Pizza Pasta

2 C uncooked pasta (penne, rotini, farafalle...)
1 T olive oil
1 lb Seasoned Sausage
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 C cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 C spaghetti sauce, homemade or jarred :)
1 C shredded mozzarella
Parmesan cheese for topping

1. In pot, bring water to boil and cook pasta until al dente.
2. In large skillet, brown sausage and drain.
3. In same skillet, saute onions for 1 minute on medium heat, then add garlic.
4. return meat to skillet and add tomatoes, drained pasta and spaghetti sauce.
5. Allow sauce to get up to temp, then turn off burner and add mozzeralla cheese. Stir, then serve while hot with bread and butter!
Top with shredded parmesan! (And crushed red pepper if you have it!)

Optional additional add ins:
Black olives (you can find at homeplus)
mushrooms
bell pepper
spinach
1 C pepperoni ( nicedeli.com)

*This is great for a quick dinner and makes for good leftovers. :)

Courtesy Lindsey Lett

Pan Fried Calzones!

(Images courtesy Taylor and Lindsey Lett)
These call for the same ingredients as the pan fried pizzas. I simply piled up the "toppings" in the middle of the shaped pizza dough, and rolled and pinched the edges to keep all the goodies in! I also added a couple more teaspoons of sauce than I would usually slather on the pizzas. Then I put a nice little puddle of oil in the bottom of the pan, heated it to just below medium heat, and placed the calzone in the pan. (The crimped edge will be gooey inside if it is too thick, so try to flatten in out a bit, or lower your temp a tad and cook a little longer.)Once the first side was golden brown, I flipped and viola... Golden, crispy, gooey, tasty Calzones! A little sauce on the side for dipping, and you are golden! You can do two at a time in the pan, so dinner for two is quick and easy! (I actually think these were both easier and tastier than the pan fried pizzas... the hubby did too!)
*I also went ahead and added a few Italian spices to the stuffings to "umph" up the flavor! ;)

** If you are feeding just two... I would cut the pizza dough recipe in half....although they are easy to heat up in the pan the next day for lunch! ;)
Enjoy BIG time!
(courtesy Lindsey Lett)

Pan Fried Pizzas!

Bring back Friday pizza nights!
Take pizza dough (Nola Pizza Dough) and make personal pita sized disks. Then place in a pan with a big drizzle of olive oil and pan fry until golden brown on each side.(you may have to re-oil the pan before you flip... or you can just let it be like I do! haha) Remove to paper towel to drain excess oil and top with warm sauce (Versatile Tomato Sauce). Add parmesan, mozzarella, and favorite pre-cooked toppings. For best results, leave cheese out at room temp for about 30 minutes prior to making pizzas. Make sure all toppings are pre-cooked. You can pop them in the microwave for about 10 seconds if needed to get the toppings gooey! Enjoy! (Any left-over crusts can go in the freezer for another night... just zap them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds each and top as above.)

Please note that you can make the pizza dough the night before and allow it to rise in the refridgerator over night! Pizza dough also freezes well... simply follow directions through forming the disks and then place in individual ziplocks and put immediately into the freezer. When you are ready to use them, pull them out about an hour before you will be frying or baking and let them rise on the counter. Remember to take them out of the ziplock and place a dry kitchen towel or papertowel over the top to keep them from drying out! (Label ziplocks with date and use within 6 weeks)The Nola Pizza Dough will make 8 personal pizzas when fried, so when you cut it after the first rise, go ahead and make 8 balls instead of four. Then you can roll it to your desired thickness... I suggest experimenting your first batch and then you can figure out what works best for your tastes in the future!

The tomato sauce also does really well in the freezer! So bulk up on these two things if you plan to make them often! It will save you time in the future and you can just relax come friday night! ;)... or after a stressful day when only pizza will do! haha
(Inspired by Jane Dodge)