Chicago Style Pizza Pot Pie – Take 2

I first wrote about Pizza Pot Pies several weeks ago.  They were very good, but I was a bit disappointed with the crust.  So I gave it another try, this time using frozen bread dough for the crust and the results were really good.  In fact, they were the requested dinner for my son’s birthday the other night.

I also made homemade sauce this time.  It’s very easy, but you could substitute a jar of pizza sauce if you like.

Here’s what you’ll need:

For the sauce:

• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• olive oil
• oregano
• basil
• thyme
• parmesan – about 1/4 cup

Saute the garlic in a small amount of olive oil in a small sauce pan.  Add the tomato sauce.  Stir in the spices to taste – about 1/2 tsp. of each, but I just eye ball it.  Stir in the cheese.  Let this cook over medium-low heat while you prep the other ingredients.

For the pizzas:

• 1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• mozzarella cheese
• 2 loaves frozen bread dough, thawed

You’ll need 6 oven proof bowls or ramekins as well.  Spray the bowls with cooking spray, taking care to coat the edges well.

Brown the sausage, garlic and onion together.  Rinse the meat under very hot water to remove the extra grease.  In the bowls, layer the cheese, then sausage, then sauce.

Roll out the bread dough, leaving it a bit thick (1/2″-3/4″).  Cut pieces out to fit the top of the bowl or ramekin.  It won’t fit pretty, but that’s ok.  Pinch around the edge of the bowl to seal it.  Bake at 450 degrees until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

To serve, turn the bowl upside down and run a knife around the edge of the dough.  Gently pry the bowl off of the pot pie.

I didn’t use all of the bread dough.  With the extra, you can cut it in strips for bread sticks or bake it like a flat bread with mozzarella cheese tossed on it.

Here’s a picture of the pot pies before I dumped them: