The amount of meals that we now eat somewhere other than our own house has at least doubled in the last month or so. Not only are we eating lunch like most people who work outside of the home (at our desk or otherwise) but the beautiful weather has made for a few very good excuses to soak up some sunshine while holding lunch in our lap. You won’t hear many complaints from me about that one.
Picnicking is one of our favorite family activities and Spring is a perfect time for it. As long as we can squeeze in a little time between the “April Showers” , you will find us stuffing food in our face on a blanket or roasting marshmallows over a campfire. Picnicking weather in the South is hard to come by before the weather is so hot and muggy that you can hardly stand it (of course then you find you a nice, cold creek to sink your toes into).
This baked sandwich is probably the most perfect picnic fare you will ever make. It is just as delicious at room temperature as it is hot from the oven. It’s full of flavor and vegetables, too, so you can feel better about shoving your face full of salami. Happy Spring!
Ingredients
- 1 tube of Pillsbury pizza dough
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 2 oz . large sliced pepperoni
- 2 oz . sliced hard salami
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 4 oz . sliced black forest ham
- ½ cup pitted chopped Kalamata olives (or sub green olives if you can’t find Kalamatas)
- ½ small onion thinly sliced
- 4 small sweet peppers sliced
- 2 t . Italian seasoning
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- ¼ c . shredded Parmesan cheese
- 4 eggs
- ½ t . garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 inch spring-form pan with cooking spray. Remove the dough from the tube and gently stretch it to cover the pan, it’s sides, and have a generous amount hanging over the edges. Line the bottom of the dough with 1 cup of fresh spinach followed by salami, pepperoni, half of the Mozzarella, ham, olives, onions, peppers, remaining Mozzarella and remaining spinach. Then sprinkle half of the Italian seasoning, the minced garlic and the parmesan cheese on top of the spinach. Lightly beat the 4 eggs and pour over the spinach. Fold the dough over the sandwich and pinch the edges closed to seal it. Brush the top with a little egg (whatever is left in the bowl) and sprinkle with the remaining seasoning, garlic powder and a little Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then, uncover and bake for another 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before removing from the pan and serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Tip: If you have homemade pizza dough feel free to use that instead of the store bought!
Leave a Reply