Pillsbury Pizza Crust Pizza Bites

We were both on a sugar high after a big morning of cinnamon rolls (which oddly turned out to be my FAVORITE experiment so you'll see that LAST...)so we went for the pizza dough...I am super appreciative to receive these products to play around with and create some new ideas and with out turning the next few posts into a long commercial, I am just going to give my review/opinion once (and it's can just be applied to ALL my Pillsbury posts.) While about 90% of the recipes you'll find on this blog are "made from scratch", I very much appreciate yummy time-savers to be used in a pinch. I am fully aware it's not the same as homemade, and that is because it's EASIER and saves a GRIP of time. Nate was not head over heels about the way the dough tasted because we usually make our own and this was a little different... but I feel like for the awesome results you get (especially the calzone) it's a good dough that can save you a TON of time and help to create fabulous, inventive, delicious goodness. We were pleasantly surprised that we really liked the crescent rolls, because we both do not like cinnamon rolls. Our only complaint there was that we ate too many and I don't know if I'll ever look at another cinnamon roll as long as I live. It was full-blown pre-noon sugar shock. The Recipe Creations were fabulous and a little more familiar than the other two...I've worked with the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls many times, and this was something I will totally buy in the store! I made a few different apps with it, but have some dinner ideas I still want to try with this stuff! We both work between 40-60 hours a week and LOVE to entertain, so I will say that I would purchase and use these products (the recipe creations mostly), they really give you more time to relax and enjoy eachother's company vs. having to prep a dough for something for hours....ok, so that's my opinion and now, onward to the FOOD!!



This was fun to work with because it rolls out into a square and is pretty easy cut, reshape and get creative! It has a buttery flavor and these little snacky bites were not really Nate's fave. I thought they were all right, but in the nature of good experimenting, I think I know what I'd change (noted in ITALICS)next time to improve these a bit. The other recipe we attempted with these were some GIANT calzones that Nate created that are out of this world, but more on that later...



NEW! Pillsbury Pizza Crust (1 tube makes about 12-15 pizza bites)

Filling FOR THE PEPPERONI POPPERS
1 container marinara sauce (from the refrigerator section), or about 1 cup of home made sauce if you have it.
Shredded Mozzarella
Pepperoni
Shredded Parmesan cheese

Filling FOR THE PESTO POPPERS
(mix the following together in a bowl)
1 cup Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup garlic pesto
about 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 tsp crushed chili pepper flakes
2 T shredded Parmesan
(keep extra shredded Parmesan on the side for topping)

Pre-heat the oven to 350 & grease a mini muffin tin.
Roll the dough out onto a flour or wax paper covered surface. Cut the dough into 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 inch squares.
For Pepperoni Poppers~
Place the dough into the muffin cups and press down very lightly. Spoon in about 1 T marinara sauce, add a big pinch of Parmesan cheese, top with a pepperoni and top generously with shredded Parmesan. Bake 25 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

For Pesto Poppers-
Place dough into the muffin cups and press down very lightly. Spoon in about 2 T of the pesto cheese mix and top with shredded Parmesan cheese.
Bake 25 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

If the squares are big enough and you want to fold the outside corners inward- or pinch them closed to make little pockets, that is cool too!