Spinach Ricotta Pizza

Ok, bare with me.  I may or may not be about to tell you about something healthy.  I know, I know.  I promise this won't happen very often.  But I like to start off the week telling myself I'm going to watch what I eat, exercise every day, and contribute to world peace.  And most of the time, this plan lasts about 2.5 hours and ends shortly after I arrive to work.  This Spinach Ricotta Pizza is perfect for any day of the week, but I like to make it on Mondays because its somewhat healthy and incredibly fast.  And after a Case of the Mondays, this hits the spot.

Spinach Ricotta Pizza

• 1 pizza crust (I happened to use a personal sized prepared wheat crust, but you can easily use any size and/or make your own crust)
• Pizza or tomato sauce of your choice
• Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• Baby Spinach
• Part Skim Ricotta
• Cherry tomatoes, quartered
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Using a spoon, spread sauce over pizza crust.  Generally sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese.  Add spinach on top, then using a spoon, dollop ricotta cheese over the spinach.  Add cherry tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper.  Bake for 8 minutes or until crust is golden brown.*

*Note: The oven temperature here is for a personal size thin crust pizza.  Be sure and check the instructions on your pizza crust for best results.

Pizza Rolls

Remember those glorious days of college when you could eat those pizza rolls and cheetos and not gain a single ounce????  I miss those days....  This is a grown up version of those frozen pizza rolls. The bread is soft and fluffy and the inside is full of cheese and pepperoni, delicious.  These would be great for a party as finger foods with a side of spaghetti sauce or as a late night snack with a movie, either way make sure you try these.

Pizza Rolls
from Annie's Eats

For the dough:

1/2 c. warm water (yeast is happy at no more than 110 degrees)
2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
1 1/4 c. water
2 tbl. olive oil
4 c. bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Put the warm water into a medium sized bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top.  Let the yeast dissolve for about five minutes, it will form a frothy layer on the top of the water.  Add the rest of the water and oil.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment mix the flour and the salt together on low speed.  Add the liquid in a slow stream into the mixer bowl until the dough forms a shaggy ball.  Switch the attachment to the dough hook and continue to mix until the dough becomes smooth, about five minutes.  Put the dough into an oiled bowl and set in a warm place for about 2 hours to rise.  When the dough has doubled in size punch it down and divide into two pieces.  I froze half of it and then the other half I used for the pizza rolls.

For the pizza rolls:
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed
Sliced Pepperoni
Olive Oil
Italian Seasoning
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a 9 inch pie plate.  Take the dough and break it into about 20 pieces.  For each piece put a piece of cheese and then two pieces of pepperoni.  Wrap the dough around the pepperoni and seal the seams at the bottom.  Place the roll seam side down in the pie pan and continue with the remaining pieces.  (We found that if you put the cheese in first and the pepperoni on the bottom near the seam then the cheese doesn't melt out).

Brush the tops of all the rolls with olive oil and sprinkle the Italian Seasoning and parmesan cheese over the top.  Bake them for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Super Bowl: Super Sandwiches

Just in case you're still trying to find a recipe for the upcoming game this weekend these sandwiches are super easy and very tasty. Feel free to customize however you see fit, we used pepperoni and canadian bacon, but really any of the normal pizza toppings would work here.

Pizza Sandwiches

adapted from Pillsbury.com

2 (8 0z.) cans crescent rolls

4 oz. Pepperoni Slices

10 slices Canadian Bacon

1 1/2 c. Mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 egg, beaten

2 Tb Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. oregano

On either a cookie sheet or foil (we found with a cookie sheet the bottoms weren't totally crispy) unroll one can of crescent rolls from the can. Seal the perforations to form one sheet. Make a layer of pepperoni, then cheese, canadian bacon, cheese, and end with another layer of pepperoni. Any variation of this would work well with this recipe, just be sure to not add too much or the inside won't heat as quickly as the outside.

Take the other roll of crescent rolls and unroll similar to the bottom layer on a piece of wax paper. Take the wax paper and flip it over the other half of the sandwiches, laying the top layer of crescent rolls on top of the cheese/meat mixture. Brush the beaten egg on the top layer of crescent rolls. Mix together the parmesan cheese and oregano and sprinkle on top.

Bake at 375 for approximately 12 minutes. These are done when the tops are brown and the insides are melted.

Enjoy!

-D