Garlic Knots

I don't know about you, but I've become the Queen of leftovers as of lately. Leftover cake, leftover spaghetti, leftover chili, leftover weird greenish tinged concoctions that have ever so gracefully been shoved towards the back of my refrigerator for about...well, let's just say a lot longer than any food should ever be stored for.

But in spite of all that, I had managed to find some leftover pizza dough defrosting in my fridge this weekend that I put to very good use (after I cleaned out my fridge, of course).

Garlic knots. Wonderfully, buttery, garlicky, bread knots made from leftover pizza dough. They are what I want to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the rest of my life. Seriously, folks. These babies rock!

Garlic knots:
Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes garlic knots

• pizza dough, ( At least enough to make a medium sized pizza) homemade or store bought
• olive oil
• 4 Tbs butter
• 1 Tbs minced garlic
• sea salt (to taste)
• 1/2 Tbs Italian seasoning
• Parmesan cheese (to taste)

Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Flour your cutting board or other clean work surface. Begin by cutting your dough directly in half. Set one half aside on a clean plate resting with a slightly damp towel covering it, until you are ready to roll it out.Working with one half at a time, use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll your dough out into a 8 x 5 inch rectangle with a 1/2 inch thickness. Use a pizza cutter or other sharp knife to cut 1/2 inch strips vertically. Now, take your strip, roll the ends and make sure the ends are floured so they won't stick to each to other, and very carefully, tie the strip into a knot. Tuck the sides underneath the strip. Repeat for remaining strips. Place garlic knots onto baking sheet.

Once all of your garlic knots have been made and placed onto a baking sheet, brush them each with olive oil. (I let my two-year old help, hence the tiny hand in the upper right hand picture. Not to mention, the insane amount of oil.) Let your garlic knots rest about 20 minutes. Meanwhile preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Once the knots have rested, place them in the oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let them rest for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and let cook about a minute or so. Off the heat, add sea salt to taste and Italian seasoning. Liberally brush the garlic knots with the butter mixture (Or you can even roll them in the garlic butter). Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately. Note: I used the rest of the garlic butter to dip the knots into as I ate them. It was delicious!