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the burgers

• 1 can (15 ounces) sweet potatoes (or yams) in syrup drained
• 1 tablespoon canned tomato paste
• 1 pound ground turkey or lean beef
• spray oil
• 1 roll (7.5 ounces) refrigerated, lower-fat buttermilk biscuits, baked to package directions

Preparation Time: Approximately 10 minutes
Cook Time: Approximately 8 minutes

Preparation

To make any dip: Purée the canned ingredients in a food processor or mini-chopper and mix in remaining ingredients; set aside.

To make burgers: Mash sweet potatoes and tomato paste in mixing bowl with a fork or fingers. Mix in the ground turkey or beef until thoroughly blended. Portion in 1/4-cup portions and form into 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick burgers, about 3-inches across.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat and spray with oil. Cook burgers until no longer pink inside, about 4 minutes per side, covered.

To serve: Split biscuits horizontally and make sandwiches with burgers. Serve dips for dipping.

Servings: 6

Nutritional Information Per Serving for Mini-burgers with Sweet Tomato Dip: Calories 320; Total fat 9g; Saturated fat 2g; Cholesterol 60mg; Sodium 670mg; Carbohydrate 44g; Fiber 3g; Protein 17g; Vitamin A 130%DV*; Vitamin C 20%DV; Calcium 4%DV; Iron 15%DV

Nutritional Information Per Serving for Mini-burgers with Tangy Peach Dip: Calories 330; Total fat 10g; Saturated fat 2g; Cholesterol 60mg; Sodium 610mg; Carbohydrate 43g; Fiber 3g; Protein 17g; Vitamin A 140%DV*; Vitamin C 15%DV; Calcium 4%DV; Iron 15%DV

Nutritional Information Per Serving for Mini-burgers with Apricot Mayo Dip: Calories 330; Total fat 10g; Saturated fat 2g; Cholesterol 60mg; Sodium 610mg; Carbohydrate 43g; Fiber 3g; Protein 17g; Vitamin A 140%DV*; Vitamin C 15%DV; Calcium 4%DV; Iron 15%DV

*Daily Value

These recipes were provided by Mealtime.org as part of their “Edibly Fun, Easily Done.” collection.

Summer recipes

• Summer seafood recipes
• Rachael Ray’s summer party recipes
• Refreshing summer lemonade recipes