Italian Cheese Loaf

I made this for a ward recipe exchange and everyone loved it! Sorry no pic.

Italian Cheese Loaf

Ingredients:
1 loaf (1 lb.) French bread
2 c. diced fresh tomatoes
1 c. (4 oz.) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 c. (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. grated Romano cheese
1/4 c. chopped ripe olives
1/4 c. Italian salad dressing
1 tsp. chopped fresh basil
1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano

Directions:
1. Cut top half off loaf of bread; set aside. Carefully hollow out bottom of loaf, leaving a 1/2 in. shell (discard removed bread or let the kids gobble it up!).
2. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; mix well. Spoon into bread shell; replace top. Wrap in foil. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted. Slice and service warm.
Yield: 12 servings

Notes:
- I didn't have the fresh basil or oregano so I just used the dry spice, however you call that form of it. :)
- You can get creative with this. I've heard of people doing french bread pizza for an after school snack. Same idea as this, you just top it with some sauce and cheese and whatever your kids like (pepperoni, olives, etc.), broil it for a bit, and you've got a fun quick little pizza.
- I can't tell a difference between grated romano and grated parmesan. There probably is, but I'm sure grated parmesan works great too if that's all you have on hand.

Mom's pizza crust

This is the crust I promised last week! I've always loved Mom's pizza crust. I'm a big fan of bread and bready things, so that thin crust stuff does nothing for me. This crust is nice and thick. And, perhaps even more important, it's fast. I've seen lots of crust recipes, but this is for sure the fastest I've come across. Perfect for those busy days when it's 5:30 and someone asks, "What's for dinner?" These also can double as breadsticks.

Pizza/Breadstick Dough

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3+ cups flour

Combine water, yeast, sugar, and salt and let rest for a few minutes or until bubbly. Add 3 cups of flour (or more until it's not coming-apart-sticky) and then knead for 3 minutes. Let dough rest 10 minutes.

For pizza: press crust into a greased 12x17 pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-ish minutes, til light golden brown. Then add sauce, cheese, and toppings of your choice (maybe this white pizza from last week? I would double that to cover this much dough) and bake again til cheese has melted.

For breadsticks: roll out dough and cut into 1 1/2 inch wide strips. Roll each breadstick in melted margarine and sprinkle with either cinnamon and sugar or garlic bread sprinkle and parmesan cheese. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

"White pizza"

I asked my husband for help in deciding what to make for this week... he said, "remember that white pizza at Cici's that we both loved?" I did not. I don't think we have ever even been to Cici's Pizza together! But I attempted to re-create it for him anyway, adding bacon and chicken to half as well. We did a normal version, a no-greens version for picky eaters, and a cheese-and-sauce-only version. I used this alfredo sauce recipe and then flew blind on the rest. All 3 different sections of this schizophrenic pizza were delicious! Be advised... maybe my oven doesn't cook evenly or something, but I could not get the crust to cook through. I guess that's what I get for being lazy and using those crappy refrigerated dough cans for the first time! But we of course ate it anyway, because the rest is yummy! I've learned my lesson.

White Pizza

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup alfredo sauce (or more, if you like your pizza saucey)
4+ strips bacon, cooked and chopped
1/2 cup cooked and shredded chicken breast
6 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained well
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
I also sprinkled on the parmesan cheese leftover from making the alfredo sauce

*Note: this was enough for one can of Pillsbury refrigerated pizza crust dough.

Spread alfredo sauce over your pizza crust. Then add bacon, chicken, spinach, and cheese. Bake at 350 for 10-ish minutes, until the cheese has melted! Or follow your crust's baking instructions. Maybe someday I'll share Mom's pizza crust!

This is not my picture... the crust debacle made me too angry to take one.