Thinking out of the Box

One of the earliest cooking experiences I can remember was that of making homemade pizza. When I was a very young girl, my neighbor's high school sold homemade pizza kits as a school fund raiser. Everything you needed to make the pizza came in one complete box: the sauce, the dough, the toppings and the cheese. We would buy these kits and on Friday nights we would all make homemade pizza as a family. It was so much fun and yummy as well. This meal reminded me of those Friday nights but with a twist.

Pizza Bites
Modified from RecipeZaar

Ingredients

2 cans refrigerated pizza dough (I used Pillsbury - which is found by the crescent rolls)
1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
4 oz thin sliced pepperoni
2 tsp Italian seasoning (combine oregano, basil, parsley, and garlic)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
pizza or marinara sauce

Directions

Prepare pizza dough and roughly chop pepperoni.

If you are going to bake some (or all!) right away preheat oven to 400°F. Grease 3 pie pans.

If using refrigerated pizza dough: roll one dough out into a large rectangle and cut into 24 pieces. Don't make them as rectangular as I did (see below). I should have made them more square, it would have made them easier to fold around the filling.

Repeat with 2nd pizza dough. If using homemade dough just pinch off walnut sized pieces as you go.
In each dough piece place a couple pieces of chopped pepperoni and a tablespoon of cheese. Seal dough around meat and cheese and place seam side down in pie pan.

Repeat, placing approximately 16 dough balls in each pie plate.

Once assembled, combine oil and spices and brush over the dough. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese
Now you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze or you can bake right away.

When ready to bake: bake at 400°F for 16-20 min. Serve with warm pizza or marinara sauce.

This dish was so much fun and very creative, not to mention delicious. It would be great to serve during a football game or as a snack during a board game night. I think this would be a great dish to serve kids and they could help in the preparation for added fun.