Weeknight Shorts: Folded Pizza

I used to reserve stromboli for a special treat when eating out. That was before I realized how easy a couple of cans of refrigerated crescent roll dough could make things. Less than a half hour after starting, I could have a dinner plate that looked like this:

Now, there are a couple of tricks to making this easier. I like pressing the dough out on a silicone baking mat. It means the dough won't stick, but it also helps when it comes time to roll the pastry up. I like to use a basic sushi-rolling technique with the baking mat standing in as a sushi-rolling mat. Also, you can allow the rolled pastry to rest on the mat as you lift it to set inside your baking dish. Doing so avoids torn pastry and filling falling out onto the table or floor.

You may have already guessed that the fillings are really up to you. I opted for what you see here because everything happened to be on hand when it was time to put these together. Just try to pick items that won't end up too soggy inside the pastry and take extra care to avoid over-filling your stromboli. Beyond that, the sky is the limit. You can opt for other common stromboli fillings (like sausage and cheese), go with themes (like breakfast), or pull out more baking pans and make a bunch of different varieties for a party.

However you decide to assemble yours, this is a great recipe to have on hand for evenings when you are short on time, but wanting a meal that isn't short on flavor. You can simply pair it with a salad and drinks and you're good to go. You'll even have enough time to toss together your salad while the stromboli is in the oven. Now that's a great weeknight short!