Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Bread

So I've been all about the easy stuff lately, at least when it comes to the kitchen.

At the grocery store, I recently found this refrigerated, roll-out pizza crust with whole grains- which I am super excited about!  It's by Pillsbury, called Artisan Pizza Crust.

Ok ok, I know it's still not as good (or good for you) as homemade, but at least it's a slightly healthier, convenient option.

Now somewhere deep in the dusty annals of my brain lay a recollection of this taco ring that we made in Home Ec in high school, where we braided dough around a meat & cheese filling.

Do not ask me how I remembered this, considering I have to write myself notes to remind myself of pretty much everything these days - but I did.

That, in turn, gave me the idea to do a braided stuffed bread.  And what better to stuff bread with than buffalo chicken and cheese (especially when your husband is Mr. Vittles?)

By the way, I apologize for the atrocious photos - it's not that I'm regressing back to the early days of V&B, but rather that I made this for dinner and there was zero natural light available.  And the aforementioned lazy factor prevented me from getting out my special indoor light.

So deal, ok?  You get the idea.

Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Bread

• 1 can refrigerated roll-out pizza crust (I recommend Pillsbury Artisan crust)
• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked & shredded
• 1 T. butter
• 1 t. garlic, minced
• 1/2 C. Frank's Red Hot sauce (or hot sauce of your choosing)
• 1/4 C. blue cheese dressing
• 3/4 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg white, beaten
• sesame seeds, for garnishing (optional)

Unroll pizza crust onto a cookie sheet that's been greased or lined with nonstick foil.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place shredded chicken in a large bowl.  In a small frying pan, melt butter over medium heat until foaming.  Add garlic and saute about 30 seconds until fragrant.  Pour butter mixture over chicken in bowl, and add hot sauce.  Mix well to coat chicken evenly.

Turn the cookie sheet with the crust so the short side is facing you.  Evenly distribute chicken mixture down the middle of the crust, vertically.  Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, make a horizontal cut in the middle of each side of the crust, to within a 1/2" of the filling.

You will now have 4 squares of crust surrounding the chicken.  In the very middle of each of those squares, make another cut to within a 1/2" of the filling.  You will now have a total of 8 strips surrounding the chicken.

In the center of each of those strips, make another cut to within a 1/2" of the chicken so that you have a total of 16 strips (8 on each side of the chicken).  See diagram below (the tan color is crust, the peach is the chicken, and the dotted lines are the cuts you need to make):

Once you have all the cuts completed, drizzle top of chicken with blue cheese dressing.  Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Then, using two hands, alternate pulling the strips across filling to cover.  At the ends of the braid, pinch any holes together so none of the filling comes out.

Brush the beaten egg white over the top of your braid, and sprinkle with sesame seeds (if desired).  Bake in preheated oven 12-15 minutes, or until top is browned.  Let sit 5 minutes on sheet before cutting and serving.  Serves 4.

Original Recipe

Honey Wheat Pizza Dough

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be married to the weirdest man in the world?

Well, let me tell you.

The weirdest man in the world will go on your Facebook account when you leave it open on your computer. 

Will he look at your emails? 

No way.  That's too boring.  

Because it's much more fun to post ridiculous status updates like "I love turf equipment," and "I have itchy toes."

And you will not realize that he has posted these things until a very confused person comments, "Why don't you scratch 'em?"

(Sooo happy that my 300 some-odd "friends" were thinking I was suffering from some type of pesky foot fungus.)

The weirdest man in the world will also hijack your phone when you're not looking.

Will he read your texts and inspect your missed & outgoing calls?

No way.  That's too boring.

Because it's much more fun to send a text message from 'you' to your sister-in-law that says "I eat boogers."

(And if your sister-in-law happens to have the weirdest man in the world as her brother, then she will simply respond "Me too," and nothing further will need to be said.)

Luckily, I found the one to my dad that said "I LOVE snails" while it was still in Drafts, before I got a concerned phone call asking if I was on drugs or something.

But you know what?  That's ok.  

Because I can play tricks too.

And for my next trick... I will make whole wheat flour into a pizza crust that tastes mighty fine (thanks to a wonderful blog called Budget Bytes.)

Don't believe me? 

You'll just have to try it for yourself.


Honey Wheat Pizza Dough

• 1 C. warm water
• 2 T. honey
• 1 pkt. active dry yeast
• 3 T. olive oil (plus a little more to oil bowl)
• 1 1/4 t. salt
• 3/4 C. whole wheat flour
• 1 ½ - 2 C. all-purpose flour, divided

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl if you don’t have a mixer) stir together warm water with yeast and honey.  Let sit 3-5 minutes or until frothy on top.

Using paddle attachment in mixer, stir in olive oil and salt, then whole wheat flour.  Stir in 1 3/4 C. all-purpose flour until mixed in evenly.  Then increase speed to medium (reducing speed to add more all-purpose flour by the tablespoon as necessary) and mix until dough is stretchy & soft but not sticking to anything.  (If you do not have a mixer, stir in flour until you can no longer use a spoon, then switch to kneading on a floured surface).

Remove dough and place on lightly floured surface. Oil bowl lightly with olive oil, then replace dough and cover top lightly with more oil.  Drape a towel over bowl, and let rise until doubled in size (about 45 mins).

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface, and shape into a round of desired size.  Transfer to a pizza stone or greased pan covered in corn meal to prevent sticking, and top as desired.  Bake in 425 degree oven for 16-18 minutes or until edges are golden.  Makes 1 large (about 16-inch) pizza or 2 medium pizzas.

Recipe Adapted from Budget Bytes

Pepperoni Pizza Crescent Rolls

I know it's been over a week since my last post, but  Mr. Vittles and I have been busy vacationing on the beautiful island of Aruba!

We left Saturday morning after Thanksgiving, and returned on Friday night, spending a total of 6 nights with our friends Vanessa and Eric.

eric & vanessa

Vanessa's parents own a (gorgeous) condo down there, and they were kind enough to invite us to stay in the spare bedroom.

And to top it all off, my dad & stepmom were also vacationing there over the same week - just a block away from us!  We even got to see Dan's cousin from Ohio, whose vacation ended the day after ours started.

So in other words... it was a fiesta.

This was our first true vacation since our honeymoon over 2 years ago, so it was nice to get away from work and just relax.

mr. vittles and me

We did a little bit of sightseeing...

me & vanessa at bushiribana gold mill ruins

...but mostly spent our days basking in the sun and our nights stuffing our bellies with delicious food.

mr. vittles

my dad & me

And... we might have thrown in a few cocktails for good measure.

vanessa, me, and my stepmom at shon gecko

Needless to say - it was fabulous.

But I feel like I gained about 10 pounds.  Maybe I'll go on a diet?

Maybe... tomorrow.

Because today, it's time for cheesy, buttery pepperoni rolls.

They're my offering to the football gods, in the hopes that my NY Giants can somehow find a way to beat the (unbeatable?) Green Bay Packers this afternoon.

Pepperoni Pizza Crescent Rolls

• 1 8-oz. can crescent rolls
• 1/2 C. tomato or pizza sauce
• 2 T. freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 C. grated mozzarella cheese
• 12 slices pepperoni
• Italian seasoning, for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a baking sheet or line with foil, and set aside.

Remove crescent rolls from packaging, and divide into 2 rectangles  - the tube should split in half.  Unroll each rectangle onto counter or work surface, and firmly press perforations together.  (You don't want your filling falling out between the cracks!)

Spread 1/4 C. sauce evenly on each of the rectangles.  Sprinkle each rectangle with 1 T. parmesan cheese, and 1/2 C. mozzarella.  Top each with 6 slices of pepperoni.

Then, with the short side of the rectangle facing you, carefully but tightly roll up each rectangle into a tube.  You will have two tubes.

Cut one tube in half, and then cut each of the halves in half again so you end up with 4 slices of the tube.  Carefully place each slice, cut sides down, onto prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining tube to make 8 slices total.  If any of them start to unroll, tighten them up on the baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes until puffed & golden.  Let cool briefly on sheet, then sprinkle with seasoning if desired.  Serve immediately.

Original Recipe, Inspired by What About Pie

BBQ Chicken Pizza Bites

Oh my.

Have you ever had to put on a happy face for hours on end and just feel emotionally drained?

I'm sooo there.

Not that all of it was a show.  There was definitely genuine happiness and enjoyment.

But it all sort of runs together after a while. 

And the worst part is, I'm only just getting warmed up for this marathon.

You know, stretching the quads & hammies.  A few arm circles, a quick jog in place.

And I'm already ready to quit.

I... don't even know what to say to you guys right now.

Except maybe - "Eat these."

It will make us both feel better.

BBQ Chicken Pizza Bites

• 1 1/2 C. shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1/3 C. your favorite barbecue sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray's), or more to your taste
• 1 can Pillsbury pizza dough (in the refrigerated section) or your favorite pizza dough recipe stretched into a rectangle approximately 12x8
• 1/2 to 2/3 C. mozzarella cheese
• olive oil
• garlic powder & Italian seasoning for dusting

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a pie pan and set aside.

Roll out pizza dough on lightly floured surface, and pat to flatten evenly (the long sides should be horizontal).  Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, make 2 slices to create 3 horizontal rows.  Then make 5 slices to create 6 vertical rows (which will make 18 rectangles).* 

Divide chicken and mozzarella evenly between dough rectangles, placing filling in the middle of each & being careful not to overstuff them (otherwise you won't be able to close them).  Once the filling is in, then pull the sides of the dough into the middle, gathering and pinching together to seal it shut into a ball.

Place balls seam side down in greased pan.  When all rolls are in pan, brush tops with about 1 T. of olive oil.  Sprinkle with a little garlic powder & Italian seasoning, if desired.

Cook in pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.  Serve plain or with dipping sauce (such as ranch dressing).  Makes 18.

*Note: The original recipe calls for 24 squares but I find that when they're that small it's a little tougher to fill - totally up to you though, that way would make more bites.

Recipe Adapted from Our Best Bites

Skillet Pizza

The other night, I had a craving for homemade pizza... but I didn't have any dough.

Which is usually enough to dissuade me from making pizza, because I hate making my own dough.

I don't know about you, but yeast and I have never gotten along real well.  I pretty much avoid it at all costs.

Plus, it takes too long to let the dough rise.  After a long day at work, I don't have time for those shenanigans. 

Recently I signed up for a year's subscription to Cook's Country online, so I checked their website for any homemade pizza recipes that didn't take all night to make.

There I found this recipe that uses a very interesting ingredient - beer.  Apparently, it gives the taste of a yeast bread, but without all the work.

I was definitely on board for that.  Not to mention the fact that it was made in a skillet, which was very intriguing (apparently, I'm on a roll lately with the skillet dinners?)

I must say, the result was pretty awesome.  Mr. V and I both enjoyed the twist on traditional pizza, as without the yeast the dough is very thin and cracker-like.

It was also nice to have two personal pizzas so I could put some different toppings on mine... like feta cheese & roasted red peppers.  Mmm :)

Skillet Pizza

Dough

• 1 C. flour
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. sugar
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/3 C. beer (rich, brown ale is recommended but I used Yuengling)
• 1 T. olive oil (plus 4 T. more, for cooking)

Toppings

• 1/2 C. tomato sauce
• 1 C. mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 3 T. parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• any toppings of your choice - pepperoni, olives, roasted red peppers, cooked sausage, spinach, etc.

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar & salt in food processor.  With processor running, slowly add beer and 1 T. olive oil.  Process until dough pulls away from sides & shaggy ball forms, about 1 minute.  Using floured hands, form dough into tight ball & cover loosely with plastic wrap.  Let rest 10 minutes.  (Dough can also be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 1 week).

Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll each half into very thin 9-inch round. Heat 2 T. olive oil in 10" nonstick skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Transfer one dough round to skillet and cook, poking any air bubbles that form with fork, until bottom is deep golden brown and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes.

Flip dough and cover with 1/4 C. of sauce and half of cheeses/toppings. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until second side is crisp and cheeses have melted, about 5 minutes. Transfer pizza to cutting board. Wipe out pan and repeat with remaining oil, dough, and toppings. Slice into wedges. Serve.

Makes two 9" pizzas. 

Recipe Adapted from Cook's Country