Triple Meat Stromboli

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If I am being honest I am not quite sure what the difference is between a calzone and a stromboli! Call it what you like but this is a meaty, filling, pizza-like goodness wrapped in a delicious yeasty dough. It has easily become my favorite for couch eating during movie nights or game days!

I have made this for years and it certainly is a favorite; however, I was a little hesitant to post it as it is a little more involved and does require making a yeast dough, which can sometimes be scary. Don’t overlook the beauty of it. It is so worth the time and energy! I also enjoy this recipe as it makes two large loafs, one of which I freeze. To me it is like two meals for the time of one!

The favor profile is endless. I love switching up the meats and also when in season adding fresh basil. Also don’t forget the marinara to dip in, it certainly takes it up a notch! I hope you give it a try!

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5 from 2 votes

Triple Meat Stromboli

A meaty and cheesy center wrapped in a golden and yeasty dough
Prep Time2 hours
Cook Time20 hours
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6
Author: The Food Practitioner

Ingredients

  • 5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 pkgs active dry yeast
  • 1-1 1/2 cups warm water
  • 1/2 cup warm milk
  • 2 Tbsp melted butter
  • 1 pound sausage
  • 1 pound hamburger meat
  • 1 cup Canadian bacon chopped
  • 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  • In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add water, milk and butter; beat on low until well combined.
  • Mix on low with a bread hook attachment until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. You can also knead by hand on a well-floured surface for the same amount of time.
  • Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
  • Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook sausage and hamburger meats until no longer pink; drain and cool.
  • Mix the cooked meats with chopped Canadian bacon, mozzeralla, and 2 eggs; set aside.
  • Punch dough down; divide in half. Roll each half into a 15 inch by 10 inch rectangle on 2 separate baking sheets.
  • Spoon half of the meat filling down 1 side of each dough sheet. Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges to seal. Cut 4 long strips on top of each stromboli.
  • Beat remaining egg and brush over the top of the loaves then sprinkle with Parmesan.
  • Cover and let rise until doubled, another 45 minutes.
  • Bake at 375 degrees Farenheit for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Slice and serve warm with a side dip of marinara sauce.

Notes

The filling can easily be adjusted to what you have on hand. I have sometimes made it with 2 pounds of sausage and fresh chopped basil in the summer. 
I also have switched out and sprinkled a little sea salt on top instead of Parmesan cheese.
My family usually eats just one loaf  for a meal (2 adults and 2 children). I cut remaining fully cooked loaf in half wrap in foil and place in freezer zip lock bags for a quick meal. When ready to eat I thaw and bake with foil on at 350 degrees only until heated through. 

Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole

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Last summer I had a project of asking family members to mail me their favorite recipes. I love the sentiment of a hand written recipe. I thought about getting family recipes together for my girls but realized I mostly knew about the recipes near and dear to my side of the family and not as much my husbands. It was fun to receive these recipes from all over the United States from young cousins to aging grandparents. I know I will treasure these as much as my daughters will down the road.

I haven’t tried them all yet but one of my favorite recipes from my husband’s side of the family came from an Aunt that lives close to the Washington D.C. area. We have made it many times already! Baked French Toast Casserole!

I’ll be honest most mornings I am a little slow going so this fits my lifestyle a lot better than making the individual French Toasts. I can have it ready to go the night before than just pop it in the oven first thing in the morning (or let’s be honest have my husband bake it since he takes the early early morning shift with the kids!). With the fall season upon us now I succumbed to the cinnamon apple craze and I admit it took this breakfast treat to a whole new level!

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Baked Apple French Toast Casserole

An easy make ahead breakfast casserole made from buttery brioche bread and topped with warm sweet apples.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Soaking1 hour
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6
Author: The Food Practitioner

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf Brioche Bread cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 7 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
  • 4 tsp vanilla

Topping

  • 3 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp white granulated sugar
  • 4 tsp butter cut into small cubes
  • 2 apples peeled, cored, and diced

Instructions

  • Place brioche cubes in a warm oven for 8-10 minutes to dry out and become slightly crispy.
  • Whisk together eggs, milk, sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl.
  • Add the warm bread cubes in and toss to coat.
  • Place the bread mixture in a greased 9 x 11 inch pan.
  • Allow the mixture to sit for at least an hour or overnight.
  • Right before baking add the butter, diced apples, and cinnamon and sugar mixture on top.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until a knife is inserted in the center and comes out clean.
  • Serve warm with syrup!

Notes

To me the easiest thing is to prepare this the night before and store in the refrigerator so you don’t have to wait on the soaking time first thing in the morning. 
I wait to peel, core, and dice apples until right before I am ready to bake to prevent them from turning brown. 
You can also let the brioche set out overnight to become a little hardened and skip baking it 8-10 minutes in the oven.  
This casserole is so versatile and has many different variations. The original is so good “plain” without the apples. You can substitute chocolate chips, different dry fruits like raisins, or after baking top with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, powdered sugar, or whipped cream. 
 

Unicorn Party

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With a newly turned 4 year old and 2 year old girls we are living in a world of unicorns and rainbows and I am not sad about that at all! My 4 year old has been saying she wanted a unicorn and rainbow party this year and boy was it so much fun to plan! My girls have birthdays that are two weeks apart so with COVID-19 still a concern we still enjoyed a day full of magic with family celebrating both of their birthdays!

The most fun was making the rainbow pizzas! Pizza is enjoyed by all our family and was at the top of Addy’s birthday menu! After searching Pinterest I discovered that shredded mozzarella in a zip lock bag shaken with a few drops of food coloring will quickly change it to the desired color! This was a great spin on cheese pizza!

Unicorn Cheese Pizza

I still had some of the colored cheese left over and ended up mixing the colors and adding desired toppings of meat for the guys! The colors still held up! with the colors being mixed it gave is more of a speckled or also tie-dyed effect. One of the pizzas I made was a rainbow veggie pizza for the adults that was also colorful!

Another neat touch was our “unicorn punch”. Sadly I forgot to take a picture but just made regular lemonade then froze ice cubes in batches with a drop or two of food coloring and made different trays of different colors that I added right at party time.

I got the girls to help me with an easy take home favor of chocolate dipped Oreos with a unicorn chocolate on top. I melted the white chocolate in small batches and to make it more “unicorny” I added a couple of drops of food coloring and gently swirled, not completely incorporating, then dipped the Oreo 3/4 the way in so it had marbled effect. Before the chocolate hardened I had already made unicorn chocolates from a silicon mold that were set that I popped out and added to the top of the Oreo.

Chocolate dipped Oreo

It was certainly a magical day! In a world filled with an ongoing virus that has completely disrupted all of our little one’s lives it was nice to celebrate them in a magical way, with lots of sugar and food coloring! I hope my girls hang onto their magical world of rainbows and unicorns! Happy Birthday!