Recipe thuRsday: Pizza Bread

My friend Kellie got the idea for this recipe originally from Rachael Ray and used her own homemade sauce instead of Rachael's. If you have the sauce from last week already made, then this becomes a 30 minute meal. Actually, it's probably more like a 15 or 20 minute meal, but that's ok. Every parent is entitled to a fit of laziness every now and then and this fits the bill. You could even add vegetables to it if you wanted, although I recommend you add them under the cheese or mixed in with the sauce so they don't fall off!

* UPDATE: Kellie emailed me this morning with this little bit of info...very important! "You might want to add that the bread will toast better and more evenly if you brush it with a bit of olive oil. And the sauce needs to be thick and chunky." Thus spake Kellie. Enjoy!

Pizza Bread
Olive oil
2-3 cups of homemade meat spaghetti sauce, thick and chunky
2-3 cups of grated mozzarella or Italian cheese blend
1 ciabatta loaf (a thick french bread loaf will work great too if you can't get ciabatta)
Parmesan cheese and Italian blend spices as desired

1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Heat the sauce gently in the microwave if it's cold. It doesn't have to be piping hot, but warming it up while the bread toasts helps speed things up!
2. Slice the ciabatta in half from stem to stern (longways, like a giant hamburger bun) so that you end up with two flat halves. It should look like you can make a sammich from it.
3. Scoop out a little bit of the bread, but not too much. This is especially important if you are using a loaf that is really thick. The bits make nice snacking while you're waiting! Brush it lightly with some olive oil.
4. Bake the bread in the oven for about 5-10 minutes until it's toasted evenly and nicely.
5. Pull the bread out and spoon the sauce onto the pizza bread, dividing between the halves. You can put as much or as little as you like.
6. Sprinkle the cheese on top and then sprinkle parmesan and Italian herbs on top of that if you desire.
7. Pop the bread back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes, then turn the oven on to broil and let the pizza bread sit under the coils for 2-3 minutes. DON'T walk away as the cheese melts and bubbles really quick and you could end up eating quite a bit of carbon!
8. Let stand for a few minutes while you set the table. Transfer the pizza bread to a cutting board and cut up into eights. Serve like normal pizza and revel in your well-earned laziness :o)

Bon appetit!