Pizza Bites

If you haven't been able to guess this about me already, I get bored with regularity in our meals. I think I've said before that I just can't make myself be a meal planner--weekly or monthly menus and such. Its just not who I am. I'm glad for those of you that can be more organized. But the boredom--I tend to change things up regularly. Specifically, I like changing up types of pizza I make. I like changing up the presentation or the type. So really, this is more of an idea than a recipe. My inspiration came from here, but I used my own dough recipe. I've actually tried this using my calzone dough and my brick-oven pizza crust dough and I MUCH prefer the 2nd one, even if its a little more work. Both are good, however. I have not tried the basic pizza crust recipe on here, though it should work fine. These are great for dinner or for an appetizer. My kids love them and really enjoy helping make them!

Pizza Bites
1 recipe of pizza or calzone dough
Mozzarella cheese, diced small
Fillings--pepperoni, sausage, chicken, bell peppers, onions, bacon, pineapple, spinach--whatever sounds good!
Olive oil
Italian Seasoning
Parmesan, if available
Pizza sauce or Ranch for dipping

Make up the recipe of dough according to directions. Flour your surface well and roll out into a large rectangle, about 1/8-1/4 inch thick.

Using a pizza cutter or a knife, slice into squares. 2x2 is a little small and 3x3 is a little large, so just go for something in between! 

Feel free to pull off any not-quite-square pieces and re-roll them at the end. On top of each square, place some diced cheese (I have grated in the pictures, but diced works better!) and a little of whatever other filling you want. You won't need much or they won't close up.

Next, take each dough square and pull the edges up and squish and pinch them together a bit. (My squares in the pictures are a little small.)

Place the balls, pinched side down, in a lightly greased baking dish. Lightly brush or rub the tops with olive oil and sprinkle on some Italian seasoning and Parmesan.

Bake at about 400-425F (205-220C). Take your cues from the dough recipe you use. I lean more toward 425F. Bake 15-20 minutes or until tops are browned and looks done--some might have cheese oozing out. Serve with dipping sauce and enjoy!

Notes: I liked the pizza crust dough best. I fast tracked it though. I probably only let it rise about 30 minutes (no where near doubled) and then made the pizza bites up. They did great. The calzone dough was a little doughy for me and took longer to cook. The picture above is from the pizza crust--it made between 30-40 bites. Calzone dough recipe made less.