Ingredients
24 Frozen Dinner Rolls, thawed but still cold*
48 slices of pineapple
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed in to 48 pieces
1/2 cup Butter, melted
2/3 cup Parmesan Romano cheese, grated
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
5 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Pizza sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes in rich puree
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Directions
1. First make the pizza sauce (the longer the sauce mingles the better, but you could also choose to make the sauce while the pizza rolls bake) by sauteing garlic in a small saucepan in oil until tender.
2. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
3. Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat a d simmer uncovered, for 30 minutes or until sauce reaches desired thickness. Prepare the monkey bread while sauce simmers.
5. Cut rolls in half and flatten each half.
6. Top with one slice of pineapple and one cube of mozzarella. Wrap the dough around the pineapple and cheese to completely enclose and form a ball.
7. In a small bowl combine melted butter, cheese, parsley, basil, garlic, salt and pepper.
8. Roll dough to lightly coat with cheese mixture and place in a bundt pan coated with non-stick spray. (Can also do in a casserole dish for more crispy rolls, but then it’s no monkey bread)
9. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until almost to the top of the pan.
10. Remove plastic wrap and bake at 350°F 30 – 35 minutes. Cover with foil if the top is getting too brown.
11. Remove from oven and invert on to serving tray. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping.