Stuffed Pizza Rolls

Recipe adapted from ourbestbites.com (such a great site...probably 1/2 my dinners come from here)

These are a fun twist on pizza that the kids will love! You can "personalize" them with any toppings of your choice and dip them in either alfredo or marinara sauce. I've even made them with chicken/bacon/cheese and dipped them in ranch dressing for an appetizer. Gotta love the versatility folks!

The first time I made these I just used a store bought dough sheet/or pizza dough like the ones in the pillsbury cans. This time, I made a delicious homemade pizza dough. YUM.

Pizza Dough

1 tblsp. yeast

1 c. warm water

3 c. flour

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. sugar

3/4 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

1/4 c. olive oil

Combine yeast and warm water in mixer, let stand 5 minutes. Slowly add the flour, salt, sugar, thyme, cheese and oil. Mix on low until blended. Scrape down sides of bowl if necessary (maybe add a tblsp or two of water if it's too dry). Place dough in large bowl greased with tblsp of oil, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size. Punch down and roll into crusts over floured surface.

Pizza Rolls

1 batch homemade pizza dough (or 2 store bought refrigerated pizza dough cans)

2 tblsp. grated parmesan cheese

1 tblsp. melted butter

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

mozzarella cheese

marinara or alfredo sauce

pizza toppings: pepperoni, ham, pineapple, sausage, etc...

Combine garlic powder and Italian seasoning in small bowl and set aside.

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface into a rectangle. Cut into squares using a pizza cutter; you should end up with about 18-24 squares depending on how big or small you cut them. Place cheese and desired toppings in middle of squares. Fold up by grabbing corners then pinching together and making a ball (see photos above). Dip smooth side in melted butter and place seam side down on baking dish. Sprinkle with seasoning mix and then parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 for about 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with marinara or alfredo sauce.

Healthy, and Delicious Spaghetti

I know- I died off there for awhile. But I'm back, and I hope you are all still there, still reading, and still posting! I started working out today. I ran 2 miles on the treadmill and swam some laps. I realized how out of shade I was when I got so exhausted hiking to the trailhead of Mt. Olympus. When 6 years ago, I summited the thing. So in efforts to "Get healthier" I thought I should put good food into my body.

I made this spaghetti up- and it was really good. Husband approved.

1 lb ground turkey

2 c. spinach

1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped

1/4 white minced onion

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1/2 tsp salt

dash of pepper

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 T Italian seasonings (the dried kind, sitting in your spice cabinet)

1 can Hunts tomato sauce

1 can stewed tomatoes

Spaghetti noodles

While you boil the water for the noodles, saute the onions, mushrooms and garlic with a dab of butter. After they have browned and simmered, move them to a separate bowl. In another pot of water, steam spinach. Put the ground turkey in the saute pan, and brown. Add the mushroom mixture and italian seasonings, along with salt and pepper. Drain the spinach, and stir it into pieces and add it to the saute pan. Pour in the tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes and let simmer so flavors can develop.

Drain spaghetti, and top with the healthy, delicious sauce.

Yum.

Red/White Pasta

This is so easy and delicious. If you like to get into the bread and butter of italian food- but not have to put a lot of work into it, then this is for you. Now, I have recipes for homemade alfredo, and homemade marinara, but I'm not going to post them, because frankly, I didn't make them. I got so lazy tonight but managed to whip out a delicious entree in a half hour.


Red/White Pasta

1 pkg of Rotini or Fusilli pasta
1 can of your favorite marinara sauce (or be awesome and make your own)
1 can of your favorite alfredo sauce (again, go ahead and be awesome if you want)
1 cup grated mozzarella
(you can add vegetables to beef it up, so to speak... like zucchini or eggplant.

Preheat oven to 350.

Boil pasta to aldente, it will continue to cook when baking. Drain, and let sit for a minute. Spread some marinara on the bottom of a casserole dish, then pour half the pasta in. This is all about technique- you can't just mix the sauces up and pour them in, it won't taste as good, I promise. Dollop large spoonful's of each of the sauces sporadically throughout the dish. Layer the rest of the pasta then repeat. Sprinkle with mozzarella and bake for 20-25 minutes, till bubbling.

This is so tasty. Serve with french bread or garlic rolls.

Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti and Meatballs

1 pkg spaghetti

1 jar of your favorite sauce

1 pkg ground beef

1/2 cup of seasoned bread crumbs

1 egg

1/4 cup fresh grated parmesean

1/8 c parsley (fresh or dried)

1/2 tsp of garlic salt

1/2 tsp of onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

Start cooking your spaghetti in well salted boiling water.

In the meantime, place the ground beef in a bowl and mix in the egg, then add all the dry ingredients, and the cheese. Form large gum-ball sized balls and place them into a deep frying pan with olive oil, over medium heat. Turn the meatballs that are cooking as you form the others to put in the pan. Once the meatballs are browned on all sides, add the sauce and let them cook a little so they cook through. Spoon over the spaghetti and serve with garlic bread.

Yep. Just incase you didn't know. That's how you make spaghetti and meatballs.

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup

Ok Lisa, you are an all star when it comes to posting lots of recipes. After we made this meal on New Year's Eve, I have had some recipe requests, so here is my first contribution to the food blog!

When I go to Olive Garden, I can never decide what to get and I inevitably end up ordering the delicious soup/salad/bread option. Yum! Once I tried the Zuppa Toscana soup (a spicy potato flavor), I could never go back. I have searched for a similar recipe and this one takes the cake. We often have Olive Garden flavor at home now with this recipe, though I make changes to the recipe in effort to be healthy. I added my variations in the recipe.

Makes: 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground Italian sausage
• 1½ tsp crushed red peppers
• 1 large diced white onion
• 4 Tbsp bacon pieces
• 2 tsp garlic puree
• 10 cups water
• 5 cubes of chicken bouillon
• 1 cup heavy cream (I use half and half)
  
• 1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
• ¼ of a bunch of kale

1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients. (Or do it the night before)
   
2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.
4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.
6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve. Delicious! (I stir in the sausage, wait for the grease to rise to the top, and then skim it all off before adding in the kale)

Yum! We also make a copycat Olive Garden salad. You need:

Lettuce
Red Onion sliced into rings
black olives
sliced tomatoes
croutons
banana peppers
Kraft Fat Free Zesty Italian salad dressing

Toss together and enjoy!

And, if you want to add some tasty breadsticks to the meal, I have enjoyed this recipe from the fabulous Real Mom Kitchen for delicious breadsticks, though I did add more salt in the dough then the recipe called for which enhanced the flavor.

Divine Breadstick Recipe found here:
Yum. Now I am hungry!

Baked Ravioli

I love a good "domestic" feel to a meal. Though this is mostly pre-made, it seems like you did it from scratch and it's wonderful comfort food. And what'dya know, the bread even came in handy again for a good side of garlic bread.

Baked Ravioli

(recipe derived from Martha Stewart)

1 package pre-made ravioli (any flavor)

1 can whole stewed tomatoes

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 1/2 tsp oregano or thyme (I used the "Italian Seasonings" I had in my spice cupboard)

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small onion

1 T olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 cup grated mozzarella

1/2 grated parmesean

Saute the garlic and onion with the olive oil until soft. Add both cans of tomatoes. Stir in seasonings and break up the whole tomatoes, then let the sauce cook till it thickens and absorbs the flavor (20-25 min).

Preheat oven to 425.

Boil the ravioli, until just softened, they will cook more in the oven. Drain, return to pot. Once the sauce has thickened, add it to the pasta and gently toss.

Pour pasta into baking dish and spread cheese over the top. Bake for 20-25 min or until golden brown and bubbly.

(Side note: I'm not TOO big of an onion fan. So I used 1/2 of an onion I had left, and threw some dried minced onion in, and added a dash of garlic salt. It really is all about preference here, people.)