Sausage Pizza Pot Pies

Serves 6-10*

For the sauce:
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

For the filling:
2-1/2 Tablespoons Bertolli olive oil, divided
1 green bell pepper, diced
8 oz sliced white mushrooms
3 Johnsonville sweet Italian sausages
24 pepperoni slices, diced
2 oz Canadian bacon, diced (already cooked)
2-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup Kraft Parmesan cheese
2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 375o F.  Place frozen puff pastry sheets on counter and let thaw while you are getting the ingredients together.  Unfold when thawed and cover with a damp towel if you are not ready to use them right away.

For the sauce, in a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients and simmer on low for 15 minutes.  This will help meld all the flavors.

In a medium skillet, warm 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium heat.  Add green pepper and mushrooms, sauteing until softened, about 7 minutes; remove from pan. Set aside.  Without cleaning pan, turn heat to low and add remaining 1/2 Tablespoon of olive oil.  Place sausages in pan and brown on all sides.  I spend about 10 minutes browning my sausages.  I use tongs and hold them on their ends and sides to get a beautiful golden color all over.  It's worth the time spent.  When sausages are done, cut them lengthwise, then crosswise into a 1/2" dice.

In a large bowl, combine sauce, green pepper-mushroom mix, sausage, pepperoni, Canadian bacon,
2 cups mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese; mix well.

Fill ramekins to the top with filling and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.  Place an empty ramekin (or whatever dish you are using) on top of puff pastry sheet to measure the area of the puff pastry sheet for your top crust. Cut a circle slightly larger than the area around your dish.  Place puff pastry on top of filled ramekin, pulling and stretching slightly to fit over sides.  Seal edges.   Brush tops with egg white.  Cut slits into puff pastry for venting.

Place ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until sauce is bubbling and tops are golden brown. (My oven is commercial grade and I used the convection setting for this recipe.  Your crust might take a little longer to brown as my oven tends to run very warm.)  Serve immediately.

*This dish serves approximately 6-10 people depending on the size of your serving dishes.  I usually mix and match ramekin sizes using 4, 6 and 10 ounce sizes.  This allows for smaller sizes for the kids and larger ones for adults.  It's also more fun and rustic when all the dishes are different, use what you have as long as it is oven safe.


- Recipe courtesy of Cathy Pollak