Pizza Style Roll-up

Just like everyone else I am always looking for those recipes that everyone in the family will like and yes simple to make.  I found a great one when I came across a recipe called bacon cheeseburger roll-up. I did have to change it; I have one person that will not eat bacon. My daughter Krista is not a bacon lover so I decided to change this bacon roll-up to a pizza roll-up. Actually, the pizza one was more appealing to me too.

The nice thing about this roll-up is there is just a ton of ways that you could make. Let your imagination go wild. The recipe called for a package of refrigerator pizza crust, which I did not have so I made my own pizza dough. I used a pound of lean ground beef, but you could use ground turkey, pork, Italian sausage, or whatever ground meat you prefer. I seasoned the ground beef with a few pizza seasonings which I will list later and served it with pizza sauce. Yum!

The night that I wanted to serve this roll up I actually had an appointment after work, so I decided to make it the night before and set it in the refrigerator until the next day. Just make sure that you cool your meat completely before rolling it up in the dough if you are not going to bake it right away. That way when Mike came home the next day he could pop it in the oven and he had his dinner in no time. I would bet that you could probably even freeze this for a later date.

Serve it with a salad and this pizza roll-up with be the perfect quick meal. Both young and old will love it. If you don’t like the idea of the pizza roll-up make it your own way. I hope you will give this a try and enjoy a quick and delicious meal.

Pizza Style Roll-up (Adapted from Kraft Food & Family Deliciously Simple. Everyday. Spring 2007)
1 pound of lean ground beef
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 mozzarella cheese
1 package (13.8 ounces) refrigerated pizza crust (or you can your favorite pizza crust recipe).

Directions:
Add ground beef to a large skillet along with the onion powder, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat until ground beef is evenly browned, stirring occasionally. Drain any grease that may be in the skillet. Add the mozzarella and stir until blend and cheese has melted (don’t worry if it is not completely melted); set aside.
Unroll pizza dough onto baking dish sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Press into a 15×8-inch rectangle. Top evenly with the meat mixture. (If not baking right away make sure that the meat is thoroughly cooled all the way). Roll up dough, starting at one of the long sides. Rearrange, if necessary, so the roll is seam-side down on the baking sheet.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes in a preheated 375 degrees F oven. (If the roll is made the day before taking the rollout of the refrigerator while the oven is heating up and bake for about 30 minutes) or until golden brown. Cut into slices and top with your favorite pizza sauce.

Note: You can add your favorite pizza toppings to the meat such as onions or green peppers or whatever you prefer. Add these to your meat as it is cooking)