works for me (and also for my mom)

One freezer item I have found I always want to have is frozen bread dough. I buy whatever brand I can find at the grocery store, but here is a good option. This bread dough is extremely versatile. I usually thaw it out during the day and then make either regular pizza or the dish my mom made that she always called pizza bread. (Think Calzone.) Monday night, I had some leftovers I wanted to use for dinner. These included: cooked chicken with greek spices, feta cheese, pesto leftover from when I made these, tomato sauce, and some veggies. (Now you are probably thinking that this seems like a very random assortment of things to use in one meal, but trust me, it can be done.) So around lunchtime, I got out the frozen loaf and let it thaw and rise. During this time, I studied, read some blogs, and even went to the gym. By the time I got home, the bread was thawed, had risen, and was ready to use.

So I made pizza. On one third I put the pesto sauce and cut up some tomatoes I just brought back from my mom's garden plus some chicken. The middle third I put a little olive oil on and then added chicken, the feta cheese, more tomatoes, onions, and bell pepper. The final third I used the tomato sauce plus some more of the onions and pepper and also pepperoni. (My husband has a thing for pepperoni.) I topped the first and last thirds with shredded cheese. Then cooked for 15-20 minutes at 350. Above are photos of what the pizza looked like, pre- and post-cheese.

The dough can also be used to make pizza bread as I mentioned before, which is basically the same thing as the pizza, but you roll it all up inside, like calzone.

My mom is well known for the wonderful bread she makes to go with dinner. She also uses the frozen bread dough. (I don't think I'm giving away any big secret here.) She will slice up the dough while it is still a little frozen, roll it in some butter and sprinkle it with garlic powder or garlic salt. Then she puts it in pans and lets it rise the rest of the way and then cooks it until it is brown on top. This is extremely tasty and quicker than making rolls from scratch. Although I've never done it, you can also use it to make cinnamon rolls, or just cook it for plain bread.

An easy meal, made mostly with leftovers in only a few minutes!!

Checkout the other tips over at Rocks in my Dryer.