Spinach Garlic Cheese Rolls

 Cody and I made Spinach Garlic Cheese Rolls, and we've received a few requests for the recipe. So, I'll share it! 

My inspiration came from this photo I saw floating around pinterest, but couldn't find an attached link (Pinterest could not fetch pin).  I was drawn to the Pioneer Woman's Garlic Cheese Bread topping :YUMMMMMMY PICTURES  and re-vamped to my little needs.

Then, I found a Spinach Pizza Dough Recipe at Dollar Friendly Meals website! And Doubled it. Because I'm lazy, and don't like doing stuff like this that takes almost an hour if I can't eat it a whole bunch of times afterwards. Reap the Benefits, People! FREEZE MEALS!

You roll out the dough in a rectangular-ish shape and lay the garlic cheese mix thinly across the surface before rolling it up like this.

I cut it into about 1.5 inch thick pieces, thicker makes less rolls, but more in each roll.

this is how many one double batch made, each roll cut 1.5 to 2 inches thick

Freeze any you want before baking! Just thaw them to bake next time!

Yummy! I let them sit for about 10-20 mins at this stage, they are more dense if you don't let them sit.

Bad Lighting, but Done! Ooozing and golden is perfect!

We eat them as a meal in themselves. OR like this weekend: With Baked Chicken, Corn and Spaghetti sauce for dipping.

Tim, Cody and I all three LOVE these rolls. My friend Sarah just made them, and used the dough for Pizza, so we'll have to find out how that turned out!

Amy's Spinach Garlic Cheese Rolls Recipe: 

DOUGH
6 Cups white flour - I used unbleached
4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (equivalent to two packets)
1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp salt 
4 Tbsp sugar
2 10 oz. packages frozen spinach, thawed -I unwrap the boxes and just let them thaw in my blender (about 4 hours: Or you can microwave it for quick thawing!)
4 Tbsp olive oil - Or just splash as much as you want into the spinach in the blender.

To make dough: Thaw Spinach in Blender
Mix yeast into warm water in a little bowl, and let it sit while you mix the rest of the ingredients up
Pulse Spinach and Oil in the Blender until "halfway pureed" (it takes on a lighter, creamier look)
Combine all other ingredients in a bowl (I use my KitchenAid Stand Mixer with the Pirate Hook Dough Hook attachment)
Add Spinach Mix and the Yeast/Water
Knead until elastic (like your earlobe) --about ten minutes-- which is easy with a mixer! You'll have a great work out if you do this by hand, but it's fine to do that!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover dough and set the bowl on stove to sit for about 20 mins

Sprinkle some flour on the table/counter/giant board. Cut your dough in half, and work with one part at a time. Roll the dough out into a rectangle about half an inch thick. 
Spread your cheese mix onto it. You can see what this looks like in the first picture, with cheese spread on it. I try to split the cheese in half too, before spreading it. And usually save a little extra for a quesadilla the next day!

FILLING (Sorry, I'm a blobber, not a measure from the cup with a knife)

2 Parts (about 2 cups) Shredded Mozz Cheese (or combination of Mozz, PepperJack, Colby, Cheddar...)
to 1 Part Mayo (about 1 cup)(I use the Mayo with Olive Oil)
-Minced Garlic (1-2 TBSP)
-Garlic Salt if you have it, or without is ok. (1 tsp)
-Italian Seasoning (1-2 Tbsp)
-Red Pepper Flakes (maybe 1 Tbsp) less if you're not a spicy-kind-of-eater

As the Pioneer Woman says of her topping,

"Set this mixture aside, or better yet: Make it several hours beforehand and store it in the fridge. The flavors fall in love, get married, and have many, many children."

 
YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY