I’m not the world’s biggest football fan. But I am a big fan of going to the mall during the game. And I’m nice enough to leave my husband with plenty of food to tide him over in my absence. I made him a Snackadium and boy, did his eyes light up when he saw it. Nothing says love like a Snackadium. Let’s rephrase that, nothing eases the pain of credit card statements from those mall trips better than some cheesy, carby goodness in the shape of a football field. I used meatless sausages on the fifty yard line, mini pepperoni on the other yard lines, and flatbread topped with avocado-cucumber are the turf. Or green bleachers depending on how your imagination works.
The whole thing comes together in thirty minutes so in case you have a last minute party or hungry brood to feed, it’s tasty, fast, and easy. First, I made the flatbread base that’s later topped with avocado and cucumber. I used Pillsbury Big ‘N Flaky Crescent Rolls. I arranged the dough triangles together, end-to-end on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat to form one large continuous rectangle. I had to tear and stretch some of the triangles to get them to fit on the pan, but since it’s later covered with a dense green topping, visual perfection isn’t necessary. I drizzled two tablespoons of olive oil over the dough and baked it for about fifteen minutes until it was slightly puffed and golden.
While it baked, I diced half of a large English cucumber and mashed three avocados. The avocados were extremely ripe and on sale for three-for-a-buck. I suspect my grocery store was trying to get rid of them, which worked out perfectly because like bananas, extra-ripe avocados are so much easier to mash, and are creamier and sweeter. I used English cucumber because they’re seedless and have far less water compared to regular cucumbers. Because this mixture was going on top the flatbread, I didn’t use anything too watery for fear of making the bread soggy. I squired a little lemon juice over the mixture, generously seasoned with chipotle seasoning, a pinch of salt and pepper, and stirred. Use any kind of spices you enjoy including cumin, garlic or onion powder, a favorite seasoning blend, or feel free to work in other diced vegetables like bell peppers, red onions, olives, corn, or cilantro. This is really just a variation on chunky guacamole. After the flatbread emerged from the oven and cooled momentarily, I topped it with the avocado-cucumber mash, and sliced it using a pizza wheel.
Scott commented that he loved the flatbread dough, which was crescent roll dough, and liked it even better than the pizza dough. As I was arranging both types of dough on Silpats prior to baking, they looked very similar. I thought they may even be the same dough, but they’re not. The crescent roll dough bakes up puffier, thicker, and according to Scott has better flavor. I did drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil on the crescent roll dough, which I’m sure helped the overall flavor, but this again proves that crescent roll dough can do no wrong. I’ve made everything from Nutella Cinnamon Rolls to Cream Cheese and Jelly Danish and now savory flatbreads. I love it so much because it’s so versatile and can go either sweet or savory.
I made the pizza using Pillsbury Classic Pizza Crust. I stretched the dough over a standard-sized cookie sheet lined with a Silpat, covered it with red pasta sauce, and topped it with shredded mozzarella. The fifty yard line is meatless gluten-free sausage and the other yard lines are mini pepperoni. As I was laying out all those mini pepperonis I was thinking about all the body spray I was going to treat myself with at the mall. I baked the football field for about eighteen minutes until it was just browned. If baking these two recipes on the same day, note that crescent roll dough bakes at 350F and pizza dough bakes at 400F.
My family loved both the pizza and the flatbread. My almost six-year old told me it was the best thing I’ve ever made. She said that two weeks ago with these and these. Most days my husband is a slightly more credible source than she is, and the whole thing received very high marks from him, too.
The pizza was gooey, cheesy, and the dough was soft and supple. It reminds me of deep-dish pizza dough without actually creating a deep-dish pizza. There’s the option to prebake the crust for about 10 minutes, then top it with sauce, cheese, and toppings, which will yield a crispier crust, but I really didn’t want to bother. Plus, Scott’s a native Chicago guy and you can take the boy out of the city and move him to California but can’t take the love of deep-dish out of the boy.
Although he eats guacamole and avocado, he’s not generally the fiend that I am. If this was served at a football party, it would be the first thing I’d go for. Both he and Skylar gobbled up the flatbread and I’ve already been asked to remake it. The last time I got asked for a recipe remake before the dishes were even done on the item at-hand were these. The cooling, creamy avocado with the crunchy cucumbers, balanced with slight kick from the chipotle seasoning, was a nice accompaniment to the pizza. In addition to loving the flatbread dough itself, he remarked that food like this leaves you full and satisfied without being stuffed because green things just don’t do that to you. I agree.
Based on ease and minimal time investment of a half hour, the oohs and ahhs, and brownie points I scored with my family, homemade pizza is going into rotation more frequently around here. I mean, who can resist eating your way down to the twenty yard line.
Related Recipes:
Avocado Cream Cheese and Salsa-Stuffed Puff Pastry (vegan) – One of the top ten Most Viewed Recipes of 2012, these savory bites are rich and satisfying with a slight kick from the salsa. Many brands of puff pastry are vegan and vegan cream cheese is an easy swap to keep them vegan. I’ve had dozens and dozens of people write saying they’re made these and with glowing reports Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes!
Nutella Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla Glaze – All the flavor of homemade cinnamon rolls, with none of the work or waiting period. The rolls use a handy shortcut by way of refrigerated crescent rolls, and are ready from start to finish in about 15 minutes. They’re filled with Nutella spread, and are gooey, oozing, moist, succulent, and tender. After their short stint in the oven, the rolls are finished with an easy vanilla glaze. They’re decadent and a ridiculously easy way to enjoy homemade cinnamon rolls in a hurry
Cinnamon Sugar Crust Cream Cheese and Jelly Danish Squares – Tastes like an Entenmann’s danish, with a crispy and crunchy cinnamon-sugar coating, and is filled with smooth cream cheese and jelly. The squares use a shortcut and begin as crescent roll dough are a snap to make
Mango Basil Personal-Sized Tortilla Pizzas – Tortilla shells make a great foundation for thin and crispy pizza, my favorite kind. I love mango or pineapple on pizza and the beauty of mini pizzas is that everyone can customize their toppings and flavors for at-home personal pizzas and no one gets stuck picking off a topping she doesn’t like
Cinnamon Bun Pie – An easy shortcut makes these a favorite recipes because of the time savings and because of the sweet cinnamon-sugar streusel topping that adorns these gooey and sweet rolls. Ready in 30 minutes
Strawberry Jelly Rolls – These rolls are ready from start to finish in 15 minutes, including baking time and the dishes, becasue they start out as white dinner rolls and are my favorite way to use up storebought dinner rolls
I partnered with Pillsbury through DailyBuzz to help promote their Crescent Roll and Pizza Crust products. I have been compensated for my time commitment to work with this product. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Thank you Pillsbury for the opportunity to create a Snackadium. What do you like on your pizza? Any favorite tailgating or game day recipes? Do you have creative recipes using crescent rolls, premade dough, or a favorite pizza dough recipe? Feel free to link your favorites because I’ve never met a shortcut that I didn’t like.
