Mom’s Pizza Pot Pies

So it’s January and most people I know are working on a healthier eating plan. Take for example, my sister. She’s starting a three-day juice cleanse tomorrow.

Then there’s me. I’m at about the worst health in my life and yeah I’m working on figuring out what type of healthy eating plan works best for me (Keto? Paleo? Mediterrean? Zone?), but in the mean time I have all these random ingredients in my refrigerator that I need to use up and until I do, I cannot start any sort of eating plan. You’d think I grew up in the depression era the way I hate to waste food but I’m not that old. I really think what it boils down to is the waste of money when you waste food. And right now I literally can’t afford to waste food.

So that brings me to this recipe for pizza pot pies that we attempted on New Year’s Eve; it’s a recipe my family has made several times and was sent to me by my mom. When we attempted it, it was an utter flop. We baked the dishes about twice the amount of time called for and the dough never browned or puffed up like it’s supposed to.I chalked up to the yeast. When we made the ingredients for the pot pies we had an extra dish prepped and ready to bake (just needed different dough). We also had about a quart of extra tomato sauce that I froze for another time. So I redid the dough using a different yeast and low and behold this time the dough actually raised. Success!

For my pizza pot pie I used sausage and mushrooms, which is really sort of odd because I’m a pepperoni gal all the way. However, I had two mushrooms leftover that needed to be used and, as previously explained, I do not like to waste food.

This recipe makes approximately 5 or 6 pizza pot pies depending on the size you make. Note: If your dough doesn’t rise within an hour and a half, throw it out, get some new yeast and make more.

pizza dough ingredients.

• 1 package active dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp.)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 c. warm water
• 2 ½ c. flour
• 2 T. olive oil
• ½ tsp. dried Italian seasoning

pizza dough directions.

1. Sprinkle yeast and sugar in warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Then add 2 cups of flour and the seasoning and mix in a mixer using a dough hook until smooth. Add the rest of the flour and knead until smooth. Place the dough in a bowl brushed with olive oil and refrigerate an hour and a half, minimum, or overnight.

sauce ingredients.

• 4 tsp. olive oil
• 1 lb hamburger
• 1 19-oz package Italian sausage links
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 medium green pepper seeded and chopped (optional)
• 2 garlic cloves crushed (or 1 tsp minced garlic)
• 1-14.5 oz cans diced or crushed tomatoes
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 6 oz water
• 1 ½ tsp dried basil
• 1 ½ tsp. dried oregano
• 2 T. dried parsley
• 1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning (optional)
• 1 tsp. salt (or to taste)

sauce directions.

1. Brown hamburger and onions in olive oil, add rest of ingredients. Simmer on low for one and a half hours (while dough is in fridge).
2. Brown Italian sausage in separate fry pan. Reserve one link for the sauce. Cut in pieces, adding the one link (cut in pieces) to the sauce. Keep the rest to fill your pizza pot pies.

pot pie ingredients.

• sauce
• pizza dough
• 1 lb fresh mozzarella cheese
• ½ to 1 lb shredded mozzarella cheese
• pizza ingredients such as: Italian sausage, pepperoni, sliced meatballs, mushrooms, chopped onions, basil, green pepper, olives, etc.

pot pie directions.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease inside bottom, sides and around the edges of a 1 or 1 ½ cup ovenproof bowl or dish.
3. Layer the bottom of the bowl with sliced fresh mozzarella cheese. Add a spoonful of sauce. Add your pizza toppings, more sauce and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
4. Take pizza dough out of refrigerator and grab a hunk of the dough. You want enough to cover the dish but you don’t want too much because it puffs up and then you’ll have all dough. Use your hands to stretch the dough into a round circle and fit the circle of dough over the bowl. There should be overlap on the side of the bowl, about two inches. (I didn’t have this…)
5. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the crust is brown and sounds hollow. If necessary, broil for a minute to make your crust brown.
6. Remove from oven and let cool 5 to 10 minutes, then carefully flip the dish over onto a plate so that the crust is on the bottom. Carefully remove the dish, use a knife to separate if necessary. If there’s still ingredients in the bottom of the dish when you flip the dish over, spoon the ingredients on top of your pizza.

For this recipe I recommend making sure that both the inside and the outside of the dish you’re using is greased really well. Also grease the pan before you set the dish on it. The first time I attempted to make this recipe the dough stuck to the outside of the dish. The second time, the dish stuck a little bit to the pan.

If you’re wondering what kind of dish is perfect for this recipe, I recommend Sur La Table Souffle Porcelian Round Souffle Dishes with Ribbed Sides. They are oven safe up to 500 degrees, which is rare in a souffle dish I discovered while shopping for the perfect dish at The Grove. Get one that is wide and shallow as opposed to taller and more narrow; 8 or 10 ounces should be sufficient.

Recipe rating: 