Baked Pizza Sandwich Recipe – and Our Menu for the Week!

Hi everyone! We are recovering from our weekend. It was mostly really nice, and included a fun trip to the pumpkin patch… but yesterday was also a day filled with temper tantrums by J, making it one long day!

So, if you remember my post from last week, I am trying five new recipes from Food on the Table this week, and am sharing them below! If you haven’t checked them out yet, you ought to pop over to their site and blog. They have tons of recipes – and we have liked every recipe we have tried from their site. I meant to get this post up earlier in the day, but hopefully you’ll still have a chance to try some of these recipes for yourself – if not this week, then maybe the next!

I’ll plan to update this post throughout the week with reviews (& hopefully photos, too) of each recipe as we try it – so check back! Now on to the fun part – the recipes!

Monday: Baked Pizza Sandwich. This sounds easy & like something the kids would really like – plus, it’s a little different spin on regular old pizza.

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef ($1.88)
• 15 oz tomato sauce (1 can) OR ($0.53)
• 15 oz pizza sauce (1 can) ($0.46)
• 1 tsp oregano leaves ($0.01)
• 2 C biscuit baking mix ($0.93)
• 1 large egg ($0.08)
• ¾ C milk ($0.12)
• 8 oz cheese (American or mozzarella)
• 2 oz mushrooms, sliced ($0.21)
• ¼ C parmesan cheese, grated ($0.34)

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Cook and stir the meat in a large skillet until brown.
2. Drain off the excess fat.  Stir in half of the tomato sauce and the oregano leaves into the meat mixture. Heat to boiling then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. While the meat mixture is simmering, mix the baking mix, egg and the milk.
3. Measure out 3/4 cup of the batter and set aside.  Spread the remaining batter in a greased baking pan 9 X 9 X 2-inches.  Pour into the remaining tomato sauce over the batter, spreading evenly.  Layer 4 slices of the cheese, the meat mixture, the mushrooms and the remaining cheese on top of the batter and tomato sauce.
4. Spoon the reserved batter on the top of the cheese. Sprinkle the batter top with the grated Parmesan cheese and bake, uncovered, until it is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.  Cool for 5 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

Update: So, we tried it – and this is another we’re adding to our rotation. It’s really good, kid-friendly, and easy to make. I had to adjust the amount of breading a little bit because I used a different kind of dish – and I probably used a little too much batter, but we liked it just fine. A couple of things I did differently were using turkey pepperoni instead of mushrooms (I’m not a mushroom fan) and mixing Italian seasoning into the batter. I think this presents really well, too – that Parmesan cheese browned on top is really pretty! Next time I might sprinkle a little of the Italian seasoning on top, too. This would be a fun dish to have for company and is a great twist on regular pizza. It has a lot of room to add ingredients and really make it your own, too, which is always fun. PS – This recipe makes a LOT and we had leftovers for dinner tonight, meaning I’ll be spreading out the recipes a little more… I didn’t take leftovers into consideration. :) This does reheat really well, by the way!

Tuesday: We’re forgoing our dinner out this week and are going to try the Basic Meatball recipe – I’ll pair it with some whole wheat spaghetti and our favorite marinara sauce (HEB brand, so it’s super cheap too!).

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup onion
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp worcestershire

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix all the ingredients together.  Shape mixture by tablespoonfuls into 1 1/2-inch balls. (For ease in shaping the meatball, occasionally wet your hands with cold water)
2. TO COOK IN A SKILLET: Heat 1 Tbls oil in a large skillet, cook the meatballs over medium heat until brown, about 20 minutes. Drain off excess fat. TO COOK IN THE OVEN: Place the meatballs in a lightly greased baking pan 13 X 9 X 2 or 15 1/2 X 9 1/2 X 1-inch; bake, uncovered, in a 400 degree oven until light brown, about 20 minutes. Drain off the excess fat.

Wednesday: I’m taking a break from new recipes and am making chicken enchilada soup that we love so much. It’s still warm here in Texas, so it’s not exactly soup weather, but I don’t care, I’m going to pretend it’s actually fall. :)

Thursday: Pineapple Chicken Tenders – another easy-sounding recipe, this time with an Asian flavor to it. I’ll have it with short grain brown rice and some veggies.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (cup) pineapple juice
• 1/2 (cup) packed brown sugar
• 1/3 (cup) light soy sauce
• 2 (pound) chicken breast tenderloins or strips

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, mix pineapple juice, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Remove from heat just before the mixture comes to a boil.
2. Place chicken tenders in a medium bowl. Cover with the pineapple marinade, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Preheat grill for medium heat. Thread chicken lengthwise onto wooden skewers.
4. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill chicken tenders 5 minutes per side, or until juices run clear. They cook quickly, so watch them closely.

Friday: Classic Stuffed Peppers – I’m not sure if J will go for this, but we’ll try, anyway! I’ve never done stuffed peppers before so I’m excited to try them.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 green bell peppers
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 (cup) meatless pasta sauce, divided
• 1 uncooked instant white rice
• 1 (tablespoon) finely chopped onion
• 1/4 (teaspoon) salt
• 1/2 (teaspoon) Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Dash pepper
• 1/2 (pound) uncooked ground beef

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut tops off peppers and discard; remove seeds. In a large saucepan, cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water.
2. In a bowl, combine the egg, 1/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce, rice, onion, salt, Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Crumble beef over the mixture and mix well. Stuff into peppers. Place in an ungreased 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Pour the remaining sauce over peppers. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F.

Saturday: Mexican Stuffed Chicken Breasts – this sounds SOOO good! I love the idea of breading them with bread crumbs and taco seasoning.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 split chicken breasts, boned
• 3 (tablespoon) butter, softened
• 1 grated monterey jack cheese
• 1/4 (cup) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 (tablespoon) sliced green onions
• 2 (tablespoon) chopped green chilies
• 1/4 (cup) butter, melted
• 1 (cup) crackers, crushed
• 1 1/2 (tablespoon) taco seasoning mix

DIRECTIONS:

1. Trim any fat and rib bones from breasts. Divide chicken breasts in half and pound until flattened. Combine butter with cheeses, chilies and onions. Place a portion of mixture at the end of each chicken breast and roll up, tucking in ends to completely enclose filling.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Dip each roll in melted butter, then coat with mixture of cracker crumbs and taco seasoning. Arrange coated rolls in a baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.

So, there you have it – I hope you enjoy trying some of these new recipes courtesy of Food on the Table! Have a fun-filled, cooking-filled week, everyone!