Pizza Monkey Bread

I know, dinner blog say what? But it IS baking, I promise.. :)

I just had to post this picture of my little man Davin! He is truly my miracle, here's a little background. If you dont mind listening:

Today kicks of the start of CHD Awareness week (it's February 7th-14th). It ends on the day filled with love and hearts... How appropriate!

Anyways, Davin is my 3 year old son who truly blesses my life every day. He's smart, funny, and so very outgoing... Everything we prayed for. When Davin was born we were blind-sided when we found out he had a heart defect. My pregnancy had gone perfect, I had no complaints (besides the uncomfort of sleep) and loved absolutely every second of it.

It wasnt until Davin was born, weighing in at a tiny 4 lbs 3 ounces, that we knew something was wrong. No matter how hard the nurses tried, he wouldn't "pink up". We were so lucky the nurses and pediatric cardiologist caught his defect that day, our son had Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return (TAPVR). In short, his oxygenated blood didn't flow correctly from his heart to the rest of his body. He was medivaced that night and had open heart surgery a short 12 hours after he was born. I haven't cried as hard as a did that night, in my entire life.

Following, our son has had 2 more open heart surgeries to correct the Pulmonary Stenosis that devloped after his initial surgery.

I'm so happy to say that since 2010, and the birth of our second child Julian (who I truly believe was our angel), our little Davin has been stable and required no further surgeries. We go day by day but we are honestly so lucky to have a healthy and active little boy. We don't know what the future holds but plan to cherish every day with him.

I know, serious stuff for a dessert blog right? But if I can touch one person, one heart, and make them feel that someone is out there that KNOWS what they are going through, I feel complete.

So, if you could please take some time this week, go and visit: www.littlehearts.net and donate, and take the time to read other parents and childrens stories. They have truly provided HOPE for my family.

Ok, now on to the recipe. Thank you for bearing with me.

We had this pizza monkey bread for Super Bowl and served it with a side of pizza sauce... So yummy!

For the Dough:
3 1/2-4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 packet active dry yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups warm water, 110-115 degrees
2 Tablespoons olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons

*If you have a time crunch, store bought pizza dough works well here also!

Combine the 3 1/2 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer and combine. While the mixer is running, add in the water and 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Beat on medium until the dough forms into a ball. If the dough is still sticky, add additional flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a solid ball.
Scrape the dough on to a lightly floured surface and gently knead until it becomes smooth.
Grease a large bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil and place the dough ball inside. Cover with a towel and place in a warm spot until double in size, around 1 hour.
Divide the dough into 2 equal portions, roll into balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover again and let sit for 30-45 minutes.

For assembly:
The Pizza Dough
30-40 chunks (about a 1 inch square) of Mozarella Cheese
30-40 pepperoni pieces
4 Tablespoons of butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Your Favorite Pizza Sauce

Thoroughly grease a bundt pan.

Melt butter and garlic over medium-low and sautee until the garlic is golden in color and butter is completely melted. Remove from heat and add in the garlic salt and oregano. Stir and set aside.

Pull off a "bouncey ball" size of dough and flatten into a disk in your hands. Place a chunk of cheese and a piece of pepperoni into the center and fold into a ball. Roll in your hands slightly to seal. Like this:

Roll the dough ball, into your melted butter and place into your prepared bundt pan. Continue this pattern until you have used up all of your dough. Don't worry, some balls may be smaller and some bigger.
Once you have used up all of the dough, pour any remaining butter over the top of your pizza balls that are sitting in your bundt pan. It will look like this:

Cover this with a towel and let it rice in a warm place for 45 minutes to an hour. It will now look like this:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is very brown.
Let cool slightly and heat up your pizza sauce in the meantime.
Invert monkey bread on to a platter and serve warm with the sauce for dipping.

This monkey bread is a great recipe for parties. The gooey cheese center is so darn delicious! And how romantic would this be for Valentines dinner to dip and feed eachother? (If you're into that kind of stuff) Or as a twist if your first date was to a pizza place!

Enjoy everyone and Happy CHD Awareness week (so much cooler than Valentines Day!)

(Please ignore my non-manicured nails)