Stromboli

I don't really know if you'd classify this as a Stromboli, probably not, but its what I set out to make at least. I've never made one before so I'm pretty sure I'm entitled to a pass if it doesn't exactly look as it should.  It did however, taste pretty fantastic. Yay me!

I love using Pillsbury doughs in my cooking - they are such quick go to's that you can use to make a number of things. Of course, I'm sure it would make me beam if I were to make my own dough and then get to say Look at the dough I made! Fancy!  But I'm also quite content with the easy route of not having to go thru all the steps of making the dough. Plus I'm also still trying to conquer my fear of the  pop the dough can makes when I open it. One of these days it won't make me flinch anymore....

So Stromboli.  First off, I looked at a bunch of recipes online to gather up an idea of what I was to do.  I only bought pepperoni and sausage and figured I could fill the rest with whatever I had in the fridge.
Here's what I came up with, which made two fairly large loafs - this fed 4 and we still had leftovers.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• Ground sausage (I used a 1lb tube of Jimmy Dean)
• 2 cans refrigerated pizza crust dough (I used Pillsbury 13.8oz Pizza Crust Classic)
• Sliced pepperoni (I bought a bagful and added liberally - how much is up to you)
• Spinach (I used fresh and added by the handful - again, how much is up to you)
• 1 bell pepper, diced (I used orange but you can use any color)
• 1 medium onion, diced (I used a red onion)
• Mushrooms, diced (I used 10 Baby Bella mushrooms)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 
• 1tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• Italian seasoning 
• Cooking spray or olive oil
• Spagetti sauce for dipping

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375 and spray some oil on a baking sheet. If you don't have cooking spray, you can just pour a teaspoons worth of olive oil on the pan and wipe it to coat with a paper towel.

2. In one skillet, cook the ground sausage.
Meanwhile, in another, sauté the onions until they are clear through.  Once this happens, add the garlic and bell pepper and cook until the peppers are soft.  Last, add the mushrooms.  Once thoroughly cooked, add to the cooked sausage and mix mix mix. Add some italian seasoning in as you'd like and set the whole thing aside (off of the heat).

3. Next, roll out one of the two pizza doughs. You may need to roll it out a little extra with a rolling pin. I did.  But not too thin, or the filling will push through the dough.

4. First, layer down the spinach.  I had bought a bag of spinach and ended up using most of it between the two strombolis.  Don't forget that spinach shrinks once cooked, so what may look like a lot piled on won't be that fluffy once cooked.

5. Next, add the sausage mix, pepperoni, and then the cheese - one layer after another.

6. Now you will want to take one end and slowly roll it all the way to the other and seal it with your fingers. Be careful when you roll as the filling will try to fall out.  Seal the sides too.

 

              BEFORE BAKING                                       AFTER BAKING (oooh ahhh!)

7. Your last step before baking is to coat the surface of the loaf with oil - spray or pour a little on your fingers. The idea is to cover the surface lightly and then you'll want to sprinkle the parmesan cheese all over it.

8.  Follow the steps above for the 2nd loaf.

9. Place in the oven for about 30 minutes. Let it cool on a rack for a bit so everything sets in its final resting spot and then slice into goodness.  Serve with the spaghetti sauce and enjoy!!

                   

                                                                                                                                  Burp*