Sunday, September 28, 2008

Stromboli

I have to admit, I love pizza!!! The kids and I could eat pizza almost every night of the week, but Marty can barely tolerate it one night a week. I should probably be thankful for that, I can't imagine what all that pizza dough and cheesy toppings would do to my hips!! When I came across this recipe, I wondered if this would satisfy the pizza cravings for the majority of us as well as be different enough that Marty would like it. It came through for both requests and was rated an A++ for us.

This is such a yummy recipe that has a great presentation so it's great to serve as a casual dinner for guests. I typically fix this on Friday nights, and because the recipe makes two large loaves, we eat the leftovers for lunch the remainder of the weekend. It's also a repeated request when we have company for Sunday afternoon Colt's games. GO COLTS!!! I slice these loaves up, place on a platter on the bar downstairs with chips, veggies and dip and hot wings and everyone can snack at their leisure during the game. Fun times!!

Rarely do I prepare this recipe the same way twice. I use whatever lunch meats, pepperoni and sausage that I have on hand and any cheese combination work great too. The sauteed veggies also have numerous variables to experiment with. This is such a fun recipe for versatility according to who your preparing it for and what you have on hand in your fridge.

The bread dough preparation also has a couple of options. You can use your own favorite bread recipe from scratch or you can purchase frozen bread loaves at the store. Depending on the amount of time I have for prep, I have prepared this recipe both ways with extremely satisfactory results. To further reduce my prep time when I've used the frozen dough, I use the quick rise method in the oven. Wonderful!!


Stromboli

1 medium onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 medium green pepper, sliced into rings
1 tablespoon butter
2 loaves (16-ounces each) frozen bread dough, thawed
1/2 pound thinly sliced hard salami
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli ham
1/2 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
1/2 pound sliced mild cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon poppy seeds

In a large skillet, saute onion and green pepper in butter until crisp-tender; set aside.

On two greased baking sheets, roll each loaf of dough into a 15-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Arrange the salami, ham and cheeses lengthwise over half of each rectangle to within 1/2 in. of edges. Top with onion mixture; sprinkle with Italian seasoning, garlic powder and pepper. Fold dough over filling; pinch edges to seal well.

Brush with the egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool loaves for 5 minutes before slicing.

Yield: 2 loaves (8 servings each)

Source: Taste of Home





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