Cheese Pizza

Back in the olden days I purchased a bread machine.  You know back when everyone just had to have one?  This was back in my precooking days and I didn't take any risks when cooking.  Well I always bought the bread mixes with everything in and all you had to do was add water.  For the life of me I couldn't figure out why my loaves would not turn out, they were supposed to be regular loaves.  They turned out to be mini loaves.  We moved and our kitchen is tiny.  Since I hardly ever used it, I got rid of it.  Sad, I know.  Well about 6 months back I decided that I wanted another bread machine so I bought one from Goodwill for $7.99.  I have successfully used my bread machine more in the last 6 months than I used my previous machine in the 8+ years that I owned it. 

I found this recipe and it's one of my favorite pizza crust recipes.  This recipe makes enough dough for 2 crusts.  You can either make 2 pizzas or package one up to pass along to a neighbor, like I did.  I'm sure there is a way to freeze this for later use but I haven't mastered that yet.  You will need to double the sauce and cheese if you make both crusts for yourself. 

1 jar store bought pizza sauce
2 cups shredded mozeralla cheese

Prepare crust according to directions.  I always pre-bake my crust for about 8 minutes, this helps to make it crispy.  Spread sauce onto the crust.  Top with cheese.  Bake at 350 for about 12-15 additional minutes.  My was cut into 8 slices, each slice was 7 Points Plus.  Here is an added bonus for me, my kids love pizza but they love "frozen" pizza.  When I make pizza using the Pilsbury refrigerated dough (which I love), they won't touch it.  They can't get enough of this pizza made with homemade dough, who knows...I think they are just weird.  Happy pizza making!

Pepperoni Calzones

This recipe comes from The $5 Dinner Mom Breakfast and Lunch Cookbook by Erin Chase.  I made these to bring for a friend during my week of friends helping friends menu plan.  I also must say I made them 2 other times that same week, they were so GOOD.  Almost too good, which is not good.

homemade pizza dough
1 cup store bought pizza sauce
About 40 pepperoni
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Garlic salt for sprinkling

Prepare the dough according to the directions.  Or use store bought pizza dough if in a time crunch.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly coat two large baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.

Form the dough into 8 balls and roll out each ball from the center, into a rectangle approximately 5 inches by 8 inches, leaving the short ends slightly rounded.  Place a spoonful of pizza sauce onto one half of the rectangle.  Add a few pepperoni slices and some shredded cheese to each calzone.  Fold the dough over and press the edges together with a fork, sealing in the sauce, pepperoni, and cheese.  Brush the top of each calzone with olive oil and sprinkle garlic on top.

Bake calzone in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown on top.  Let cool slightly before serving.  Serve warm.