What to do with all that sauce?

Yes THIS post is going to be another pizza post. Can you tell we love our pizza around the Bacon house?  It's most requested for dinner on family fun night, and what can I say?  They give me the puppy dog face.  But I do get bored with the same ol' round pizza.  And you know I have lots of jars of that fantastic pizza sauce lined up in your cupboard right?  So what to make this time?  Pizza braids!  They are wonderful!  And quick and easy and freeze well....  So you want to make one for your family fun night too? Or just any night?  Read on!

First start with that tasty pizza dough.  Once it's all mixed up and rested, take the dough and divide it in half.

Press it out into a rectangle on a flour coated surface, I use my wood cutting board. Good tip to keep the board from slipping is to place it on a silicone hot pad or other non-stick material you have. I keep a chunk of that non-slip shelf liner in my gadget drawer just for this.

Roll out a nice rectangle.  Oh I think this one is about 15 inches long, yes I just guess I never measure much, just ask Mr. Bacon!  

Next add your favorite toppings down the center. Leave about a two inch boarder around the edge. Can you guess who likes to help here? Little Miss Bacon has been loving helping me out more in the kitchen.   

Next cut the dough about every 2 inches around the pizza only up to where the sauce is.  Do this only along both long sides, not the short ends.

Then I flip in the short ends, and bring in the cut stripes. I rotate one from the right, then the left, then back to the right. You get the picture right?!  Bacon Jr. loves to help with this step.  After all it is family fun night and which includes dinner at our house!

As for the other half of pizza dough, you can repeat all the steps above and have two pizza braids or you can go ahead and make some cheesy bread to go with it!  To make it first start with the steps above to make a large rectangle.  Then I melt some butter  (about 1/4 stick) and add some garlic bread seasoning to it.  It's from Tastefully Simple and so not thrifty, but one bottle lasts us about 6 months.  You can feel free to add in some garlic powder, Italian seasonings, Mrs. Dash garlic & herb or what ever you have on hand. Or you can just skip adding things to your butter.  After all it's suppose to be a fun relaxing night right?

Then brush your rectangle with the melted butter.  Next sprinkle on your favorite shredded cheese. We use a 3 cheese blend. 

Now it's time to braid it all up. You can see a little better the way I cross mine over, I'm not picky on this step so if it doesn't look all that pretty it's ok, I just tell people Mr. Bacon did it! 

Next toss them both on a greased baking sheet.  Yes this is a bit tricky with the transfer from the cutting board to the pan.  I just grab it at both ends and pick it up and set it on the pan.  It usually doesn't fall apart. And if it does, I just piece it back together. 

On top of the cheesy bread I brush on more of the melted garlic butter.  This is Little Boy Bacon's job.  He loves to paint dinner, and I love that everyone gets to do a part.  If you're wondering what Mr. Bacon got to help with it was sampling the pizza toppings!  Place in a 400* oven for 12-15 minutes or until the tops are nice and golden brown and the cheese is all melty.  

Now to to add just a little more cheese.  When it comes out I grate on some fresh Parmesan cheese over both the pizza and the garlic bread.  Slice then in strips and you're ready for your own family fun night!  We usually break out the board games after dinner and play many before it's time for the kids to tuck in to bed.  There is nothing better than spending time with my family and starting new traditions!  So what are you doing for family fun night?