Better late than never? I hope so, dearies!! My weekend usually consists of relaxing, a few errands and get-togethers and the blog. This weekend was different! If you know me or have read the About page, you know that when I'm not cooking and baking, I work full time at a school for the visually impaired. Well, being fall and all, it's Back to School Night time! So when I usually test a recipe on Friday nights, this week I had to be at work doing fun stuff. But! I got it done and here we are!
Remember last week when I said I'm a carb-aholic? Have you seen what this week's pin is? Yea... Guilty.
Remember last week when I said I'm a carb-aholic? Have you seen what this week's pin is? Yea... Guilty.
These yummtastic babes were submitted by Chantal Morgan! I've seen a few of these recipes up on Pinterest and just haven't tried them because they seemed a bit labor intensive for dough and rising and yada yada. This one uses Pillsbury Pizza dough, and though I'm generally not a fan of store bought dough, I thought I'd test it out! Of course true to form, I did make a second one with homemade dough. I will post my favorite dough recipe so you can use it over and over again. It's great for ANY bread recipes. Cinnamon Rolls, pizza dough, scones, fry bread, Navajo Tacos (don't know what that is??? Let me know in comments below and I may do a rogue post on them!), or just plain bread! Simple, easy, and anyone I've made it for LOVES it and is shocked at how simple it is!
Anywho, on to the basics!
Anywho, on to the basics!
For this recipe, you will need a canned pizza crust, or home made dough, olive oil, minced garlic in oil, italian seasoning and cheese. Cheese. CHEESE. The recipe calls for just mozerella but as you can see, I was not about to use just ONE cheese. I wanted more. If there is anything better than carbs, its cheesy carbs.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Start by opening up your dough (I always ALWAYS get scared by those packages. I KNOW its gonna pop but it terrifies me when it does. LOL). One thing I did NOT think about was letting it proof or rise. So let it do that. Get it on your sprayed pan and let it rise for a bit. Even if you don't let it rise it will still be just as tastey, just thinner and a bit crispier.
Drizzle a bit of olive oil on the dough and brush it all over. Careful not to use too much or you will have an oily mess on your hands. If you do not have a brush, you can use a paper towel to cover the dough with oil. It will soak a bit of the oil up but will spread it just as well without leaving too much oil.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Start by opening up your dough (I always ALWAYS get scared by those packages. I KNOW its gonna pop but it terrifies me when it does. LOL). One thing I did NOT think about was letting it proof or rise. So let it do that. Get it on your sprayed pan and let it rise for a bit. Even if you don't let it rise it will still be just as tastey, just thinner and a bit crispier.
Drizzle a bit of olive oil on the dough and brush it all over. Careful not to use too much or you will have an oily mess on your hands. If you do not have a brush, you can use a paper towel to cover the dough with oil. It will soak a bit of the oil up but will spread it just as well without leaving too much oil.
Next, top with all the cheese your little heart desires. After mine was done baking, I wished I had added more. Now, Jam Hands uses fresh mozzarella cheese and says that shredded cheese didn't melt well for her. I did not have that problem, but feel free to use the fresh stuff. I imagine that would just enhance the yumminess. I chose the shredded stuff for my wallet's sake, and was still thrilled by the results.
Open up the garlic and get some of the oil it's in, and drizzle that all over the dough. You could also do this step before the cheese, to ensure equal garlic goodness in every bite. I was making this for my family, who are just starting to incorporate garlic into their meals, so I didn't want them to be overpowered. Even drizzling on top of the cheese still gives you a good garlic kick, though.
Take your Italian seasoning and sprinkle some of that on there. If you do not have an Italian Seasoning spice jar, do not fret! Its simple to make. Just use oregano, basil, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, and garlic. Don't have all those things? Use just oregano and basil. You'll do fine with just that.
Open up the garlic and get some of the oil it's in, and drizzle that all over the dough. You could also do this step before the cheese, to ensure equal garlic goodness in every bite. I was making this for my family, who are just starting to incorporate garlic into their meals, so I didn't want them to be overpowered. Even drizzling on top of the cheese still gives you a good garlic kick, though.
Take your Italian seasoning and sprinkle some of that on there. If you do not have an Italian Seasoning spice jar, do not fret! Its simple to make. Just use oregano, basil, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, and garlic. Don't have all those things? Use just oregano and basil. You'll do fine with just that.
Pop that sucker into the oven for about 12-18 minutes annnnd tada! Enjoy while hot!
A few notes... If you are using my homemade dough recipe, it should be baked a bit before adding oil and cheese and such. Put it in the oven for about 8 minutes before adding the toppings. I found the dough wasn't done at the same rate the cheese was, and while it was still done, it was slightly under. No worries though. It was still just as tastey!
Also, as I mentioned before, let the dough rise a bit before adding toppings. If you pop open the can and get it on the pan first, it should be done rising by the time you get everything else out and ready to go, or about 5-10 minutes.
Also, as I mentioned before, let the dough rise a bit before adding toppings. If you pop open the can and get it on the pan first, it should be done rising by the time you get everything else out and ready to go, or about 5-10 minutes.
This recipe does NOT need to be changed. AT ALL. You can use the store bought dough and its just as good. You can substitute for homemade dough if you want, but it is NOT needed. Both homemade dough and storebought were amazing and went really well with our spaghetti and meatball dinner (did I mention I love carbs??).
All in all, this is a for sure WIN in the fullest sense of the word. NO changes necessary.
Again, thank you all for your participation in this project! I love doing this and I hope to keep doing it for a while! PLEASE please PLEASE continue to tell you friends about this. Share the Facebook, share this blog, share the Pinterest board! I'm looking into doing some sort of a "giveaway" in the near future, so help pass the word along!
Until next post, send me your pins and I'll send you the wins!
Again, thank you all for your participation in this project! I love doing this and I hope to keep doing it for a while! PLEASE please PLEASE continue to tell you friends about this. Share the Facebook, share this blog, share the Pinterest board! I'm looking into doing some sort of a "giveaway" in the near future, so help pass the word along!
Until next post, send me your pins and I'll send you the wins!
Cheesy Garlic Sticks
Servings: About 8 (2 sticks each)
Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1 can pizza crust (or *Easy Dough)
Olive oil for brushing
Mozzarella or additional cheeses (amount depending on preference)
About 1 Tablespoon minced garlic and oil
Italian Seasoning
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Open can of dough and stretch onto pan. Let rise for about 5-10 minutes. If using *Easy Dough, bake in oven for about 8 minutes prior to topping.
2. Drizzle olive oil onto dough. Brush lightly.
3. Sprinkle with cheeses. Use as much as you prefer. Then drizzle garlic and garlic oil on top. Sprinkle with Italian Seasoning.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 12-18 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and brown.
5. Enjoy!
Easy Bread Dough
Yields: 1 pizza, 1 loaf of bread, 12 rolls, 1 loaf cinnamon roll, etc.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Bake Time: 12 minutes pizza, 20 minutes bread
Ingredients:
2 and 3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 and 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup hot water
1. Mix water and yeast together and set aside to proof.
2. Add flour, sugar and salt to mixing bowl. Preferably standing mixer with dough hook. Mix thoroughly.
3. Add yeast/water to bowl. Mix with dough hook for 5 minutes. As it mixes, if dough looks too floury, add 1 tsp of water at a time. If it looks too sticky, add 1 tsp of flour at a time.
4. Either stretch to pizza pan and bake (no need to rise or pre-bake for pizza), or roll into loaf or rolls and let rise for 20 minutes. Spray top of loaf or rolls with cooking spray, then bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
5. Enjoy!
Servings: About 8 (2 sticks each)
Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1 can pizza crust (or *Easy Dough)
Olive oil for brushing
Mozzarella or additional cheeses (amount depending on preference)
About 1 Tablespoon minced garlic and oil
Italian Seasoning
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Open can of dough and stretch onto pan. Let rise for about 5-10 minutes. If using *Easy Dough, bake in oven for about 8 minutes prior to topping.
2. Drizzle olive oil onto dough. Brush lightly.
3. Sprinkle with cheeses. Use as much as you prefer. Then drizzle garlic and garlic oil on top. Sprinkle with Italian Seasoning.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 12-18 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and brown.
5. Enjoy!
Easy Bread Dough
Yields: 1 pizza, 1 loaf of bread, 12 rolls, 1 loaf cinnamon roll, etc.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Bake Time: 12 minutes pizza, 20 minutes bread
Ingredients:
2 and 3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 and 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup hot water
1. Mix water and yeast together and set aside to proof.
2. Add flour, sugar and salt to mixing bowl. Preferably standing mixer with dough hook. Mix thoroughly.
3. Add yeast/water to bowl. Mix with dough hook for 5 minutes. As it mixes, if dough looks too floury, add 1 tsp of water at a time. If it looks too sticky, add 1 tsp of flour at a time.
4. Either stretch to pizza pan and bake (no need to rise or pre-bake for pizza), or roll into loaf or rolls and let rise for 20 minutes. Spray top of loaf or rolls with cooking spray, then bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
5. Enjoy!