Vegan Recipe of The Day: Pizza Bites

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

These vegan pizza bites are great for not only a snack in the middle of a busy week, but they also make a great meal for the guys during football season. The taste of cherry tomatoes, cremini mushroom caps, Pepita pesto and the perfectly baked pizza dough are sure to make these delicious little treats vanish quickly. You'll probably want to make more than one batch!

This vegan recipe, just like every other vegan recipe of the day, is not one of my own, but one contributed by passionate vegans from the community. If you would like your recipe featured on my blog, please email it to jackalhead@live.com along with a picture of it.

Ingredients:

1. Pillsbury Thin refrigerated pizza crust dough

2. 15 cherry tomatoes (quartered)

3. 5 large cremini mushroom caps (sliced )

Pepita Pesto:

1. 3 tablespoons of water

2. 1/8 teaspoon of pepper

3. 1/2 teaspoon of salt

4. 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

5. 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

6. 1/4 cup of raw almonds

7. 1/2 cup Raw pepitas

8. 2 cloves of garlic (peeled)

9. 1 cup packed are Aguila

10. 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves

Directions:

1. The first step is to prepare your pesto. To do this place all of the ingredients listed under pesto above, except for the water and the olive oil, into a food processor.

2. Process the ingredients together until they combine, and be sure to scrape down the sides as you see fit.

3. Lightly drizzle your olive oil in through the top while the machine is still processing the ingredients. The addition of the olive oil should cause everything too smoothly come together.

4. Add a single tablespoon of water at a time, processing after each addition of water and scraping down the sides of the processor, until you have achieved the desired consistency.

5. Set the resulting pesto to the side, in a small bowl, for now.

6. To prepare the actual pizza bites themselves, first pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

7. Prepare a clean surface and roll your pizza dough out on it. Cut out as many circles as you can from the dough, using a 2.5 inch circle cookie cutter or biscuit cutter. You should be able to get about 15 circles out of the dough.

8. Press the dough circles into a small or mini muffin pan that has been sprayed lightly with oil. Make sure that the dough covers both the bottom and the sides of the muffin pan. Use a fork to pierce holes in the bottom of the dough two or three times so that they don't pop up too much while you are baking them.

9. Bake your pizza dough for 10 minutes or until it has begun to turn lightly golden brown and has been cooked through.

10. As the dough is baking, saute your sliced mushrooms for 4 minutes until they have become softened and full of flavor. You shouldn't need any oil for this, as mushrooms tend to have a lot of moisture packed inside of them already. Remember to stir frequently as you do this, so the mushrooms do not stick.

11. When the dough is finished baking, allow it cool for a few minutes. Coat the top of each pizza with two teaspoons of your pesto preparation, a few slices of your sauteed mushrooms, and a few slices of cherry tomato.

12. While still warm, but cool enough to eat, arrange them however you'd like on a plate and serve.

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