Stromboli with Sausage, Peppers, & Onions

Stromboli with Sausage, Peppers, & Onions

Serves 6.

This is a great stomboli recipe, and wonderful for entertaining because it's easy to eat without utensils.
Slightly adapted from: Pillsbury

1/2 lb. ground sausage
13.8-oz. can refrigerated classic pizza crust
1/4 c. pizza sauce
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. chopped green and/or red bell pepper, 
1/4 t. dried Italian seasoning

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Brown ground beef in medium skillet over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain. Set aside.

Unroll dough; place on sprayed cookie sheet. Starting at center, press out dough with hands to form 12x8-inch rectangle.

Spread sauce over dough to within 2 inches of long sides and 1/2 inch of short sides. Place cooked ground beef lengthwise down center, forming 3-inch-wide strip and to within 1/2 inch of short sides. Top with cheese, bell pepper and Italian seasoning. Fold long sides of dough over filling; press edges to seal.

Bake at 400°F. for 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Stromboli with Italian Meats and Cheeses

Stromboli with Italian Meats and Cheeses

Serves

Another delicious stomboli, yum!
Inspired by: Lauren's Latest

1 can refrigerated pizza dough (such as Pillsbury)
1/2 cup pizza sauce1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese9 slices salami6 slices proscuitto1 egg, beatendried parsley & parmesan cheese {optional}extra pizza sauce for dipping {optional}


Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Line large rimmed cookie sheet with parchment or spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. 

Spread pizza dough out on baking sheet to be approximately 10x16. Spread pizza sauce over 2/3's of the dough lengthwise, leaving a 3x16 rectangle of plain dough along one of the edges. Top sauce with half the grated cheese, salami and prosciutto. Top with remaining cheese. 

Brush the plain strip of dough with the egg. Fold in the sides about an inch and brush them with egg. Roll up like a jelly roll lengthwise starting along the long edge of dough topped with all the fillings and ending with the plain strip of dough on the bottom of the roll. Brush the entire stromboli with egg and gently cut slats in the top of the dough every 1-2 inches. 

Sprinkle parsley and cheese over top and bake 8-10 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Remove from oven, cool 5 minutes and slice into pieces. Serve with more pizza sauce.

Buffalo Chicken Stromboli

Buffalo Chicken Stromboli

Serves 4, or 2 very hungry eaters.  I sliced into 8 strips to serve at a party.

I used shredded chicken instead of turkey, and a premade pizza dough.  This is a fantastic stromboli.  LOVED it!
Slightly adapted from: Naturally Ella

Dough:
I used a canister of premade pizza dough, but the blog linked above has a recipe for homemade, if you prefer

Filling:
1 lb. boneless chicken breast
1/4 cup Frank's red hot sauce
2 T. butter, melted
1 cup diced onions
3/4 cup bleu cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Oil, parmesan, and fresh parsley for topping


Cook chicken on a grill, in a skillet, or by poaching.  Once chicken is cooked through, shred or dice into 1-2″-1″ cubes and combine with Frank’s red hot and butter.  Increase the amount of Frank's if you prefer a spicier dish.

Pre-heat oven to 425˚ with a baking stone (if you have one).

Role out pizza dough into a 16″x10″ rectangle with the 16″ edge parallel to your body. Leaving a 1″ border, spread chicken over dough (drizzle a little of the extra Frank’s over the chicken-about 2-3 T). Sprinkle Onions, Bleu cheese and mozzarella on top of that (the amount of cheese is really up to you).  Beginning with the side closest to you, begin to roll the stromboli away from you. When finished, seal each end edge and the long edge by pinching the dough. Cut three-four slits in the top and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh parsley and parmesan. Slide onto baking stone (or sheet tray) and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the filling begins to bubble out and the crust is golden. Let cool slightly before cutting.

Garden Vegetable Tart

Garden Vegetable Tart

Serves 4-6.

Use up the last of those garden veggies for this delicious tart!  We all loved it!  It can be served as a side dish or main dish.
Slightly adapted from: Better Homes and Gardens, August 2012

1 frozen puff pastry sheet (half a 17.3-oz. package)
2 ears of fresh sweet corn
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup water
4 oz. fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
Crushed red pepper and dried basil (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  On a lightly floured surface, roll puff pastry to a 14x10-inch rectangle; transfer to a baking pan.  Prick pastry all over with a fork.  Bake 10 minutes, until center is set.  Remove from oven; lightly press center with spatula.

Meanwhile, wrap cleaned corn in waxed paper.  Microwave for 2 minutes.  Cut corn kernels off the cob.  Add corn, zucchini, and tomatoes into a saucepan and saute with olive oil over medium heat until tender, 5-7 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato paste and water; spread on puff pastry.  Top pastry with cheese and vegetables.  Bake tart 10 minutes, until pastry is golden and cheese is melted.  Top with red pepper and basil.

BBQ Chicken Pizza with Avocado

BBQ Chicken Pizza with Avocado

Serves 3.

1 Boboli pizza crust
1/3 c. pizza sauce
1/3 c. BBQ sauce
1 chicken breast, cooked and chopped
1/3 c. frozen corn, thawed
1/4 c. thinly sliced red onion
1 to 1-1/2 c. shredded Mexican cheese blend
1/2 avocado, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine pizza sauce and BBQ sauce; spread on top of pizza crust.  Top with chicken, corn, and red onion.  Sprinkle with cheese. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes.  After removing from oven, top with sliced avocado and serve.

Aloha Pizza

Aloha Pizza

Serves 2-3 (about 8 small wedges of pizza).

A great pizza recipe! And when you use homemade pizza crust, it's that much better. The Mr. and I both really enjoyed this.

Slightly adapted from: Pampered Chef Season's Best recipe collection, Spring/Summer 2008 issue

10-oz. pizza dough (I recommend this homemade recipe)

1 T. olive oil

1 garlic clove, pressed

1/2 c. barbecue sauce, divided

2 c. (8 oz.) grated mozzarella cheese

2 c. diced cooked chicken

1 c. pineapple tidbits, from fresh pineapple

1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced

1 green onion, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Shape dough into a circle on a floured surface (we use our pizza peel). Gently stretch and press dough to form a 12-inch circle. Combine oil and garlic, and brush evenly over crust. Spread half of barbecue sauce over the crust. Sprinkle cheese, chicken, pineapple, and red pepper over the crust. Bake, ideally on a pizza stone, for 14-16 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven.

Garnish with green onion. Serve with remaining barbecue sauce.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Makes one, two, or three crusts.

The original recipe calls for only all-purpose flour, but by substituting whole wheat flour for half of it, you get added health benefits without losing much taste. The Mr. and I love the rich, slightly denser taste of whole wheat crust. If you want, feel free to adapt the amounts however you'd like. Use 75% all-purpose and only 25% whole wheat - it's all up to you!

This is a great basic recipe, and since you have the appropriate amounts for one to three crusts, you can make pizza for two, or pizza for a crowd.

Slightly adapted from: Betty Crocker's Italian Cooking

One crust:

1 pkg. regular active dry yeast

1/2 c. warm water (105-115 degrees)

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. olive oil

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. sugar

Two crusts:

2 pkgs. regular active dry yeast

1 c. warm water (105-115 degrees)

1 to 1-1/4 c. whole wheat flour

1 to 1-1/4 c. all-purpose flour

2 t. olive oil

1 t. salt

1/2 t. sugar

Three crusts:

3 pkgs. regular active dry yeast

1-1/2 c. warm water (105-115 degrees)

1-1/2 to 1-3/4 c. whole wheat flour

1-1/2 to 1-3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. olive oil

1 t. salt

1/2 t. sugar

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Stir in half of the flours, the oil, salt, and sugar. Stir in enough of the remaining flours to make dough easy to handle.

Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 minutes or until smooth and springy. Place dough in greased bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover and let rise in a warm place 20 minutes.

Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 48 hours. If dough should double in size during refrigeration, gently push fist into dough to deflate.

Cheeseburger Pizza

Cheeseburger Pizza

Serves 2.

A pizza you can make and bake faster than it'd take to call for delivery. Cheaper, fresher, and faster too!

1 pizza crust, such as Boboli

1/2 c. pizza sauce

1/4 lb. ground beef

1/4 c. red onion, chopped

3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese, or cheddar blend

3 leaves fresh basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef. Drain any fat.

Meanwhile, prepare pizza crust by covering with pizza sauce. Top with red onion, cooked ground beef, shredded cheese, and basil.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

Slice and serve.

DiGiorno Pizza Party!

DiGiorno Pizza & Breadsticks Champions House Party

I'm a member of http://www.houseparty.com/, a website that allows you to apply to host parties that are sponsored by leading brands. Each party has a theme, and your assignment is to share the wealth with friends and family by hosting a House Party. This was the first mission I was sent on: DiGiorno Pizza and Breadsticks!

I received my "party pack" in the mail about a week before my party. Inside were coupons for free pizzas and party supplies, such as DiGiorno beads, table tents, coasters, and the snazzy finger basketball hoops you see above.

The day of our party, I picked up the pizzas: Pepperoni, Cheese, Supreme, and Sausage, Bacon, & Pepperoni. The spotlight selection pizzas, the boxes containing both pizza and breadsticks, were the Pepperoni and Supreme. These boxes contained (8) breadsticks in addition to a full-size pizza; the breadsticks cook alongside the pizza in the oven, and the marinara dipping sauce is easily heated in the microwave.

A delicious pepperoni pizza:

Supreme with seasoned breadsticks:

As another option for our guests, I put together a BLT Salad bar:

And for dessert, my strawberry version of Pizza Hut's dessert pizza:

And some festive cut-out cookies:

I tried to get creative with my sprinkles. That's supposed to be a basketball; can you tell?

Overall, the party was a success! I think all of our guests had a great time, and we all loved the pizzas! We ran into a small snafu with the smoke alarm while the pizzas were in the oven. I think the ones on the lower rack were a little too close to the heat source! Surprisingly enough, for all the smoke that escaped from the oven, the pizzas themselves (the two that were on the bottom) were only slightly crispy on the bottom.

Strawberry Dessert Pizza

Strawberry Dessert Pizza

Serves 8-10.

This is my take on Pizza Hut's dessert pizza, and I found it to be very enjoyable... and addictive. The sugary topping made it slightly difficult to cut into slices. I found that kitchen shears worked well. Or, run a knife around the edge, transfer to a cutting board, and use a sharp pizza wheel.

1 container refrigerated pizza dough (or bread dough)

1 jar strawberry preserves

1/2 c. oats

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. flour (I used whole wheat)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Coat a pizza pan with non-stick spray.

Spread dough evenly on pizza pan.

Bake for 3-4 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix oats, brown sugar, and flour to create a streusel.

Remove pan from oven and top with strawberry preserves, followed by streusel topping.

Return to oven and bake 13-15 minutes.

Cool; cut into slices; enjoy.

Wingless Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Wingless Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Serves 2.

This recipe is originally from Rachael Ray, but I found it through the blog of Heidzillas, Cleveland wedding coordinator and consultant. Although her typical blog posts focus on all-things WEDDING, Heidzillas opted to recap the 30th birthday party she threw for her husband. For someone who does "not love to cook," Heidi prepared an amazing spread of tantalizing treats. When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. And ASAP. I only changed a few things -- subbing Ranch dressing for tomato sauce and changing around the prep for chicken and pizza dough. Heidi said her recipe won rave reviews and The Mr. and I raved about my version, so I think you can't go wrong with either!

While you're browsing Heidzillas blog, make sure to check out these amazing cupcakes and cakes, made by CMYKakes.

1 pizza dough packet mix

1/2 lb. chicken, cooked and cut into small pieces

cornmeal or flour, to handle dough

2 T. butter

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

3 T. hot sauce

1/2 c. Ranch dressing

1 c. shredded cheese (I used Parmesan, but blue cheese crumbles and cheddar would also work well)

3 scallions, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 425.

Prepare pizza dough according to mix instructions. Stretch dough to form pizza using cornmeal or flour to help you handle it. Letting it rest and warm up for a few minutes should help it handle even easier. Set pizza on pizza pan and set aside.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt butter and stir in Worcestershire, hot sauce, and Ranch dressing. Stir in chicken.

Cover the pizza dough with chicken-sauce mixture. Top with cheese and scallions.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden.