"P" Is For Pitiful...And Pizza Sauce...And Pizza Braid

I had to laugh at myself when I took a second look at the shopping list I had scribbled down last Saturday morning.  It looked like this...

Have any of you ever had grocery lists that looked like this?  When I wrote down "pretty much everything else," I meant pretty much everything else!!  Things were just plain pitiful around here in our pantry!  I took a trip to Publix and spent a grand fortune, but saved a bunch as well - the BOGO's were awesome!!  I stocked up on some great items to have on hand for school lunches and after school snacks, and got us some food in this house as well.  Finally!

One thing I did have on hand, though, was pizza sauce.

My friend Laurie had come into town from Maryland.  We were talking on the phone a few days before she came down and I told her I had a strange request.  For some reason I was craving Don Pepino's pizza sauce, which I hadn't had in the nearly five years it has been since we moved here.  So far I have never seen it around in any stores, and I think it is the.best.pizza.sauce.ever.  I can eat it by itself I love it so much!  Laurie was the one who introduced me to this delicious sauce years ago, and I asked her if she would mind bringing me a can or two.  Well, thankfully she brought me not one, not two, but six cans of this pizza making magic!  I was itching to use some and had an idea for our Saturday lunch.

Have any of you ever made a braid from crescent rolls at a Pampered Chef party?  I remember the first time I saw and tasted one, and remember making a few as a young bride.  I had the idea to try making a braid using crescent rolls like I used to, but filling it with pizza toppings.  Here is what I used...

This looks really cool when finished, but it is honestly very simple.  You unroll the two cans of crescent rolls and lay them next to each other on a jelly roll pan or stone.  Roll them lightly to seal them together, then take a knife and make slits all the way down on either side of the dough.  When you are done rolling and cutting, it should look like this...

Take some pizza sauce and put a thin layer down the middle of the dough where it is not cut.

Then you add some cheese - I used one 8 oz bag.

Next, add whatever toppings you would like!  I did mine in sections...plain for good old, predictable Trevor; pepperoni for Jimmy and Madi; and green olives for me.

Then you make the braid, but don't panic, it's easy.  Just pull the sides over top the sauce, cheese, and toppings, alternating sides.  I gave mine a little twist at the top.  Try not to over-handle the dough so it doesn't get sticky.  When you are finished with the braid, pull the dough at the two ends up and seal them.

The Pampered Chef recipes that inspired me call for the braid to be brushed with an egg white.  Since I was making this pizza style, I simply added a little olive oil to the egg white, mixed it up, and brushed it on.

I then sprinkled the braid with parmesan cheese, Italians seasoning, and garlic salt. You could use other Italian seasonings or cheeses of your choice as well - whatever you want!

This is how it looked when it was about to go into the oven, which I had preheated to 375 degrees. (Yes, you see correctly, I didn't season Trevor's end.  I was afraid he might be suspicious of the green stuff!)

I started watching it at 20 minutes and think I pulled it out of the oven before 25 minutes.  The filling was hot, the cheese was melted, and the crescent roll crust was perfect.  I was excited to try this!

While the braid was baking, I heated up the rest of the pizza sauce from the can so we could use it for dipping...

And whisked together some Italian dressing, made a quick salad, and heated up a can of green beans for the kids.

This super easy dish turned out to be delicious!  Yes, it took a few minutes of prep time, but I promise you it is simple.  A fun, not too hard way to treat your family to something different and special!

Definitely perfect for a nice Saturday lunch at home!