quick, fresh, inexpensive lunch for work: part 2

If you've read my blog at all, you know I'm a fan of making pizza.  Up until a few weeks ago, I stuck to making large pizzas.  But, in an attempt to bring my lunch to the office more often, I decided to try my hand at mini pizzas.  I love that you can make a variety of pizzas, bake them and the refrigerate them for future lunches.

Below you can find the ingredients and instructions to make two of my favorite mini pizzas to date.

The Mango & Gouda, Pizza

To make one mini pizza you need:

1/8 bag Pizza dough (I use pre-made whole wheat dough from Trader Joe's)
1 Tbsp Pesto
1/2 slice Gouda Cheese
3 Mango chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll out dough into small circle.  Spread pesto on the dough, Tear Gouda into small pieces and place over the pesto.  Add three Mango chunks.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.

The Tahini-Pesto Pizza

To make one mini pizza you need:

1/8 bag Pizza dough (Premade whole wheat dough from Trader Joe's is great)
2 tsp Pesto
2 tsp Tahini spread
1/4 c shredded cheddar cheese
4-6 pepper slices
4-6 onion slices

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll out dough into small circle. Combine pesto and tahini and spread on the dough.  Cover dough with cheese and add red pepper  and onion slices.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Do you have a favorite type of homemade pizza?

you can read about how to make quick quesadillas for lunch in part one of this series here.

quick, fresh, inexpensive lunch for work: part 1

I am always on the look-out for tasty, cheap lunch ideas that I can throw together in a few minutes or less.  Our office has a fridge, freezer and microwave so I try to bring lunches that I can throw in the fridge when I get there in the morning and microwave around lunch time if needed.

While I'm no stranger to the frozen dinner aisle, there aren't tons of inexpensive and healthy vegetarian options and I often like the taste of things I make myself a little better.

After purchasing, and thoroughly enjoying, frozen Cederlane cheese quesadillas, I thought I could probably make a less expensive and healthier version at home.

While you could make a few for yourself every day before work, I decided to make several and freeze some for next week's lunches.

Here's what I used to make mine:

12 whole wheat tortillas
1 8oz. jar of pimento cheese spread
1/2 bag of mexican shredded cheese blend
1 tomato
20 chive strands
1/4 red onion
2 c red, yellow and green peppers

*makes 12 quesadillas

You can melt these in the microwave for 30 seconds - 1 minute or eat them fresh at room temp.

Purchasing 12 Cedarlane Quesadillas, which do not have peppers or onions, costs about $20.  The ingredients purchased to make 12 queasadillas with peppers and onions amounted to under $14, and less expensive substitutions could be made for the pimento spread to make it even more cost effective. 

I really appreciate the ease of grabbing two of these quesadillas from the freezer on my way to work and knowing that I have a tasty, healthy lunch in store for me.  What quick and easy things do you make or pack for lunch?