I’ve been an ambitious cook this weekend! Since I’m now working 5 days a week, 7:30am – 4:00pm, I typically don’t feel like cooking anything for supper once I get home. I decided to make 2 things this weekend that taste good all week, freeze nicely, and are easy to put together.
On Friday I made Taco Soup. This is so easy, very good, and very nutritious. I didn’t have batteries for my camera (darn you, Kodak rechargeables!), so no pictures of that.
Today I made stromboli (or stroms, as my mom calls them). Again, these are so easy to make and store well in the freezer. One slice is basically a meal, so I can just put one of these in my lunchbox and take it along to work. And I personally think they taste just as good cold as they do hot. These aren’t quite as good for you as Taco Soup, so I modify them by using turkey pepperoni, part skim cheeses, and adding veggies. This time around I made one vegetarian stromboli and one turkey pepperoni stromboli – yum yum!
Stromboli
2 loaves of frozen white bread dough, thawed overnight in the refrigerator
1 small pkg turkey pepperoni
*8 oz sliced provolone cheese
*8 oz sliced mozzarella
*8 oz sliced American cheese
1 small can of pizza sauce
2 T dried oregano flakes
Lightly flour a counter-top or large cutting board. Pat and stretch dough into roughly the size of an 8×10″ rectangle. Smooth a thin layer of pizza sauce onto dough. Make one layer of the 3 cheeses, then place pepperoni on top. Top with another single layer of the 3 cheeses.
Pull the long edges of the dough together a small section at a time, using a fork to make a seal. Once the long edges are closed, fold the short edges up and close with a fork as well. Place the stromboli onto a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray, seam side down. Lightly spray the top of the stromboli with cooking spray and sprinkle with dried oregano. Repeat with the second loaf of dough.
Allow stromboli to sit for 1/2 – 1 hour. While waiting, preheat oven to 350 degrees, making sure the stromboli are not on top of the oven. Bake stromboli for 30 minutes or till golden brown on top. Allow to cool, then cut into slices and serve. If storing in freezer, do not cut into slices.
* You don’t have to use these specific types of cheese. I’ll typically get whatevers on sale or whatever looks best to me. I usually use all part-skim cheeses and get provolone, cheddar, and white American cheese or mozzarella. I’m not a big fan of yellow American cheese.
For a veggie stromboli, I leave out the pepperoni and typically chop up 1 small zucchini, 1 small tomato (fleshy inner parts removed), 1 small red bell pepper, 1/4 of a sweet onion, and use some wilted spinach. And if you can find whole wheat or whole grain frozen bread dough – go for it! I haven’t been able to find any, so if you know of where some is sold, let me know!
