Stromboli

First of all I want to thank everyone for all the kind graduation wishes. They all meant so much to me. We had such a fun weekend with my brother-in-law, his family and our friends from Chicago who came in town to participate in the graduation festivities. Today felt kind of weird not driving to school and being in class for 8 hours. I also had the day off from work so it was a nice relaxing day spent with my kiddos.

We had this stromboli recipe for dinner last night. It was delicious! It makes 2 whole strombolis so guess what we had for dinner tonight? I love leftovers and now that I am working a full-time job, it's nice to have a break from the kitchen every now and then.



Stromboli
Source: Burn Me Not

Ingredients
Yields 2 loaves
1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast
1 1/3 c. warm water (110° to 115°)
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 t. salt
4 to 5 c. all-purpose flour

Filling (for 2 loaves):
1/2 lb. thinly sliced ham
1/2 lb. reduced fat pepperoni
Dried basil
Dried oregano
8 slices provolone cheese
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil, salt and 2 cups flour; fitted with the paddle attachment, beat until smooth. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough. Switching to the dough hook attachment, knead dough on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 15 x 12-inch rectangle. Arrange ham slices lengthwise down half of rectangle. Place pepperoni on top. Sprinkle with a little bit of basil and oregano. Arrange provolone slices over the top and then add the mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with a little more basil and oregano. Fold plain half of dough over filling and seal ends well. Brush with oil; sprinkle with oregano.

Bake on a baking sheet at 400°F for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; cut into 1-inch slices.

Stuffed Pizza Bites

At first glance, this looks like a recipe I posted last August called Meatball Bubble Biscuits; however this is a new recipe. These stuffed pizza bites are wonderful! My 4 year old had so much fun helping me "stuff" these little bites. He was so proud of himself that as soon as daddy got home from work, he made sure to tell him that HE made dinner tonight!

These little bites are so good! We used mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and black olives in ours but you can use any of your favorite pizza toppings. Next time I'd like to try ham and pineapple. Yum!

Valentine's Pizza

Here's a new twist for your Valentine's Pizza this year.



Instead of shaping the pizza dough into a heart, try using a mini cookie cutter to cut pepperoni slices into hearts. Isn't this adorable? I got this cute idea from a blog called Gordon Gossip.



You can make your pizza from scratch or buy one from the store and put your heart pepperoni on top.

Happy {early} Valentine's Day!!!

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

I love these little pizza bites! They are so good and fun to dip in the pizza sauce. This would be a great appetizer to serve for a football game or birthday party. The leftovers were even good the next day. I will definitely be making these again soon!

Homemade Pizza

I have to admit this is the first time I have ever made my own pizza crust AND pizza sauce. This truly is a homemade pizza. I am usually all about convenience when it comes to making pizza at home and will buy a pre-made pizza crust and jar of pizza sauce from the grocery store. But not this time! I wanted to try making it all from scratch! The pizza sauce was whipped together in the blender and the crust was ready in a matter of minutes...much easier than I had ever imagined. Not only did it taste WONDERFUL but it also gave me such a sense of accomplishment making it all from scratch! I'm not sure I'll ever be able to buy the pre-made items again...



Pizza Sauce

1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1/4 t. oregano
1/4 t. basil
1/4 t. black pepper
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. garlic powder
1/8 t. onion powder
1 T. sugar

Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until it reaches desired consistency.

- - - - - -



Fast and Easy Pizza Dough

3 c. flour, more or less
1 T. honey, heaping
1 T. oil, heaping
1 c. warm water
1 T. yeast
1 t.garlic salt

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. (If using a pizza stone, let stone heat for at least 30 minutes in the oven before baking pizza.) Mix all pizza dough ingredients together, except the flour. Add flour and knead for a bit then put into pan (or use a pizza stone). Top dough with sauce and toppings. If baking in a sheet pan, bake for about 12 minutes (checking often) until crust is browned and cheese is golden and bubbly. If baking on the preheated pizza stone, slide pizza onto stone and bake for about 8 minutes.

Makes 1 large pizza.



*Thanks to Real Mom Kitchen for these recipes! Here are the links to the recipes on her site:
Pizza Sauce
Fast and Easy Pizza Dough