Stromboli - Pure & Simple and Oh So Easy

I think people forget about Strombolis until something sparks their memory and they have an ah ha moment.

It happened to me. When I was working retail full time and the holidays rolled around, I would buy a ready made stromboli, store it in the fridge and those nights when I walked in the door after a 14 hour day, I had a meal on the table in 30 minutes.
A bowl of good marinra sauce and maybe a salad, wasn't a bad fast food, as fast foods go. It was a Godsend.

Just because I cook mostly from scratch now doesn't mean I have been in the shoes of a busy working Mom having to put a healthy meal on the table almost every night. Although I admit we ate out 3x a week during Christmas, it was always a sit down pub or pizza joint and we always ate a good meal.

If you buy a pre-made pizza dough or a canister pizza dough or make your own in the fridge to rise dough, these breads are a great way to use those packages of "ends" that you can buy at the market for pennies.

I had been given a bag of terrific Italian sliced meats and cheeses and I had no idea what to use them in.
Then I got a coupon for Pillsbury Whole Wheat Pizza Dough in a can.

My ah ha moment.

I choose to make my dough, but those cans are as good as it gets when you have absolutely no time.
I admit I always have crescent rolls on the door of my fridge.

You can even make the filling in advance.
Simply process all the meats and cheeses until they are little pebbles. I add a clove of garlic and a tablespoon of Italian Seasonings.

Roll the dough into a rectangle and spoon the filling into the dough spreading to at least 1" on both sides and 2" on the far end.

Starting at the end closest to you, flip the dough over about 1" and press down firmly.
Then gently roll the dough up until you hit the end.
Flip the dough over and pinch the seam. Use an egg wash on both ends and tuck them under, seam side down.

On a prepared baking sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper, place the stromboli in the middle.
I made four small strombolis because I was also making a lunch portion and picture portion.

Brush the tops and sides with the egg wash. Sprinkle salt & pepper and grated cheese on the top, cutting three slits to allow the steam to escape. It will blow up in your oven if you do not do this.

Once they are out of  the oven, put a saucepan of sauce to simmer.
Slice the bread into 1" slices and serve with little bowls of sauce to dip the slices in.
Yum!!