Crescent Pizza Pockets

I am involved in the Brand Ambassador Program for Allrecipes.com.  We are called Allrecipe Allstars (Midwest Region) .  I like the sound of that!  Allrecipe.com is my favorite recipe website so it's been fun to be involved with them.  It's a voluntary position.  This month our activity is to rate, review and download pictures of the recipes we make from Pillsbury Crescent Rolls.  So far, I've made these Crescent Pizza Pockets.  I always have a can of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls in my fridge so I can make these up for a light lunch or snack. I'm a huge fan of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, here is another recipe I use crescent rolls for Cherry Cheese Danish. Crescent Pizza Pockets

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz) can Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet 1/4 cup pizza sauce 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 24 pepperoni, diced 1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.	Heat oven to 375. Unroll dough on cookie sheet and cut into 4 rectangles; press each into 6x4-inch rectangle.
2.	Spread 1 tablespoon pizza sauce on half of each rectangle to within 1 inch of edge. Sprinkle each with 3 tablespoons cheese; top with 6 (slices) diced pepperoni. Fold dough over filling; firmly press edges with fork to seal. Sprinkle each square with 1/4 teaspoon grated cheese. With fork, prick top of each to allow steam to escape.
3.	Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until deep golden brown. Serve warm.

Margherita Pizza

Every once in a while it's so nice when someone cooks for me.  Well, my husband (Kevin) has been doing just that, as he has been making pizzas.  This Margherita pizza has become our favorite.  What makes this pizza so good was the fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil.  Using a pre-made Boboli crust makes it easy for him to make pizza whenever he has the urge!

Ingredients:

12 inches thin pizza crust ( I use Boboli)
pizza sauce (small can-use only enough to lightly cover crust)
2 small roma tomatoes, cut thinly (salt and pepper tomatoes, to taste)
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
2-3 tablespoons fresh parmesan cheese
3-4 large basil leaves, cut into strips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Spread pizza sauce lightly over the pizza shell.
Place the thinly sliced tomatoes across the entire pizza.
Place the mozzarella cheese over the top.
Sprinkle on parmesan.
Cook the pizza in the oven for about 8 minutes and then spread basil over hot pizza.
Cook a few more minutes until sufficiently crispy and melted to your liking.

Add a little more Parmesan cheese if you like : )

Hint: It's also good to add some basil pesto to the sauce before spreading on the pizza shell.

Chicken Fajita Pizza

Chicken fajitas made into a pizza.  Simply delicious!  This recipe comes from Pillsbury.  I've been making this for years and it's a family favorite. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 can (13.8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated classic pizza crust

1 tablespoon  Extra Virgin Olive or Pure Vegetable Oil

1-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2  to 1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup thinly sliced onions

1 cup green or red bell pepper strips (2x1/4-inch)

1/2 cup Old El Paso® Thick 'n Chunky salsa

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz)

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 425°F. Spray 12-inch pizza pan or 13x9-inch pan with No-Stick Cooking Spray. Unroll dough; place in pan. Starting at center, press out dough with hands to edge of pan.
• In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken; sprinkle with chili powder, salt and garlic powder. Cook and stir 3 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add onions and bell pepper strips; cook and stir an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and vegetables are crisp-tender.
• Spoon chicken mixture evenly over dough. Spoon salsa over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake 16 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Homemade Pizza Crust

I have never been good with yeast.  What I mean is yeast scares me!  I've attempted to make homemade rolls and the end result was my husband going to the store to get rolls that wouldn't choke our dinner guests!  I've also made pizza crust but never had one that was really good until today.  I found the recipe on Megan's blog, another blog I'll have to add to my blog roll.  She has some great looking recipes!  This pizza dough was crunchy, soft and chewy and not doughy at all.  I think the secret to this recipe is cooking the pizza on the preheated pizza stone.  It was perfect!

Perfect Homemade Pizza Crust (made a few changes)

1/2 cup warm water (100-110 degrees)

1/2 tsp. sugar (On the Fleischmann's jar it said to use sugar to proof yeast)

2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast (or active dry) I used Fleischmann's Active Dry
4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting

1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup water, at room temperature
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup.  Add sugar.  Sprinkle the yeast over the top.  If using active dry yeast, stir the yeast into the water and allow to sit until bubbly, about 5-10 minutes. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the bread flour and salt, mixing briefly to blend. Measure the room temperature water into the measuring cup with the yeast-water mixture. With the mixer on low speed, pour in the yeast-water mixture as well as the olive oil. Mix until a cohesive dough is formed. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  (Dough comes off sides of bowl (if not add a little flour) but will stick to bottom) Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.

Press down the dough to deflate it. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball.

If freezing the dough, wrap each ball of dough in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer bag and freeze.  Place the dough in the refrigerator on the morning of the day you want to use it. (If using the dough for lunch, transfer to the refrigerator the night before.) Before making the pizza, take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow it to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

If using the dough right away (not freezing it), cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes.

To bake, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes. Transfer the dough to your shaping surface, lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. (a pizza peel  or parchment paper) Shape the dough with lightly floured hands. Brush the outer edge lightly with olive oil (I didn't do this step but will try it next time and let you know). Top as desired. Bake until the crust is golden brown, and cheese is bubbling, 8-12 minutes.


http://www.whatmegansmaking.com - check out Megan's Blog for more great recipes

I used a pizza peel for the first time.  I sprinkled it with cornmeal and a little flour.  Worked out the dough right on the peel making sure it would move before I added my toppings.  Then when pizza was all prepared I slid the pizza right on the preheated pizza stone.  I thought 500 degrees would be way to hot but it wasn't.  The crust was done to perfection and the cheese was melted until bubbly. 

Easy Pizza

Sunday night is pizza night.  I like to make homemade crust but I also like to use Rhodes frozen dough.  It's easy and I usually have some in the freezer.  The only hard part is remembering to take the dough out of the freezer.  It needs about 3-4 hours to thaw.  I like a thin crust so I roll it out into a jelly roll pan (sprayed with pam).  Use your favorite pizza sauce.  Then top with your favorite pizza toppings.  Tonight it was a red pepper, onion, mushroom, pepperoni and mozzarella. I cook it on the bottom rack for about 15-20 minutes.   It was really good and as easy as it gets.