Stuffed Pizza

I have tried to make this before after Jeremy and I watched an episode of Man vs. Food and he ate one in Chicago.....the first ones turned out OK....but they seemed to sort of fall apart once they were cut, and the crust never really got crispy.....so after doing much research today, I found someone who made one using a springform pan - genius - why didn't I think of that?!?! So.....I made one and it turned out much better - blog worthy, I guess. If you like pizza - try it - it's really not hard at all.  (Plus, I cheated a used store bought pillsbury pizza crust, just unroll it.)

Ingredients:

I didn't end up using the spinach, it was still frozen & I'm impatient.

• 2 pillsbury pizza crusts
• 1 Springform pan
• Some Mozzarella cheese - I used about 1 bag
• Olive oil/cooking spray to spray pan
• Pizza/Marinara Sauce
• Whatever ingredients you like in your pizza, I used:
• Pepperoni
• Sausage
• Yellow Bell Pepper - chopped (about 1/4)
• 1/4 onion - chopped
• 1/4 red bell pepper - chopped

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400
• Spray bottom and sides of springform pan w/ cooking spray
• Place pizza dough over top of springform and allow to fall down in, keeping some excess over the sides for tucking in at the top - you may have to cut a little off some of 2 of the sides to ensure the other 2 sides have enough dough.

• Take about a handful of cheese and sprinkle it in the bottom on top of the dough

• Mix the rest of your toppings - peppers, onion, sausage (minus the pepperoni) and then pour into the crust

• Top with pepperoni

• Then top with cheese (the amount you prefer)

• Then cut the top crust to the size of the top of your pizza, and fold over the excess edges onto it, like you would a pie.

• Cut a few slits in the top to allow steam to exit during cooking
• Spread some marinara on the top of the pizza, leaving the edges clean

• Top with a little cheese for garnish

• Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the crust is to your liking

(1/2 way done....)

• Remove from the oven, and immediately remove the outer case of the springform pan

• Let the pizza cool like this for about 10 minutes before cutting so it doesn't fall apart.

• ENJOY! It was definitely delicious and very filling!

Easy Dinner: Chicken Sausage with Tomato, basil and mozzarella ravioli

I didn't really put much thought into this, everything was pre-packaged, but sometimes that's easier! Jeremy loves sausage, and I am not really a huge fan, but when I saw Chicken Sausage, I figured I'd give it a try.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of Al Fresco Chicken Sausage
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 package Monterrey Ravioli (Tomato, Basil, Mozarella)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 Jar Tomato Sauce
• Caesar Salad
• Garlic bread

Steps:

• Follow the directions on the packages!
• I put the sausage on a skillet, medium heat, with a tbsp olive oil for about 8-10 minutes until the sides were golden brown

• For the ravioli, I boiled water in a large pot, but barely boiling the water, I added in the ravioli for 5 minutes, drained, and topped with tomato sauce.

The food was delicious, I definitely recommend trying the chicken sausage. And dinner took me about 15 minutes to prepare and cook.

Oven Fried Pizza Puffs

After making the "Oven Fried Chimichangas" & dating a boy who grew up in Chicago, Jeremy requested I make a rendition of the "Pizza puff"..... I don't have a deep fryer, so we tried to "oven fried" method again. This is my first recipe I've really just made up...so bear with me!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups cooked/chopped sausage
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2/3 marinara or spaghetti sauce (we used a Tomato/Basil sauce)
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped vidalia onion
• 1/4 pepperoni (I cut them in half)
• 5 burrito sized flour tortillas
• Olive oil or cooking spray

• Preheat oven to 400
• Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray or rub some olive oil on the foil
• Mix together the sausage, cheese, sauce, onion, pepper, pepperoni, and italian seasoning
• Put spoonfuls inside the tortilla's and fold closed so all sides are closed
• Place the tortillas on the cookie sheet and either spray with cooking spray or rub with olive oil
• Place in oven for 25 minutes

This may not look all that appetizing, considering I took it when I was almost done eating, but I wanted you to be able to see the inside of the puff!


Enjoy! We did!