Disclosure: I was provided free product from Pillsbury to try and was not compensated for this post. All thoughts are my own.
Do you have a fun weekly dinner tradition?
Since our family pizza night last month we’ve made a habit of getting together as a family every week or two and preparing some fun meals together. The kids have a great time preparing the food together, and I enjoy some company in the kitchen while I’m cooking.
Last I’d shared with you we had made 2 pizzas that were on the more traditional side with the Pillsbury Pizza Crusts. They were both delicious, but we wanted to do something a little different this time and see how the Pillsbury Pizza Crusts could stand up to the challenge.
The results were delicious and we just couldn’t get enough!
For our first recipe we created our own version of Stromboli. I remember in my teens I was introduced to the most amazing pizzeria. They specialized in Stromboli and it was love at first bite for me. Since I’ve moved to the suburbs I can’t find anything like it in my town, and I figured we could attempt our own with these Pillsbury Pizza Crusts.
It was absolutely as wonderful and delicious as I’d hoped, and the crust tasted amazing. No soggy areas where it had been wrapped up and it cooked evenly. I should have made two because it was gone in an instant!
For the second recipe we wanted to switch it up even more. It was just after the holidays and I had some leftover seasonal fruits. I thought combining the seasoned apples with my own recipe for cranberry sauce and topping it with blackberries that were just a smidgen overripe would be a great flavor combination when topped with some white chocolate drizzle. Once again we were pleased by the crust and how it didn’t explode! Yes, this was a real concern for me, but they came out amazing and they were gone just as quickly as they were prepared. The combination of the fruits was a great blend of sweet and tart, and the cinnamon sugar that was sprinkled on top of the crusts before baking was the perfect touch.
We’ve really enjoyed creating a little tradition out of pizza nights, and we’re already thinking of alternate flavors for the dessert calzones. Maybe filled with a few types of apples and topped with caramel instead of white chocolate. Or even strawberry filling and milk chocolate drizzle.
There’s so many fun ways to get creative, I hope you’ll be just as inspired!
Salami & Italian Sausage Stromboli
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 of 16 ounce chub Italian sausage
- 1/2 cup onions
- 1/4 cup pizza sauce
- 1 Pillsbury Classic Pizza Crust
- 20 slices of salami
- 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons spinach
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon Parmesan
Stromboli Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium skillet, brown the Italian sausage in one tablespoon of olive oil.
Add chopped onions about halfway through and saute until sausage is brown and onions are soft.
Add Pizza sauce and combine until the meat is soaked in sauce.
Here’s RiRi helping me brown the meat. Are we having fun yet?
While browning the meat, spray a large cookie sheet with cooking oil and spread out the pizza crust.
Lay out salami down the middle.
RoRo is helping!
So is D-Man!
Spread the sausage mixture on top of the salami.
Now wait for your kid to finish shredding the cheese…
Top with cheeses and finish it off with the spinach!
Roll it up, then place on greased cookie sheet seam side down.
Drizzle with remaining olive oil, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and basil.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden.
Perfection!
Let cool, then cut into slices.
Serve with pizza sauce to dip.
Enjoy!
Dessert Calzone Ingredients:
- 1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and cored
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 Pillsbury Classic Pizza Crust
- powdered sugar (for rolling dough)
- 1-1/2 cup cranberry sauce (I just halved my recipe)
- 1 pint slightly overripe blackberries, quartered
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar
- 1 square bakers white chocolate
Dessert Calzone Instructions:
Cut up the apple into small chunks, then sprinkle with lemon juice.
Top with brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and ground cloves.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Dust cutting board with powdered sugar, then spread out pizza dough on top.
Cut into four even sized pieces.
Roll each piece into balls, then roll out into oval shapes with a rolling pin.
Continue to add powdered sugar to cutting board, crust and pin whenever they get dry to avoid stickiness.
The powdered sugar will also help sweeten the crust for a great dessert taste!
Using a dinner tablespoon, add 1-2 scoops of cranberry sauce to one side of the oval.
Then add a scoop of the cubed apples
Top with 1/4 of the blackberries.
Fold the empty half over the fruit filled half and pinch the seam closed.
Place seam side up on greased cookie sheet.
Sprinkle the tops with cinnamon sugar and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until golden.
Just before the calzones are done, melt the square of white chocolate in a microwave safe dish, stirring every 15-20 seconds. Once melted, remove from microwave.
Let the calzones cool, then place on top of parchment or wax paper.
Drizzle with melted white chocolate.
Serve once cooled.
Yum!
Enjoy!
What’s your favorite thing to make with Pillsbury Pizza Crusts?
you had me at pillsbury! but really those fruit filled calzones look amazing!
I love Pillsbury!
They were definitely amazing. 🙂 thanks Ruby!
Delicious! I love Pillsbury and recently discovered their pie crusts that are allergy-friendly. Will be trying these recipes. They’re great to freeze and have handy for last minute meals. Thank you for the ideas! 🙂
They are definitely convenient and perfect for last minute ideas! Thanks Ezzy!
recipes are great but I would like to comment on a fun loving family god bless keep cooking
Oh, bless your heart!!
Thank you so much for such a sweet comment. 🙂