Pizza Pillows

My friend Stacey gave me a recipe, a long time ago, for something called "Chicken Balls". Sounds equally funny and gross, but they are delicious, like everything Stacey makes. They are sometimes called Chicken Pillows or Chicken Puffs. They are those biscuits rolled into balls stuffed with cream cheese and shredded chicken, etc. They are so good and we still LOVE that recipe. I decided to try a new spin on the recipe because of the fact that my family loves pizza, but I need a way to freeze leftovers in a way that they will eat them later. My family is non too fond of frozen, reheated pizza. So, I had a thought...what if I used my pizza dough (which makes TONS of dough) and made "pizza balls"? Well, I'm pleased to announce that I tried it and my family, husband included, LOVED them! There were a few leftovers, which were promptly frozen and can be reheated (in an oven!) and served and enjoyed all over again!!! Talk about a stress-free meal for me in the future! The only thing I'll do differently next time is to make ALL the pizza pillows at once. I only made half the dough into pizza pillows (earlier this week) and then made them again last night. Next time, for a seriously stress free meal later in the week, I'll make them all and freeze half of them. Well, here is the recipe:

Dough recipe:

This dough recipe is from the cookbook under "Oven-Baked Thick Crusted Pizza **V**

1⁄2 C lukewarm water

2 T yeast

3 T sugar

Mix above ingredients and set aside for about 5 minutes.

1Tsalt

1/3 C oil

2 C lukewarm water

5-8 C sifted whole wheat flour

1 T dough enhancer (optional, available at health food stores)

1 T gluten (optional, available at health food stores)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix salt, oil, 3 C of flour, dough enhancer, gluten and water together. Add yeast mixture. Add whole wheat flour 1⁄2 C at a time until dough is just not sticky, DON'T add too much flour. Knead dough for about 8-10 minutes, making sure that dough is pliable, and is not sticky. Place dough in large, greased bowl and let rise for about an hour, punching down and kneading briefly every 10 minutes. Spray cookie sheets or baking stones.

Specific Directions for making pillows:

Pizza toppings

Parmesan Cheese

Melted Butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Divide pizza dough into small sections (a little smaller than fist-sized). Using a rolling pin, roll out into small circles. Put cheese, pepperonis, sausage, veggies or whatever topping you enjoy in the middle of the dough circle. Collect all outer parts of dough and seal into a ball with NONE of the toppings poking out anywhere. Roll pizza "pillows" in melted butter and then in Parmesan cheese. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Top with Marinara sauce and enjoy!

To reheat: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put frozen pizza pillows on a cookie sheet and reheat for 25-30 minutes or until very warm.

P.S. Veggie Pizza Pockets are really good with ranch dressing and extra parmesan cheese.