Sweet Pepper and Sausage Pizza

We had a Sunday night- pizza night tradition when we lived in Dallas. I love pizza. Like the "I'm pretty sure my neighborhood Papa John's is feeling the revenue hit because we moved" kind of love for pizza. I actually debated whether I wanted to proceed with building our home out here once I realized there were no pizza delivery options. AT ALL.

So, for awhile, we have been trying different brands of frozen selections, and though Digiorno comes closer than any other to tasting anything like my beloved Papa's, it just wasn't cutting it. Desperate times call for desperate measures so I scoured pinterest for a homemade pizza option and found this little beauty.
Pin:http://pinterest.com/pin/103793966383284271/

Now, this recipe involved a homeade crust...and when I started craving pizza on Sunday afternoon, I just didn't feel like I had the patience or self-control to watch dough rise for 2+ hours....so I pretty much LOOSELY used this recipe as an inspiration for toppings and made my own version.

Here's a link to her recipe:http://joythebaker.com/2012/09/spicy-sausage-and-sweet-pepper-pizza/

Here's what I did:
(makes 2 pizza's)
2 Boboli ready made pizza crusts
3 packets Boboli ready made sauce (this has a little bit of sweetness to the flavor, much like PJ's)
1 package hot pork sausage
1 package mile pork sausage
2 red bell peppers
2 yellow bell peppers
LOTS of Mozzarella and a little parm. cheese

Crumble the sausage and cook in a deep skillet until browned (fully cooked,no more pink showing)
Drain on a plate with paper towels
Wash peppers and remove core and seeds. Slice peppers into long strips
Layer crust with sauce, cheese, toppings, more cheese
Follow baking instructions on the crust package
DEVOUR!!

This was actually pretty amazing pizza for using store bought crust and sauce and so easy to throw together on a Tuesday night.  So glad I made 2 and can't wait to eat our leftovers later tonight! I served this with a little green salad and tried out the "ranch dressing made with greek yogurt thing." I'll write another post about that...

Official Numbers (even though this wasn't an official, by the book Pinterest recipe)

Ingredient Availability-7
Easy to find but all specially purchased for this dish
Ease on the Waist Line-4

It's pizza....and sausage...so it's awesome...but
Prep Mess-8

very little mess
Overall Difficulty-EASY
Overall Taste- 9.5
Loved this. Will definitely make again
Hubby Rates It-9
He's not a pepper fan but he actually didn't pick them all off!!
Ease of Clean Up-8

Sorry I don't have pics of this! I will add some next time I make it...maybe tomorrow...maybe tonight...mmmmmm...pizza....

Cini Minis

In light of my introduction, I thought my first official test kitchen post should be about this morning's Cini Mini recipe! I'll rate each recipe on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the worst, 10 being the best) in the following categories:
Accuracy of Recipe
Ingredient Availability (easy to find/normally on-hand ingredients vs. hard to find specialty items)
Ease on the Waist Line
Prep Mess
Overall Difficulty
Overall Taste
Hubby Rates It
Ease of Clean Up

I'll also include some pics of how my recipe turned out, tips and observations on the overall process, and whether or not I would do it again...Please feel free to request any additional ratings/categories you'd like for me to provide and report on! This blog is intended to be helpful to you so let me know what you want to hear from the test kitchen!

Cini Minis
Link to the pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/103793966381966115/
Link to the actual recipe:http://lifestooshorttoskipdessert.blogspot.com/2010/12/mini-cinnies-bite-sized-cinnamon-rolls.html

Mini Cinnies - Bite Sized Cinnamon Rolls (adapted fromYou Made That?)

Recipe:

Ingredients

1 can of Pillsbury crescent rolls

4 T brown sugar

1 t cinnamon

1 T butter

1 T flour

1/2 C powdered sugar

2 t milk

Directions:

Use half of package at a time so the dough stays cold.

In a small bowl mix together a tablespoon of slightly melted butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, and flour. Open crescent rolls, take half of dough and separate at the vertical seams. Press the diagonal seams of dough together so that the dough is smooth. Spoon half of the cinnamon mixture onto dough, roll short side up then continue with the remainding dough. Cut 2 inch slices and place all the rolls on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

When rolls have cooled, mix powdered sugar with  milk. Add more sugar/milk to get frosting to the consistency of your liking. Drizzle the sugar over the rolls then let dry. 

Accuracy of Recipe- 10
I followed this recipe exactly and thought the proportions of everything were right on.
Ingredient Availability-10
I had everything I needed for this on-hand without a special trip to the grocery store.
Ease on the Waist Line-4
They get a few points in this category b/c they are super small portions...but then again, I ate about 10 so that negates that! Definitely an indulgent breakfast treat...not recommended for everyday consumption!
Prep Mess-6
I used the same cookie sheet for prep that I baked on and 2 small mixing bowls.
Overall Difficulty-EASY
If you own an oven and a cookie sheet, you should be able to do this.
Overall Taste- 8
These were pretty good sweet, gooey treats for a Saturday brunch!
Hubby Rates It-7.5
His exact words were "If a 7 is what I was expecting it to taste like, it was a little better than that."
Ease of Clean Up-4
These were truly sticky buns and stuck big time to the cookie sheet. Also, I drizzled the icing while they were still on the cookie sheet and had a big sticky mess to deal with. I had to soak the cookie sheet for awhile to get it cleaned up. To prevent this in the future, I would have covered my cookie sheet with tin foil before starting the process. Would have made the clean up a lot easier!!

The dough separated into rectangles, smeared with cinnamon mixture

Rolled it up into long rolls (see right) then sliced it with a knife

Baked exactly 10 minutes- next time I might reduce a little because I like them gooey!

Served with scrambled eggs (made our favorite way with a little Tony's Cajun Seasoning mixed in before cooking) and, of course, milk to wash it down!

Case in point, this was my cookie sheet after the fact! Cover with foil before you start and spray with a little cooking spray and it will greatly reduce the mess and clean up time!

I would love to hear what Pinterest recipes you want to see reviewed and hear your feedback on the categories! Until next time...Happy Pinning!