I can’t say enough about the Trader Joe’s garlic herb pizza dough.
Pizza is one of those foods that I could eat several times a week – I was sick of it for a while after dorm life, but now I like a really flavorful, veggie packed pizza as opposed to the cheap, greasy, cardboard chain-store pizzas. I used to think nothing could beat homemade dough, but paying only 99 cents and getting a flavor packed crust in minutes is pretty much perfect.
I used half of the dough to make a pesto shrimp pizza (similar to this socca) earlier this week, and wanted to try something different with the dough I had left.
Enter: healthy pizza rolls -> pizza bites!
Ingredients:
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pizza dough of choice (I used half a package)
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4 artichoke hearts, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (about 1/3 cup)
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1/2 roasted red pepper, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (about 1/3 cup)
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1/3 cup crumbled feta
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1/3 cup reduced fat shredded mozzerella
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olive oil or pesto, for brushing (about 1-2 Tbsp)
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flour for rolling
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Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
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Roll dough as thin as possible and cut in to 2 inch pieces.
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Combined artichokes, peppers, and cheeses, mixing well.
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Scoop 1 tsp of mixture on to each piece of dough, pinch the sides and top closed, and place on baking sheet. Repeat with all pieces of dough.
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Brush tops of dough pockets with olive oil (I used oil from the top of pesto for more flavor).
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Bake 18-22 minutes, until tops are lightly browned.
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Serve with tomato sauce for dipping (I used garlic flavored jarred pasta sauce).
Makes approximately 30 pizza bites.
These were supposed to be an appetizer but just might have been my dinner last night.
You might want to wait a minute before biting in to one straight off the baking sheet – no matter how amazing they smell.
Trust me on that one.
Way healthier than deep fried frozen pizza rolls!
Dessert was also amazing thanks to Janetha’s genius protein cheesecakes.
I’ve been trying to cut down on the added sugar in my diet, and it’s tough when my mother makes her homemade cheesecake. These did the trick for my craving! I didn’t have graham crackers, so I made the based with dates and Kashi cereal – amazing!
On to business… I need some help!
Self Hosting for Dummies
Foodie Blog Roll, who I’ve been working with almost since I started my blog, decided that WordPress blogs won’t get credit for their impressions even when they show the non-script adds correctly (as my site has been for months). It’s been extremely frustrating and their customer service has been terrible.
Secondly, not being self hosted really limits the things I can change and widgets I can add to my blog.
I tried switching to self hosting once before but found it incredibly overwhelming. My domain is currently with iPage, so I plan to upgrade to their hosting package, but tried again last night and got frustrated (and frantically emailed Matt, sorry!) with a bunch of errors when trying to export/import my old posts into their WordPress plug in.
If anyone has a comprehensive, “switching to self hosting for dummies” resource, I’d really appreciate you sharing it!
Pain in the Knee
Secondly, my knee has been killing me since my surprisingly easy long run last week. From my research I think it’s “runners knee”, but the soreness that I get from sitting all day long is almost unbearable. I’ve been trying to rest it (and only doing upper body exercises this week), but now that the rest doesn’t seem to be helping (for more than a week), I’m thinking maybe I need to just use it and get past it?
It’s so frustrating because I want to start training for the half marathon next week.
I’m trying to avoid seeing a specialist since they never fixed my ankle injury. I’m wearing a brace today but it doesn’t seem to be helping too much – and the other muscles in my leg (above and below the knee cap) are becoming affected. Any runners have advice for me?
On a happy note…
I’m so thrilled to have won Laura’s vegetable cookie giveaway! Cookie Underground is such a great concept (and their website has drool worthy photos). Can’t wait to try them and share my opinion with you all!
Stay tuned for another giveaway from my FAVORITE yogurt company… the life changing new flavors might just be involved.
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20 Responses to Greek Pizza Bites and Asking for Advice
I am the same way with pizza… these rolls sound perfect. It’s like a cross between pizza and ravioli (my other fav Italian food).
Sorry about your knee. The same thing happens to me sitting all day. The best thing I’ve found is using the foam roller and getting up frequently for walks/stretching.
So glad you won the giveaway!!
Hmm, they are almost like a baked ravioli… so pumped for the cookies!
wish i could help ya girl…but i just paid someone to switch to self hosting for me
ps gotta try that dough
Ahh I certainly will stay-tuned for a Chobani giveaway! WOO HOO. Just a guess on the Chobani being your fave yogurt company
Those pizza bites look amazing. So so yummy! I am very impressed.
I think you’re on the right track…
Ah! Those pizza bites look AMAZING!! I have a Trader Joe’s trip in my future since I forgot the pizza crust last time–can’t wait to try this!
For the knee, are you icing it? Try putting your leg up on a chair, too. And make sure you’re not doing any leg extensions if you lift weight. Those are a huge no-no if you have knee issues.
I want to move to self hosting, too, but I have no idea how. Please share if you figure it out!!!
It’s painful but not swollen. I’m trying a brace today for my 1 mile walk to and from work.
I hate when I forget the pizza dough!
Why have I never made these before?
oh man..I’m a pizza junkie. I’ve gotta try this!
I vote that you pay someone to do the switcharoo. That’s what I did– I’m techie illiterate!
Yumm! These look soo good. I don’t have a trader joe’s near me but the garlic and herb dough sounds fantastic!
Those look so good and such a fun twist on ‘pizza’! I wish I lived near a Trader Joe’s to get their dough, it is so good!
How cute (and creative)! I used to always think you had to make pizza dough from scratch for optimal flavor…but really, sometimes it’s just easier (and still as tasty) in the long run to make your own. [I kind of feel the same way about pie crust...which I know is blasphemy!]
Those little bites look so good! Such a great idea.
Thanks, Kerry!
Looks delicious!
i LOVE pizza.
My husband switched it all for us–such a pain, but it is doable….
For the knee pain, I had that when I ran too much on a track–do you by chance run on a track? It was probably just being loaded incorrectly. Try strengthening the quad muscles–as this usually causes weak knees and knee pain. You also might have a tight IT band. Just some thoughts to think about!
Foodieblog roll isn’t doing what? I need to know, I just joined…..are they a pain?
wow, these look absolutely delicious! WOW! i used to buy boxed pizza bites back in the day, but it would be so fun to make them at home, and healthier.
Oh gosh, those pizza bites look so delcious! And I’m on wordpress, not self hosted. That’s way to technical for me right now…
EMAIL ME AND I CAN HELP YOU SWITCH
I ran a marathon last October and had terrible knee pain. I self-diagnosed myself with runners knee as well. My biggest problem was taking a break from running and cardio, in general. It got so bad that I couldn’t even do the elliptical without it hurting. I finally just took a month off from doing ALL cardio and it is feeling wayyyy better. I ran 3-4 miles this week, twice, and had no pain. I am slowly easing back in, but I think you should take a break, stretch and ice and hopefully it will heal quick. Sorry