stromboli

Mmmm stromboli! I was really itching to try making a stromboli the other day. So I did. This recipe has two portions; 1) the crust and 2) the stromboli stuffin's. So here are the stromboli ingredients:

I should have used fresh mushrooms but I was feeling lazy

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 cup cooked ham, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 (14 oz) jar pizza sauce
1 (4.5 oz) can mushrooms, drained
1/4 cup butter
1 (8 oz) package sliced pepperoni
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

The first thing I did was start chopping the vegetables (onion, pepper, mushrooms)

mmmmm red onions

you can ring my bell... peppers

ready to get dumped

Next I heated a large skillet over medium heat and threw in the ground beef, cooking it until all of it was brown, no pink.

almost ready to add the fixin's

After the beef was browned, I added the pizza sauce into the skillet.

I still had leftover had slices from the cordon bleu, so I just diced those up. I'm sure cubes of ham would be much better for this. Maybe next time.

hammela, I've missed you

Time to throw in all the veggies and the ham.

 Once all was mixed in and lathered in pizza sauce, I put the burner on low so that I could prepare the crust real quick. So, here is the crust recipe (this is actually just a basic pizza crust recipe):

1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
Cornmeal

In a large mixing bowl I dissolved the yeast into the 1 cup of warm water, then added the oil, sugar, salt and flour. I used white flour but next time I think I'll try whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour seems crumbly when making something tedious like gingerbread (my whole wheat human centipede gingerbread was a real struggle) but I think pizza crust wouldn't be too hard.

mixin's

So I mixed them all together and threw them in my slave, I mean my mixer.. and let the mixer do magic.

dough!

 Next I floured a flat surface and turned the dough into it, getting it all flour-y. Then I covered it and let it sit there for about ten minutes.

Next I laid down a sheet of parchment paper (I always use parchment paper when baking now, it's just way easier than dealing with that hoe Pam and burned bottoms stuck to cookie sheets) on a cookie sheet/pan and rolled the dough out the length of the pan in sort of a rectangular shape (as shown below)

Now I laid out all the pepperoni slices along the dough, but not too close to the edge.

and then I poured the sauce overtop of the pepperoni slices (there is going to be at least a hand full of sauce left over). Mine wound up squeezing out of the stromboli as I rolled up the dough. I would have just as easy left it out had I known it would do that. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees NOW!

mmm

The cheese was then spread across the top of the sauce. Sprinkled, if you will.

The next part was by far the most adventurous. I had to roll the dough up like a sleeping bag with the sauce inside. Carefulllll. CAREFULLLL. The ends had to be folded in and pinched, tucked, whatever necessary.

Now that the dough was all rolled up, I poked holes in the top and rubbed the stick of butter across the top. (The recipe called for 1/4 cup of melted butter but I did not use that much and I didn't even melt it. I just rubbed the end of the butter stick on the dough like chapstick on lips). Then I sprinkled the top with some cornmeal.

covered with cornmeal and ready to go into the oven

Bake this for 30 minutes OR UNTIL GOLDEN BROWN.

somehow it came out all perfect-shaped. hmm?

 I don't like to toot my own horn, but this was, in my opinion, one of the best things I've ever made. It was even delicious reheated as left-overs for the next few days:

nom nom nom