Thin Crust Taco Pizza

What You'll Need:
1/2 c. water
1 (1/4 oz) packet of rapid rise yeast
1/8 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp olive oil
3/4 c all purpose flour
1/2 c. reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 c pizza sauce ( I use Trader Joe's)
1/2 tsp taco seasoning (mix into pizza sauce)
1/2 shredded lettuce
1/2 roma or a small tomato, diced

What to Do:
Preheat oven at 500.
Warm water in the microwave for about 20 seconds, or until slightly warmer than luke-warm.  In a bowl, combine the water, yeast, sugar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley and olive oil.  Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes, or until the yeast if dissolved (will start to look frothy).  Gradually add in flour while gently kneading the dough.  Once a ball of dough is formed, let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes or until it rises (doubles in size).

 Roll out dough to about 12" (it will be very thin - about 1/4" thick) and place on a 12" round metal pan (I cover mine with foil to make cleaning up easy-- you can probably use a pizza stone too, I've never tried). Once the dough is on the pan, poke holes in the dough (to avoid air bubbles while baking) with a fork or pizza docker.  Bake in oven for 3 minutes (without toppings).  Remove from oven, top with sauce and mozzarella cheese.  Bake for another 4 minutes (cheese will just have melted and not yet started to turn brown). Remove from oven and top with shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes -- you can sprinkle a little bit of extra cheese on top too if you want. Bake for an additional 3 minutes.

Quick Tips:
*The crust in this recipe is very thin and slightly crispy.  If you want a thicker or softer crust, increase the ingredients for the dough by half (i.e. use 1.5 times the amount called for) and follow the recipe as directed, the dough will roll out to be slightly thicker.

* If you prefer, you can substitute the all purpose flour for whole wheat flour

*You can add grilled or ground chicken to the pizza and it tastes pretty good as well