Pizza Biscuit Wreath

 From: Pillsbury 2007 Annual Recipes Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (12 oz each) Pillsbury Golden Layers refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
• 60 small slices pepperoni
• 5 sticks colby-monterey jack cheese, each cut crosswise into 4 pieces
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 Tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• pizza sauce for dipping

Heat oven to 375°. Spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Separate one can of dough into 10 biscuits, keep second can refrigerated. Press each biscuit into a 3-inch round. Place three pepperoni slices and one piece of cheese on each dough round. Wrap dough around filling, pinching edges to seal and form ball.

Repeat with remaining can of dough, pepperoni and cheese.

Leaving a 4-inch hole in the center, arrange eight balls, seam side down and sides almost touching into a ring on the cookie sheet.

Arrange remaining 12 balls, sides almost touching, around outer edge of first ring. Brush rings with beaten egg.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, in small microwavable bowl, microwave pizza sauce, loosely covered, on high 45 to 60 seconds or until warm. Carefully slide wreath from cookie sheet onto serving platter. Place bowl of pizza sauce in center of wreath. Garnish with fresh oregano, if desired. Serve warm.

Verdict: Thumbs up! I only did one can of the rolls. They were very good. I wouldn't say we were astounded with them or anything, but they were good.

What I would do differently next time: So, I'm just now seeing that the recipe says to arrange them almost touching. Yeah... I definitely had them touching, which meant the sides took much longer to cook. Reading is fundamental! I also feel like they could have used garlic powder sprinkled on top. That's how I make these when I use crescent rolls. Other than that, they were really easy to make and would be a great, simple recipe!

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

From: Lick the Bowl Good

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• pinch of salt
• pinch of red pepper flakes 
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup cubed pepperoni
• 1/2 cup store-bought pizza sauce

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes (if using) ; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Verdict:

Thumbs up! Look, you really can't go wrong with these ingredients, right? This is a simple recipe that is great for parties, appetizers, or church dinners. I will definitely make it again and highly recommend it!

Pepperoni Pizza Dip

From: The back of a Nabisco cracker box

Ingredients:
1 8-oz tub of cream cheese
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1/2 cup shredded pizza or mozzarella cheese blend
1/2 cup chopped pepperoni
1/3 cup chopped red peppers
1/3 cup chopped green peppers

Crackers for dipping (I used Nabisco round saltines and Ritz crackers)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix cream cheese and pizza sauce until well blended; spread onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate.

Top with next four ingredients.

Bake 18-20 minutes or until heated through and shredded cheese is melted. Serve with crackers.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! Well, I say thumbs up, but I literally got to fill up about half a cracker with this dip. It was GONE and all I got was a scoop of what was left on the bottom of the plate! That tasted good, at least, and everyone was raving about it. I didn't put the peppers on this because I forgot I was going to make it until about 20 minutes before people were going to start arriving for Hunter's birthday party. So I just threw it all together really quickly which did NOT include chopping peppers! I think the peppers would be delicious though - I'll throw them on next time! Highly recommend this easy and yummy dip!

Pepperoni Pizza Pie

From: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures

Ingredients:

• 1 unbaked (9 in) pie shell
• 8 ounces of shredded cheese
• 2 ounces of sliced pepperoni
• 1 (12 ounce can) Carnation evaporated milk
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese and half of the pepperoni onto the bottom of the pie shell.  Whisk together the milk, eggs, flour, basil, and garlic powder.  Pour into pie shell. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top and carefully lay pepperoni on top of cheese.  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until done. 

 

Verdict:
Thumbs up! What a delicious dinner. This did not stick around long at our table. I made this several months ago and I cannot remember if we even had any left over after dinner or not. If you like a quiche-type recipe and are looking for a little variety from regular pizza, this is perfect for you. I will definitely be making this again in the future!

Pepperoni Pizza Roll

From: Here

Ingredients:
1 package Rhodes bread dough
Pepperonis
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning, or oregano, or basil, or parsley, or any combination
Garlic powder or garlic salt
Any other pizza ingredients you might want

Loosely cover the frozen bread dough with plastic wrap. Allow dough to thaw for a few hours at room temperature. When dough is completely thawed it will be puffed up a bit. When dough is completely thawed it will be puffed up a bit. Brush dough with olive oil or whatever cooking oil you prefer. Lay pepperoni on dough covering entire surface. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese. Next, sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese. You can use grated from a can if that is what you already have on hand...but you can buy the shredded Parmesan in a bag. Lightly sprinkle with Italian herbs...basically, some dried oregano, parsley and basil. Be careful, not too much....oregano can be very strong and you don't want too much! Add a sprinkling of garlic powder. Roll up dough starting at one edge of square.  Place rolls on baking sheet, leaving space between. Brush some melted butter on top of uncooked pepperoni roll. You do not need to let rise. Bake it right away. It will rise up in the oven perfectly. Bake at 375 degrees for approx. 15 to 25 minutes.
Oven temps. and times may vary. When done, top of roll should be golden brown and you should be able to make a tapping sound on the crust with your fingernail...just the same as when baking bread.  Make sure you allow pepperoni roll to cool completely before serving.

Verdict:
My picture is AWFUL! It doesn't do justice to this food, so please click over to the original recipe to see beautiful pictures. :)  This is basically the same recipe as the calzones we make (and I've made those into strombolis before) but I wanted to try this because of the bread dough. I've never used bread dough before. I cooked these for 25 minutes and they were still a bit doughy in the middle. But once I finally got them cooked all the way through they were delicious!! I think if I did this again I would stick with pizza crust from a can or homemade dough. Or maybe just do a calzone - those never end up doughy for me! But I would recommend that you try this recipe, for sure!

Pizza Dip

From: Here

Ingredients:
8 oz softened cream cheese
pizza sauce
mozzarella cheese
chopped up pepperoni
any other pizza toppings you want

In an 8x11 casserole dish, spread 8 ounces of softened cream cheese over the bottom of the dish. Spread a layer of pizza sauce over the cream cheese. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese to cover the sauce. Top with chopped up pepperoni and any other toppings you want. Bake at 350 until cheese is bubbly.

What I did differently from the recipe:
I used an 8x8 dish because I didn't need a lot of this. I used Philadelphia Cooking Creme (original) instead of cream cheese. I used turkey pepperoni but it didn't matter.

What I'll do differently next time:
Cook at a higher temperature. It took 20-25 minutes for this to cook through. Brooke was with me and had cooked this before and said she always cooks hers at 425 degrees which would make it finish much faster. It was still delicious even though it was slow cooking. :)

Italian Bread Wedges

From: Taste of Home

Ingredients:
3 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees), divided
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
TOPPING:
1/3 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
Pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Add sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the oil, salt, remaining water and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Pat dough flat. Let rest for 5 minutes. Press into a greased 14-inch pizza pan. Spread with salad dressing. Combine the garlic powder, oregano, thyme and pepper; sprinkle over dough. Top with cheeses.

Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

What I did differently from the recipe:
I used a bit less Italian dressing and thyme than what the recipe called for because I know these flavors can be quite strong.

What I'll do differently next time:
I'll use less dressing again. I'd probably use closer to 1/4 cup or maybe a smidge less than that even. I'd use probably 1/8 tsp of thyme because it was still quite strong. I'd use a bit more garlic powder just because we love garlic and I couldn't taste it a lot. And I'll probably add more cheese because - yum!

Verdict:
Thumbs up!! This is just one of those recipes that will take a little tweaking. We paired it with pasta and it was great. I also dipped it in pasta sauce and it was very good. This is definitely going to be used again very soon!! (You could very easily make a pizza from this recipe too.)

$$:
This recipe cost me less than $2. All I paid for really was the cheese, which we use all the time anyway and we needed. Everything else that would usually cost a bit extra (salad dressing, yeast, etc. I had gotten for free from coupon events. This was a VERY cheap meal for us!)

Printable version:

Ingredients:
3 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees), divided
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
TOPPING:
1/3 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
Pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Add sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the oil, salt, remaining water and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Pat dough flat. Let rest for 5 minutes. Press into a greased 14-inch pizza pan. Spread with salad dressing. Combine the garlic powder, oregano, thyme and pepper; sprinkle over dough. Top with cheeses. Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Calzones

Ingredients:
Pillsbury pizza crust (original or thin)
shredded cheese (mozzarella or Italian or Colby Jack or any mixture!)
pepperoni
butter
garlic salt
any pizza ingredients of your choice

Roll out the pizza crust. Cut into two halves. On the bottom part of each half, sprinkle a layer of cheese, then pepperoni (or other ingredients), then cheese. Make as many layers as you are hungry. Close up calzones by pulling the tops down over the pizza mixture.

For original crust, bake at 350 for 10 minutes. For thin crust, bake at 375 about 8 minutes. Take out of the oven and cut a few slits across the calzones. Spread butter all along the tops of the calzones, and sprinkle garlic salt on top. Put back in the oven for approximately 5 minutes. If you like the tops a bit brown and crispy, broil at the very end on low for 1-2 minutes.

We eat these at least once a week. I make them a different way every time, so feel free to play with them. I have found that cheese and pepperoni work the best out of all the ingredients I have tried.

Stuffed Crust Pizza

Ingredients:
1 can Pillsbury refrigerated pizza crust
7 sticks (give or take) string cheese
1/2 cup pizza sauce
pepperoni slices
2 cups (ish) Italian cheese blend

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Grease pizza pan with shortening or cooking spray. Or use parchment paper like I do - cuts down on dishes to wash! Unroll dough; place on pan. Starting at center, press out dough to edge of pan, pressing up and extending over sides by at least one inch.

Place string cheese around inside edge of crust. Fold extended edge of dough over cheese; pinch firmly to seal.

Spoon sauce evenly over dough.

Top with pepperoni and cheese blend.

Bake 12-16 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese in center is melted. This is the only picture I could capture because it was snatched up rather quickly!!

What I did differently from the recipe:

Of course, all the "numbers" on ingredients were fudged. I have no clue how many string cheese sticks I used. Same with the sauce, pepperoni, and cheese. I just used my own judgment in how much we would want.

What I'll do differently next time:

For one thing, next time I'll buy pizza sauce instead of pasta sauce. That's right. Stephen never noticed and I think the only reason I could tell it was pasta sauce was because I knew it. Obviously you can use things other than pepperoni and cheese but that's all he'll eat. Other than that, I might sprinkle some garlic salt or Parmesan over it the next time but I won't be changing anything about this recipe drastically!

Verdict: Thumbs up!