Deep Dish Pizza

As you may or may not know, I LOVE Chicago pizza.  LOVE it.  Like we have it shipped to us on occasion. We made a special stop there on our way to Niagara to eat some.

So once in a while I will see a recipe for deep dish pizza on Pinterest.

And I usually pin them then put them to the side.

Mainly because I know that I am not going to make anything that tastes like Chicago pizza does.

At least I haven't.

Until tonight.

I decided to give this recipe a try.

I actually tripled the recipe and made three "pies".

And the verdict is...

Yum.

Okay, it isn't Chicago pizza.

It can't be.

I don't live in Chicago.

But it is a really good deep dish pizza.

I wanted to eat the whole thing.

The only warning I have with it (other than it is a LOT of calories if you eat the whole thing) is that it is a bit time consuming due to the rising of the dough.  I did it on a Monday which was a bit of a challenge with school, homework, and kid activities.  Next time I will make this on a weekend...

Here is the recipe for the crust.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 1/8 tsp yeast (I use instant)
5 oz warm water (or 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp)
1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
1 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp  unsalted butter, softened

Directions:
 Mix the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, and yeast together.

Add in the water and melted butter.

Mix together for about five minutes.  (You can use a mixer like in the original recipe; I usually just do it by hand)

Roll dough into a ball.  Place in a bowl with a little olive oil, coating the ball with the oil.  Cover and let rise until almost doubled (45-60 minutes).

After the dough has doubled, roll out into an 8 x 6 rectangle.

Spread the softened butter over the top of the dough (leaving a border around the edges).

Start at the short edge and roll up into a cylinder.  Flatten the cylinder (into another rectangle).

Fold the rectangle like a business letter, folding into thirds.  Form into a ball, pinching the seams.  Place back into the oiled bowl and let it rise again (about the same amount of time, until doubled).

Lightly oil a 9 inch pie plate/pan with olive oil.

Take dough and roll out into a 13 inch circle.

Place in the pie plate, pressing down on the bottom and up the sides.

Add cheese (I used about 8 oz of shredded mozzarella), the toppings (we had a cheese, a pepperoni, and a salami/sausage version), then top with sauce.  Add a little shredded Parmesan to the top.

Bake at 425 for 20-30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

Let it sit about 10 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!

Pepperoni Roll

We rarely eat pizza "out" these days (though I do miss it like crazy!).

But about once a week, I still get an intense "pizza" craving that must be fixed.

I have grown to love homemade pizza. But I don't always have the time to make the crust or the pizza.

So I love finding quick pizza alternatives.

That is why when I saw THIS recipe on Pinterest, I knew we needed to try it. 

I mean, the base of it is Rhodes dough which we can eat almost any day around here. 

(I just got a Rhodes cookbook for Christmas...as a gift, not a "payment" for praising their products, though that would be nice.  A recipe similar to this is in there also...)

Ingredients:
1 Rhodes bread dough (I used two...I made a pepperoni version and a cheese version), thawed but not risen

olive oil (I didn't measure, I just used what I needed)

pepperoni (size and amount of your choice)

shredded mozzarella cheese

shredded cheddar cheese (if you wish)

Italian seasoning

freshly grated Parmesan

pizza sauce (for dipping)

Directions:
Thaw the Rhodes dough until it is pliable but hasn't started rising yet.

Preheat oven to 375.

Roll the dough out with a rolling pin into a rectangle.  If it is too tough to roll, give it a few more minutes to thaw and "rest".  Then try again.

Brush the dough with olive oil.

Sprinkle Italian seasoning over the olive oil.

Lay the pepperoni (or other toppings of your choice) on the dough.

Sprinkle with mozzarella and/or cheddar cheese.  Then add some Parmesan.

Starting at one of the long sides of the rectangle, roll up the dough like you would for cinnamon rolls.

Place the "log" on a baking sheet.

Brush the top of the "log" with melted butter.

I think I also sprinkled a little garlic salt and some more Parmesan on top but I am not positive.

Place the "log" on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the roll is a golden brown color.  Make sure the middle is cooked!

Let the roll cool.

Slice and enjoy. (And dip in sauce if you like)

Reba

Personal Pan Pizza

I am always craving pizza.

Always.

We used to eat it about once a week.

Now it is rare for us to go out for any.

However, I usually make one at home or make a pizza grilled cheese.

And on a rare occasion, we order one from my favorite Chicago pizzeria. 

Tonight my big boys are the Razorback football game. I needed an easy dinner for us to all enjoy.

Of course, pizza came to mind. :)

My kids LOVE making their own pizzas. We do that on occasion.  But typically we use those little individual crusts from the store. However, those are a bit on the expensive side.

Recently on Pinterest someone suggested using Rhodes dinner rolls as little pizza crusts.

Bingo.

I keep those frozen dough balls in my freezer.

In fact, I like the Rhodes Texas dinner rolls. They are slightly bigger.

So this afternoon, I took a few out and let them thaw as I napped.  (It is Saturday after a long week of school...I needed to snooze)

Tonight, we all rolled out our roll flat.  Then we brushed on olive oil and added our toppings.  My kids mainly added sauce, cheese, and pepperoni.  I made mine like I do the big ones...White Cheese (light ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, and feta with a few sprinkles of Italian seasoning and basil).

After you have "decorated", bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

My one piece of advice is to use little squares of parchment paper. Sprinkle or mist with olive oil and then let your child work with his/her dough on that. Then you can just drop it onto the cookie sheet to bake.  Our biggest issue was moving the pizza over to the cookie sheet without messing up their pizzas. :)

It was fun and a much easier (and cheaper) way to make pizza. I will say that even the Texas roll doesn't make a HUGE pizza. So if you have teens, you might let them make a few...

Happy cooking!
Reba

Herbed Pizza Crust

I guess I should have taken a picture of the crust before I put toppings all over it.  By the way, the pepperoni started out all over the pizza, but as it baked, the cheese shifted which means the pepperoni did too. :)

Anyway, as I mentioned yesterday, I was in the mood for pizza.  I am almost always in the mood for pizza.  And though I sometimes use store bought crusts, I really wanted to try one on my own.  I have tried before and it was okay but not great.  So this time I was looking for something different.

The problem I found with most recipes was that they took hours.

I mean, I am home during the summer, but I don't want to have to keep running back and forth to the kitchen to punch down dough or knead or whatever.

So I wanted something faster.

Yet the pizza crust I tried last time (that was just okay) had been fast, so I didn't want too fast.

Make sense?

Are you following me?

I know, I know, I tend to ramble.

Anyway, I happened upon this recipe and thought, "That is just what I am looking for..."

And after all was said and done, I can say it was.

It was just what I was looking for.

It is not something I could do spur of the moment or even during a school week typically (more of a weekend event) but if I have time, this is the the recipe I want to use!

I basically followed the recipe with only minor changes.  I did double the recipe because I needed two pizzas (around 12-13 inch pans), and had no trouble doing that in one mixing bowl.

Ingredients (for one 12-13 inch pizza):
 1 cup warm water (not too hot, not too cold :)

1 Tbsp olive oil (or butter, but I am personally an olive oil fanatic so that wasn't really a choice to me)

2 Tbsp sugar (or other granulated sweetener...I am just partial to real sugar)

1 tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp dry active yeast (If you buy the little envelopes, there is likely one tablespoon in each envelope)

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano (I had some fresh but didn't use it; I am sure it would have been good though)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 3/4 cups flour (I used all purpose)

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, combine the oil, sugar, spices/herbs, salt, and yeast.  I tried doing this with a mixer but really think I would have been better off mixing by hand.

Add warm water until yeast is dissolved thoroughly.

Gradually add the flour until you have a workable dough.

Knead on a clean, dry surface for about 8 minutes.

Place the dough back in the mixing bowl and cover.  Place in a warm spot.  Let it rise for about an hour until nearly doubled.

Remove from bowl and press onto a pizza baking stone or a cookie sheet (or a metal pizza pan).  I just had some metal ones. I really wish I had a couple of stones because I really think it would cook the crust that much better.  Looks like I have something to add to my birthday list...

Anyway, cover with desired toppings and bake in a preheated oven (400 degrees) for 18-20 minutes (until cheese is melted and the crust is beginning to turn golden).

I really liked the addition of the herbs to the crust. Yum.

It is a very filling crust too. Probably kept me from eating more pizza than I needed to. :)

Oh, and I learned today that a good way to reheat pizza is to place the desired pieces on a piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet.  Turn the oven to 450 and let it cook for about 10 minutes.  It made the crust nice and crisp and the cheese re-melted just right. :)

More soon,
Reba

4 Cheese White Pizza

I have been in the mood for pizza for a while.  My dear husband promised me when he got a job (I don't remember if I mentioned on this blog but his position was eliminated unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago) that I could order a pizza from my favorite Chicago pizzeria (it is shipped on dry ice then baked here :).  And I have been dreaming about it.

Except this job thing is more complicated than I thought.

Not in a bad way. 

He is just not rushing into any decisions, exploring options (and doing some work while he waits).

Meanwhile, my pizza craving has intensified.

And while we haven't given up eating out, with three birthdays this month, our eating out budget is used up.

So I decided to make some homemade pizza.

Sometimes I buy ready made pizza crusts and we create our own.

But today I was in the mood to make it all.

The crust.

The sauce.

The pizza.

When I saw this recipe via Pinterest, I knew I had to create a similar pizza.  It has everything I like in a pizza.  Crust.  Olive oil.  Garlic.  And cheese.  Lots of cheese.

I did make a regular pizza for the rest of the crew.  (Pepperoni and cheese)

This one was for me.  I did let a couple of my kids try it though. :)

Now for the actual pizza, I used a different crust recipe which I will share tomorrow.

This recipe is just for the actual topping.

I used the original recipe as a guide, but changed things a little.  And I didn't truly measure very much. :)

Ingredients:
a crust, ready to bake

3 Tbsp olive oil

Minced garlic (around 3 cloves)

Ricotta cheese (I used light :)

Mozzarella cheese (I used fresh, about 7 ounces)

Feta cheese crumbles (I used in place of goat cheese)

Parmesan, shredded

Fresh basil, thinly sliced

Directions:

Mix garlic and olive oil.  Spread about 2 Tbsp on the uncooked crust, leaving a "crust" around the outside edge.

Layer (I don't think order really matters, though I put the Parmesan on top since it is the "lightest" cheese) the four cheeses all over the crust.

Place some fresh basil slices around the top of the pizza.

Drizzle the remaining olive oil/garlic over the top of the pizza.

Bake for about 18-20 minutes.

The original recipe said at 450 degrees.

The crust recipe said 400.

I went with the crust recipe's direction since I was cooking two different pizzas.

I just kept an eye on it.

Then as soon as it was ready, I had it out on my plate, ready to eat.

Yum.

I limited myself to 2 pieces since it was approximately 300 calories a slice.

However, I wanted to eat more.

Yum.

More soon,
Reba

Pizza Bread

I don't think it is a secret. I LOVE pizza. Like I could eat it every week.

Except that I am counting calories these days.

And pizza is not a calorie friendly food.

Especially restaurant pizza.

Which is my favorite.

So I find myself looking for substitutes.

Constantly.

And in this age of Pinterest, I have found plenty.

So every week or other week, I find myself attempting a new one.

And most of them are met with "That is good..." or "Yeah, this is nice." response.

When I saw the photo for this pepperoni and cheese stuffed ciabatta bread on Pinterest, I knew I had to try it.

I also figured I would be the only one who really liked it.

So yesterday, I took a large oval shaped loaf of ciabatta bread (I think the original recipe probably uses the smaller ciabatta rolls, but that seemed more time consuming than I had time for :). And in less than 30 minutes, I had this "pizza bread".

We ate in shifts yesterday because hubby and oldest son attended a school meeting.

I heartily ate my one serving size (though I would have LOVED to have more...dumb calories).

Child 4 wasn't really in a hungry state; you just never know with him.

Child 2 made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which I expected. She tells me often how much she doesn't like pizza. Yes, she is one of my biological children...how is that possible??? :) She did glance at it during the meal though and announce that she might have liked it if she had tried it.

Child 3 happily asked for seconds.

Then later the boys came home.

They are the big "pizza" judges.

Not that this is pizza.

But they are the ones who will usually eat the pizza substitutes I make but not with much gusto.

Except this time they did.

They loved it.

And they ate every single bite.

No leftovers for me. :(

I think next time I will make two...

Ingredients:
Ciabatta Loaf

Pepperoni

Provolone Cheese

Directions:
Carefully cut the "top" off the ciabatta loaf and and hollow out the inside. My daughter likened it to a pumpkin. It did remind me of the act of gutting a pumpkin actually.

You can save the inside for bread crumbs for future recipes. Or feed the local ducks at your duck park. Or if you are really tired and too overwhelmed to think, you can just throw them out and think of it as disposing of calories.

Layer pepperoni and cheese as many times as needed to fill "bread bowl". It took two layers of each (10 slices of provolones and about 50 pepperoni).

Then replace the top.

The original recipe also places more provolone cheese on TOP of the "bread bowl".

I didn't...dumb calories.

Place on a piece of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes.

I served ours with the squeezable pizza sauce on the side for dipping.

Enjoy!

I know.

It is simple. Nothing fancy.

But it works.

(I imagine you could add about whatever you wanted as far as toppings go)

I am already ready to make it again!

Reba

Bubble Up Pizza

One night a friend of mine on Facebook mentioned "Bubble Up Pizza". I had just made Bubble Up Enchiladas and really liked them. So when I saw a recipe for the pizza on Pinterest, I was further inspired to make some. Especially since our eating out has slowed down recently. And I started counting calories.

The recipe sounded very familiar to the Pizza Snowballs I make, just in one pan. And with the sauce IN it rather than in a bowl for dipping.

And easy. Did I mention easy?

I followed the recipe (link above), but did make some changes to suit our family. Here is my version.

Ingredients:
1 can Grands biscuits (I used the reduced fat Golden Wheat just to cut down on calories), quartered

15 oz. pizza sauce (I used the Contadina Squeeze...it is my favorite)

shredded cheese (I shredded a small block of 2% sharp cheddar and a small block of mozzarella)

Italian seasoning

pepperoni (I made half with mini pepperonis and half with turkey pepperoni)

shredded Parmesan

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a bowl, place quartered biscuits, pizza sauce, about 3/4 of the shredded cheese, and pepperoni (or any other pizza ingredients you might want to include). I did NOT include the pepperoni at this point because I was making half and half with the two types of pepperoni.

Spoon (I just kind of dumped) the mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan.

That is the point I added the pepperoni, kind of pressing it down into the mixture.

Then I sprinkled it with Italian seasoning. Just because I like that flavoring...

Bake for 25 minutes.

Take out and top with remaining cheese. I also added some shredded Parmesan to the top just because I really love Parmesan...and using my rotary shredder. :)

Return to oven for 5-10 more minutes, until cheese is melted.

Then enjoy!

It did remind me of the pizza snowballs which we love. (I also like that I can "personalize" the ingredients in those more.) But this was a nice quick meal when I don't have time to make snowballs. :) And it works to fix my pizza cravings since we used to eat pizza on average once a week...

More soon.
Reba

Calzones

For a while, I was finding recipes on Pinterest like crazy. I still do, but not as rapid as I once did...probably because I already "pinned" so many. Anyway, about the same time I "pinned" the braided spaghetti bread, I found another picture to "pin" for a calzone that looked very similar to the braided spaghetti bread.

Ironically, the first time we ate the braided spaghetti bread, one of the first comments my dear hubby made was "Wouldn't a calzone made like this be good?"

It was fate.

Or something like that.

Anyway, I knew that it had to appear on the menu.

And tonight it did.

I went to the calzone website (seen above) to get an idea but in the end, I kind of followed the braided spaghetti bread recipe. Just in a calzone sort of way. Actually, I made two calzones tonight.

I haven't found many pizza crusts I just love, so I used my now favorite Rhodes white bread loaf (frozen section) instead. Or in this case, I used two. The handy thing is that three come to a package.

I put the loaves out this morning in a bread pan that was lightly coated with cooking spray. I covered it with clear wrap. And by the time I got home this afternoon, they had grown (risen) and were twice the size as they were when I left them. :)

I rolled the dough out on some parchment paper. Then I let it sit for a few.

I did learn today that cutting the sides (like with the spaghetti bread recipe) is MUCH easier to do before adding the toppings.

I just cut "strips" (like fringe) about every inch or so. The slits were maybe two inches deep.

I just made sure to leave a nice midsection for toppings.

Next, I spread pizza sauce on that midsection. My new favorite is Contadina Squeezables. It is awesome for dipping; I love the flavor. So I used it.

Oh yeah, not getting ANY kickbacks from Rhodes or Contadina. I just really like both products.

Next the toppings.

I made one a "meat" calzone with pepperoni, Canadian bacon, and Italian sausage (browned). Then I threw on some Mozzarella and Cheddar. (I just used an 8 oz. block and cut it it into cubes; then I spread the cheese out among the midsection of one of the bread loaves.

The other calzone I made was more of a cheese. I had one half cheese, one half cheese and turkey pepperoni.

Oh, and I sprinkled Italian seasoning on both.

I then crisscrossed the strips, stretching them over to the other side. It looks a lot like a mummy when finished.

I took an egg white and brushed it over the "mummy". I then sprinkled garlic powder, parsley, and Parmesan cheese (shredded) over the top.

Then baked at for about 30 minutes at 350.

We had extra sauce on the table for dipping if needed.

I personally could have eaten the whole thing by myself.

But due to this whole watching my calories thing I didn't.

I will just say I am looking forward to having some more for lunch tomorrow.

The only changes I would make would be to add feta to the "cheese/pepperoni" version. And I would make just a pepperoni one for the boys. Apparently hubby isn't a big fan of Canadian bacon, and the Italian sausage was "just okay" according to him.

Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing.

Yum.

Reba

Pizza Grilled Cheese

I saw a recipe on Pinterest the other day that just sounded really good to me. So over the weekend, I knew I had all of the necessary ingredients...I also knew I just had to try it. And I did. I loved it. In fact, I had another one for lunch today. The only problem is that I would really rather eat like two or three, not one. But for calorie sake, I have to stick with one.

Pizza Grilled Cheese.

It sounds so simple. In fact, I keep thinking, "Why didn't I think of that?"

I mean, I like grilled cheese. I like pizza. Why wouldn't it occur to me to combine the two?

Anywho, here is the recipe (link above to the original). As usual, I made some adjustments, mainly due to the whole counting calories thing which is not nearly as fun as not counting calories...

Pizza Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:
bread (I just use 2...only one sandwich for me. :()

Italian seasoning or basil

Mozzarella cheese or Provolone

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Pepperoni

Butter

Pizza sauce for dipping

Directions:
Butter one side of each piece of bread (like you would for grilled cheese). I have been using the Brummel and Brown Yogurt Spread and LOVE it; it is lower cal than regular butter.

Layer Mozzarella cheese or Provolone which may actually melt better (I had to limit this for calorie sake...I would have preferred to use more), a sprinkle of Italian seasoning, pepperoni (however many you want), the Parmesan, and additional Mozzarella or Provolone if desired. Top with second piece of bread (butter side up). Cook in a skillet over medium heat, flipping partway through until both sides are brown.

Use pizza sauce for dipping.

I can just imagine how yummy the original recipe is since I was pretty excited about the lower calorie version I used.

Hmmm, suddenly I have a pepperoni craving.

Reba

Pizza Snowballs

A couple weeks ago, my friend Megan mentioned making "Pizza Snowballs" with her girls for dinner. I sat there dazed and confused. I am on Pinterest and Facebook all of the time. How had I never heard of pizza snowballs? To add to my confusion, some of Megan's friends responded like they knew EXACTLY what she was talking about. Finally, I couldn't stand the unknown anymore. I put it out there. "What are those?" I asked. When she told me how easy and how good they were, I knew I wanted to try them.

So here I am a couple weeks later. And we aren't eating out. I am craving pizza. BAD. Really bad. I love pizza.

And it is Friday night.

We needed something simple. Something good. Something fun.

The pizza snowballs sounded like a good fit.

Unfortunately, Megan's explanation of them is lost in a sea of Facebook messages and updates. So I did what any red-blooded American would do. Googled it. :)

And I found this website.

It described exactly what my friend Megan had described. Perfect. :)

I also liked that it was "kid friendly". Child 3 has been on a "help in the kitchen" kick recently, so I thought this might be a fun activity. And it was. She was rather proud of her creation and reminded us several times at dinner that she was responsible for the yumminess. :)

So, if you have never heard of pizza snowballs (or maybe I was the only one), here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 (or more) cans of biscuits (I didn't realize the website above had used Grands; I just got the four pack of country style biscuits...not nearly as big but I was able to make 24 and still have dough left over for very cheap)

cheese (I shredded a small block of both Mozzarella and 2% sharp cheddar)

pepperoni chopped up (I also did a few with Canadian Bacon chopped up)

cooking spray (I actually used cupcake/muffin liners because our muffin tins are in rough shape...I would definitely do that again. EASY clean up!)

1 jar pizza sauce (we used it for dipping)

Directions:
Cut the biscuits into four pieces with kitchen scissors.

Take three or four pieces and add a heaping spoonful of the desired cheeses and/or meat. (I made one pan of pepperoni, and a half a pan of pepperoni and Canadian Bacon and a half a pan of just cheese with some Parmesan added)

What I did was give Child 3 a shallow bowl. I would add in all of the ingredients and have her work over it. At the same time, I did the same for myself so it wouldn't take quite so long.

Anyway, so you take these ingredients and squish all together just like Play-Dough. It was fun. You shape it into a "ball". Then drop it in the muffin pan (or in my case, muffin liner).

Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes or until the snowballs are golden brown.

Serve warm.

As I said, we used pizza sauce for dipping. I love my ramekins...they are perfect for holding dipping sauces.

Enjoy.

Hubby said it was as good (actually better) than the little individual pizzas we make.

The nice part is that I don't think it was very high in calories and fat.

The biscuits I used were small, and three biscuits (which was basically three pizza snowballs for us) was only 2 grams of fat. You really only use a couple of spoons full of cheese. And I used turkey pepperoni.

Which means I have no guilt about how many I ate. :)

Oh, hubby is campaigning to change the name. He is voting for "Pizza Dippers" which I ironically have a different recipe for but these are MUCH better.

I will be making them again. Well, Child 3 and I will. :)

Enjoy!
Reba
PS I have several other recipes to share but this was fresh on my mind, so it came first...