Stromboli

We decided not to make this recipe as a group because it looks too fussy. When we're cooking together, we've got our kids with us and they tend to get cranky when we take too long in the kitchen. But, it looks like a good freezer recipe nonetheless and someone may want to try it.

Stromboli

• 1 loaf frozen bread dough
• Sliced mozzarella cheese
• Sliced pepperoni
• Sliced ham
• Sliced hard salami
• Bottled Italian salad dressing
• 1 egg
• 1 envelope dry zesty Italian salad dressing
• Prepared marinara sauce

Grease a baking sheet, and roll the dough out to fit the shape of the pan. Layer the center one-third of the dough with the cheese & meats. Sprinkle with bottled Italian dressing, to taste. Using a pizza cutter, cut the sides of the dough diagonally, about every inch. Starting at the top edge of the filling and working your way down each side "braid" the sides by folding strips over the top of the filing, alternating left-right, left right. Be sure to seal the ends of the loaf by tucking the ends up under the "braid."

Beat together the egg and dry Italian dressing. Brush over the top of the stromboli.

To cook: Bake the stromboli at 350 degrees 15 minutes, just until the loaf begins to brown. Cool completely, wrap and freeze.

To serve: Thaw and finish cooking at 250 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until brown and the cheese is melted.

Variations: Use broccoli and onion; broccoli, ham and cheddar cheese, or sausage and pepperoni.

1 loaf serves 4.

Low Fat Pizza Pasta Cassarole

Another of our favorites! To reduce fat even more, we substituted the regular pepperoni with turkey pepperoni. Recipe adapted from momsbudget.com .

• 1 pound extra lean ground beef, ground chicken or ground turkey or a mixture totaling one pound
• 2 Tablespoons onion, chopped
• 1 jar (28 ounces) spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 a box (about 8 ounces) whole wheat or multi-grain pasta, cooked for freezing
• 1 1/2 cups skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 3 ounces sliced turkey pepperoni

In a large skillet, cook ground meat with onion until meat is no longer pink. Drain grease. Add spaghetti sauce and noodles and mix well. Transfer mixture to a 9"x13" pan. Arrange pepperoni on top and then sprinkle with cheese.*

To freeze, cover the pan with its lid or aluminum foil. Add a label with the cooking instructions.

Cooking instructions: thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake 35-40 minutes or until heated through.

*The original recipe calls for the cheese first and the pepperoni on top. We have found the turkey pepperoni gets a bit too crispy this way. If you like your pepperoni extra crispy, feel free to put it on top of the cheese.