Baked Pepperoni Rolls

As we approach the end of this incredibly hot and humid summer, I am sooo ready for Fall.  Along with the cooler temperatures and shorter days, we can also look forward to something much more important, the start of football season!  So before the season gets into full swing, this is a great snack to serve at your next football party or as a delicious alternative to homemade pizza.

These tasty little Baked Pepperoni Rolls are like tiny finger-food sized pizzas that are as easy to make as they are to serve.  Add a spoonful of seasoned olive oil dipping sauce on the side and these will be an instant favorite, and the most requested item for future parties!

The Dough setting on my bread machine takes 90 minutes which allows the dough to rise twice.  During that time I have time to prepare the dipping sauce and a salad or other dinner items, and assembly of the rolls only takes about 15 minutes.

Bread Machine Pizza Dough

1 1/2 cups Water
1 1/2 tsp Salt
3 TB Olive Oil
1 tsp  Garlic Powder
1 tsp  Dried Oregano
4 1/2 cups Bread Machine Flour
3 tsp  Bread Machine Yeast

Combine ingredients in your bread machine as outlined in your manual, using a french dough or regular dough setting.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

When the dough is finished, place the dough on a lightly floured cutting board.  Sprinkle the dough with a little extra flour and use a pastry cutter or a sharp knife to cut the dough into about 14 - 16 portions, depending on how large you would like the rolls to be.

For the filling you will need
1 12 oz pkg  Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
1 6 oz pkg  Large 3-inch Pepperoni Slices

Flatten each portion of dough into a 5 inch square.  Place half of a mozzarella cheese stick in the center of a pepperoni slice and wrap the pepperoni around the cheese.  (This will keep the cheese inside of the roll, preventing the cheese from oozing out.)  Place the pepperoni and cheese bundle in the center of a dough square, wrap the edges of the dough inward and roll the dough into a bundle.  Pinch the edges slightly to create a seal and place the roll on a baking sheet, seam side down.  Continue with the remaining rolls.

Olive Oil Dipping Sauce

1/3 cups  Olive Oil
2 TB  Fresh Minced Garlic
1-1/2 tsp  Dried Oregano
1 tsp  Garlic Powder
1 tsp  Onion Powder
1/2 tsp  Salt
1/4 tsp  Ground Black Pepper
1/4 tsp  Cayenne Pepper

In a small glass bowl combine all ingredients, stirring until incorporated.  Let sit for 15 minutes before serving, or this can be prepared an hour in advance.

Brush the rolls generously with the olive oil dipping sauce, transfer the baking sheet to the oven and  bake the rolls for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Serve with extra dipping sauce on the side and Enjoy!!

Calzone Bites

After several days of sick kids (and parents), I'm finally getting back to adding some new appetizers for the  upcoming holidays.  Today we get into the holiday spirit with a cheesy Italian hors d'oeuvre.  A Calzone is traditionally a stuffed pizza that looks like a turnover, so we created a bite-sized turnover.

These mini Calzone Bites are a great party appetizer to serve when you want to offer something a little more substantial than veggies with dip.  The spinach, sausage and pepperoni filling gets its creaminess from a combination of three cheeses, ricotta, cheddar and mozzarella.  With these little bites, you get all the goodness of a calzone in an appetizer-sized bite.

Although this recipe utilizes a bread machine to make the dough, you could also use store bought pizza dough.  The Publix stores in our area make a tasty pizza dough that would work just fine, just be sure to buy the dough early in the day since it is usually kept frozen until needed.

This recipe makes about 24 Calzone Bites using 2 large muffin tins, and the finished calzones are about 3 inches across.  Just the right "finger-food" size for your guests.  As a dipping sauce you can use your favorite marinara sauce or buy a good quality, already seasoned tomato sauce. The sauce can be heated in a small saucepan just before serving and, instead of pouring the sauce directly on the plate, I loved serving the marinara in these vintage shot glasses that belonged to my grandmother.  I think they were the perfect little vessel for sauce and they were just the right size.  Enjoy!!

Calzone Dough in the Bread Machine
1 cup + 2 1/2 TB  Water
2 1/2 TB  Olive Oil
3 cups  Bread Machine Flour
1 tsp  Salt
1/2 tsp  Sugar
2 tsp  Garlic Powder
1 1/2 tsp  Bread Machine Yeast

Combine all ingredients in the bread machine pan and set the machine to the Dough Setting.  At the end of the first kneading cycle, press the stop/clear button and let the dough rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until almost double in size.

Punch the dough down and remove the dough from the bread machine pan to a lightly floured cutting board.  Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.  While the dough is resting, prepare the filling.

Calzone Filling
15 oz  Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese
1 cup  Grated Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup  Grated Mozzarella Cheese
2 oz  Diced Pepperoni
10 oz  Frozen Spinach, defrosted, cooled and well drained
1/2 lb  Fresh Sausage, cooked and drained
1 tsp  Dried Oregano
1 tsp  Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp  Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp  Ground Black Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Seasoned Olive Oil
1/4 cup  Olive Oil
2 tsp  Minced Fresh Garlic
1/2 tsp  Dried Oregano
1/4 tsp  Salt
1/4 tsp  Ground Black Pepper

Mix the olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a small glass bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Spray 2 large muffin tins with olive oil spray and set aside.

Using a pastry cutter, or a very sharp knife, cut the dough into 24 equal portions.  Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll each piece of dough into a large thin circle, about 5 inches across.  Place a generous tablespoon of filling into the center of each circle, then fold the edges over and pinch the edges so the filling will not leak out.

Place each bundle into the muffin tin with the seam side down and brush the tops of each calzone with seasoned olive oil. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Serve with a shot glass of your favorite marinara sauce for dipping.

Dinner Rolls in the Bread Machine

They say necessity is the mother of invention, and that could not be more true than the creation of this recipe.  We had decided on a cool evening dinner of Chicken Salad sandwiches.  Nothing fancy, just a simple salad to use up some leftover baked chicken I had in the fridge.  Then along came this giant summer thunderstorm.  Not only was it pouring down outside, it appeared the rain would be with us for a few hours.

Dreading the thought of going to the store and getting soaked for just one package of sandwich rolls, I decided I would try making the rolls in the bread machine.  I know using a machine to make bread is not the most authentic process in the world, but it is quick and it easy.  So the experiment began.

 

I started with a basic dinner roll recipe, then added a few teaspoons of garlic powder and oregano to the other dough ingredients and everything went into the bread machine.  When the dough was finished it already smelled wonderful, but the dough still needed to rise a second time.  I portioned out the dough into 9 sandwich rolls and covered them with a tea towel, then gave them 30 minutes to rise.

After 30 minutes the dough had doubled in size and the rolls looked beautiful. I brushed the tops of the rolls with an olive oil and herb mixture then baked them for 25 minutes. You could also skip this step, but the olive oil on top was very tasty.

The finished product was delicious!  With the garlic powder and oregano inside the dough and the extra herbs on top, the rolls were so full of flavor and tasted much better than the plain store bought variety.  And, they made the chicken salad even better.

We tried this recipe a second time and made smaller dinner size rolls to serve with spaghetti, and we ended up with 20 rolls total, so you could easily divide the portions depending on your needs.  Enjoy!!

1  Egg, scrambled plus warm water (about 80 degrees) to equal 1-1/3 cups
1/4 cup + 1 TB  Canola or Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup  Sugar
2 tsp  Salt
2 tsp  Garlic Powder
2 tsp  Dried Oregano
4 cups  Bread Flour
2-1/4 tsp  Bread Yeast

Place all ingredients in your bread machine and select the DOUGH setting.  (On my machine this cycle will run for 1 hour 36 minutes.)

When the dough is finished, place the dough on a lightly floured surface.  Divide into pieces, 9 or 10 for sandwich or hamburger buns, 12 - 14 for large dinner rolls or 20 - 24 for smaller dinner rolls, and shape the dough into rounds.  Not much work here, just shape them a little.

Place the pieces of dough onto a greased baking sheet.  Cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel and place in a warm area for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

When the dough has risen, apply the seasoned olive oil mixture to the top of each roll using a pastry brush, then bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden.

Olive Oil Mixture to Brush on Top of Rolls
2 TB  Olive Oil
1/2 tsp  Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp  Italian Seasoning
1/8 tsp  Salt
1/8 tsp  Black Pepper
Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Brush the olive oil mixture over the top of the rolls prior to baking.

Recipe Variations:
(1) As an alternate, we later made these delicious dinner rolls without the oregano and garlic powder in the bread dough, and instead used 1 tablespoon of onion powder.  The rolls were wonderful and full of this great oniony flavor. The perfect bun for a grilled chicken breast sandwich.

(2) As another alternate, we made salted buns for French Dip Sandwiches.  For this version of the dinner rolls, we skipped the oregano and garlic powder in the bread dough, and continued with the standard recipe.

When the dough was ready, I placed the dough on an olive oil coated cutting board, divided the dough into portions, and at the same time coated the rolls with just a little olive oil. Next, I added a sprinkle of coarse kosher salt to the tops of the buns, covered the dough with a piece of plastic wrap, then a clean towel and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.  This resulted in a nice salted top to the buns, while the interior was light and fluffy.  Perfect for the French Dips.  Enjoy!!

Calzones

This is a yummy alternative to pizza that we used to make when our kids were very young, and they always loved them.  Little did they know, I was just trying to get them to like spinach. (It worked!)

A calzone is a type of rolled, stuffed-in-the-center type of pizza that has many variations.  The dough is traditionally similar to pizza dough, but the filling is where the differences really begin.  Calzones  are often filled with several types of cheese, with ricotta being the base of this creation.  Some restaurants will include meats, olives or sauce inside of the calzone, so the filling combinations are endless, and you can easily create your own favorite filling.  For our calzones, we like to keep the sauce on the outside, but you could also incorporate the sauce into the filling mixture.

   

We started with an easy bread machine dough that is rolled out into squares.  Each square is lined with a meat, cheese and spinach filling, then rolled over into a rectangle.  The edges are sealed with a fork, then spritzed with a bit of olive oil and baked.  Serve with a spoonful of seasoned tomato sauce on top.  Enjoy!!

Calzone Filling

15 oz  Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese
1 cup  Grated Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup  Grated Mozzarella Cheese
3 oz  Diced Pepperoni
10 oz  Frozen Spinach, cooked, cooled and well drained
1/2 lb  Fresh Sausage, cooked and drained
1 tsp  Dried Oregano
1 tsp  Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp  Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp  Ground Black Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Calzone Dough in the Bread Machine

1 cup + 2 1/2 TB  Water
2 1/2 TB  Olive Oil
3 cups  Bread Machine Flour
1 tsp  Salt
1/2 tsp  Sugar
2 tsp  Garlic Powder
1 1/2 tsp  Bread Machine Yeast
Calzone Filling
Flour, if needed
Olive Oil Spray

Combine all ingredients in the bread machine pan and set the machine to the Dough Setting.  At the end of the first kneading cycle, press the stop/clear button and let the dough rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until almost double in size.

Punch the dough down and remove from the bread machine pan to a lightly floured cutting board.  Let rest for 5 minutes.  The dough will have a very smooth texture.

Using a dough slicer or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 6 equal portions.  Use a rolling pin to roll each piece of dough into a square about 6 or 7 inches across.  (Add a few teaspoons of flour to the cutting board surface if the dough is a bit sticky.)

Place 3 - 4 tablespoons of calzone filling onto the lower half of the dough, then gently roll the dough over and crimp the edges using a fork.  You can also roll these up "burrito-style" by folding in the edges and rolling the dough so none of the filling is visible.  Place the calzones on a baking sheet and continue with the remaining calzones.

Lightly spray the calzones with olive oil and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden.  Serve with a spoon of seasoned tomato sauce** on top.

**Note:  To make a quick sauce for the calzones, heat an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce in a small saucepan.  Add Italian seasoning, some fresh basil if available, a little garlic powder, salt and pepper and heat until warm.

Banana Bread in the Bread Machine

Nothing tastes better than a slice of warm banana bread on a cold day.  Unfortunately, bread takes a little extra time to prepare and bake.  With this recipe, the bread machine will do all of the work for you and you get to enjoy all of the cinnamon-banana goodness.

A few years ago bread machines were quite trendy, but their popularity has since faded and most people pushed this handy appliance to the back of their shelves.  With winter upon us, this is a great time to pull out that bread machine and make a loaf of delicious and healthy banana bread.  By including the whole wheat flour the end result is a more compact loaf, which only intensifies the banana flavor, and increases the health benefits. 

** Bread Machine Recipe

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 cup Sugar
5 TB Cinnamon Applesauce
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2 Eggs
1 TB Hot Water
2 1/2 Large Bananas ( or 3 small bananas)
Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture

Place ingredients in the pan of a bread machine.

Select the DOUGH setting and press start. Mix the bread about 5 minutes until the bananas are well combined into the batter. If needed, use a rubber spatula to push dough from the sides of the bread pan.

After the 5 minutes, when the dough is well blended, press STOP and sprinkle the top of batter with the Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture.

Select the BAKE setting and press start. The Bake Cycle time may vary with machines, but cooking time will be about 50 - 60 minutes.

To test bread for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the bread. If the bread is done, the toothpick will come out clean. If there is dough on the toothpick, reset the machine and BAKE 10 to 15 minutes longer.

When the bread is completely baked, remove pan from bread machine and cool.

Pizza Crust

The next time you want a delicious pizza with toppings just the way you like them, make pizza at home. This recipe makes a large crust (15" x 10") plus about 6 breadsticks, or 2 large round crusts.

Top the crusts with your favorite toppings, your choice of spices and cheeses and enjoy pizza night at home.

1 1/2 cups Water
1 1/2 tsp Salt
3 TB Olive Oil
1 tsp  Garlic Powder
1 tsp  Dried Oregano
4 1/2 cups Bread Machine Flour
3 tsp  Bread Machine Yeast
1 8 oz can Tomato Sauce or you choice of sauce
Garlic Powder for the Crust

Optional Spices - Oregano, Basil, Chili Flakes
Meats - Pepperoni, Ham, Cooked Sausage, etc
Vegetables - Onions, Green Peppers, Black Olives, Sliced Tomatoes or Cherry Tomatoes, etc

Combine ingredients in your bread machine as outlined in your manual, using a french dough or regular dough setting.

Using a 15" x 10" cookie sheet (or 2 round pizza pans), coat the baking pan lightly with olive oil, coating the pan all the way to the edges.

When dough is finished, place 2/3 of the dough onto the coated cookie sheet and spread dough evenly on the baking pan. (The remaining 1/3 can be shaped into breadsticks and cooked on a separate sheet.) For 2 round pizzas split the dough in half.

Dust the edges of the pizza dough with garlic powder and lightly over the surface of the crust.

Bake at the crusts at 425 degrees for about 8 - 10 minutes until crust is lightly browned, but not completely cooked. Remove from oven and evenly coat surface with tomato sauce. Add seasonings to taste. Next add any meat or vegetable toppings, followed by grated cheese **.  Return pizza to oven and bake for 7 - 10 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.

** For a delicious flavor, use grated Mozzarella and Provolone cheeses plus a little grated Cheddar.