Cheesy Dipping Bread & Pizza Boats

Ahtza lahtza mozzarella! It’s Monday again, and that means another recipe for the series Gourmet…Way Before Payday. This time it’s kinda sorta okay it is two recipes, not just one. ;) The Pizza Boats I’m sure most everyone remembers from their days at school back in the 60s and 70s. Do they still make them in school nowadays? At any rate, they’re a very inexpensive meal to make for the family, and we’ve used any kind of leftover bread product we’ve had, which usually is bought at the thrift bread store and low cost anyway. It’s a good way to use up bread or rolls that are well on the Highway to Stale.

The second recipe is what I always called Cheesy Dipping Bread. Years ago I was thinking of garlic bread and how good it would taste with melted cheese on top, and of course you have to have some sauce to dip it in…and voilà! Cheesy Dipping Bread was born!

So, let’s get cooking!

We’ll start with the Pizza Boats. First pick your bread. Usually they are made with a loaf of French or Italian bread, but I use whatever I happen to have on hand. I buy my bread at a local thrift store or I check out what I call the Dead Food rack in a grocery store, the one with items reduced for quick sale. The night we made this, I had some hamburger buns and wheat sub rolls that were dodging the Grim Reaper.

My beautiful daughter Megan was my number one helper with this. Open everything up and place on a sheet pan. Put a spoonful of spaghetti sauce on each and spread it out.

Sprinkle on a handful of cheese. You can sprinkle on a little bit of parmesan cheese too if you’d like, which is what I did this night.

Now they’re ready for the oven. Megan says, “Get away, Timmy!”

Maybe if I close my eyes, he'll disappear...

Oh forget your photo-bombing brother; smile Megan!

Bake for 15 minutes at 350° and they’re done!








Now for the Cheesy Dipping Bread: You can do this two ways, one being a little more work. I’ll show you both ways:

Mince the garlic and mix into the softened butter. Spread over the quartered loaf of bread. Sprinkle on the mozzarella. You can even use a little parsley on top to make it pretty. ;)

The quicker way is to simply spread butter on top of the bread and sprinkle on garlic powder. You can even toss on some Italian seasoning if you’d like. Then distribute the mozzarella cheese on top.

Both ways of doing it are good, and I’ve done it each way, but using the fresh minced garlic is fantastic. Now bake in a 350° oven for 15 minutes. You can also broil it to make the cheese browned on top. Cut into slices. Serve with spaghetti sauce in a small dish. My kids love dipping it into the sauce!

Enjoy! ~TMMF

Cheesy Dipping Bread 
 
1 loaf Italian or French bread
1 can spaghetti sauce
6 Tbl butter
4-5 big cloves garlic
   (or garlic powder)
3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Pizza Boats

1 loaf Italian or French bread
   or leftover rolls, buns, etc.
1 can spaghetti sauce
3 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Spaghetti sauce: .98, mozzarella cheese: $2.97, bread: .60-1.00. To feed 4-6: $4.55-$4.95. Prices may vary where you are, of course.