Sloppy Joe's

This past week/weekend we were in Boston visiting our family.  The weather was great! Of course I came home to torrential downpours.  Hopefully the nice weather will be back soon but I can't complain since everything is so green and healthy looking right now.

Before we hopped off to Boston I made this sloppy joe recipe from The Pioneer Woman and I loved it! It's much like the kind I remember from a can only better. I left out a couple of the ingredients that Ree puts in her recipe simply because I either didn't have them or I knew my daughter wouldn't try it if they were in there. Either way, it was awesome.  My version is below but the link will bring you to The Pioneer Woman's recipe. 

Sloppy Joe's

Recipe modified from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey (or ground beef)
• 1/4 to 1/2 a large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• Worcestershire sauce to taste
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Directions

1. In a large skillet, add the ground turkey and cook over medium until the turkey is browned. If you're using beef, drain any fat at this point.
2. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook just until it is beginning to get tender.
3. Add all of the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 10 minutes to meld the flavors.
4. Serve with toasted rolls or whatever you have. This would also be delicious served over a bed of lettuce!

Lemon Plum?

Have any of you ever seen a fruit or vegetable at the local grocery store and wondered what in the heck it is? That happens to be all the time particularly when I'm at the farmers market.  I even ask the people that are working the cash register what a particular item is and sometimes they have no idea either.

That's what happened here, I was at Wal Mart and I saw this pretty little plum and knew I wanted to try it.  The name made me think it would taste like lemon, but it doesn't really.  I brought it home and looked it up online and learned that the one I had brought home was actually unripe.  They are bright yellowish in color when unripe. I needed to let mine sit for about a week...

Walla! My lemon plum has ripened!

I also learned that this is a rare fruit that comes from Chile and is usually only available in the United States in February, which is when I bought this one. When ready to eat they turn into this beautiful orangish color and can even go a deeper color like reddish purple.  I didn't let mine go that far, I was anxious to try it. To me this lemon plum tastes a lot like a regular plum.  They are sweet and juicy and lovely.  I would buy then again, but in the meantime I will just snack on the variety that we almost always have in the grocery store.  It doesn't hurt that to me these plums sort of resemble a heart.

Good find!

Good Morning Muffins

I have to say, The Pioneer Woman did it again.  I love this muffin. I love everything about it.  I did change the ratio of flour from all all-purpose flour and instead did 50% white whole wheat and 50% unbleached all-purpose flour but I couldn't even tell that they weren't all white flour.  They were incredibly moist, they have a nice orange taste flavor inside and cinnamon sugar crunch on the top, and the inside was dense (which is how I like them) but not so dense that you have to drink a glass of milk just to wash them down.

The topping adds nice crunch and cinnamon flavor.

MyFitnessPal calculates the recipe that I used (with my changes as seen below) at 233 calories each.  Definitely not diet food but if you're able to keep it to just one muffin for breakfast it's so worth it. I froze half of the muffins for later and I'll report back when I un-thaw them to see if they change much when thawed.

This would be great to have on hand for a quick breakfast or snack, put one in your kids lunch boxes or even your own lunch box. A keeper for sure!

Good Morning Muffins

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour (or just whole wheat)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 2 cups orange marmalade
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 whole eggs, beaten
• Topping
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg (I used a scant tsp)
• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp butter, melted
• 1/4 tsp salt
• wheat germ (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flours, sugar and baking powder.
3. Add in the butter and shortening and use a pastry cutter to incorporate it into the flour mixture.
4. In a separate medium sized bowl add the marmalade, orange juice and vanilla.
5. In a small bowl add the eggs and beat, then mix into the marmalade mixture.
6. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and use less than 10 very large stirs to incorporate the ingredients.
7. Use a cookie scoop or an ice cream scoop to add the mix to fill the muffin tin.
8. In a separate small bowl add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, melted butter and salt and mix well. Top each muffin with this mixture. Add wheat germ to the top if desired.
9. Bake for 20-22 minutes for full sized muffins. I used mini muffins also and they baked for about 13-15 minutes.
10. Remove from the pan and cool on wire racks.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

So, I have this aunt, whom I love a lot, she lives in Montana, she makes awesome food.  She makes this awesome strawberry-rhubarb pie, everyone loves it and everyone wants the recipe.  Everyone including me. So I asked her for it and she said....no!

So I was forced to find another recipe.  This one is pretty darn good and when you're in doubt about a recipe you're planning to make because you know it's going to be compared to another one that is super fantastic then you go with a trusted cook/baker.  In this case I went with Smitten Kitchen because everything I've ever made of hers has been amazing.  This recipe didn't disappoint!  I loved it! It is slightly different from my aunt's but since it doesn't look like I'll be getting that recipe anytime soon I'm quite happy with this one. 

If you've never had rhubarb before it's hard to describe, and you might be better off just trying a piece of strawberry rhubarb pie from your local bakery, it's fairly common.  Rhubarb by definition is a vegetable, however in 1947 it was decided in court to be identified as a fruit (in the U.S.) for the purpose of regulations and duties.  it is most commonly served in pies or jams and has sugar added to cut through it's sharp flavor. 

Cut up the strawberries and rhubarb into bite sized pieces. 

Use a large bowl to mix the ingredients before transferring to a pie plate. 

The butter makes the syrup that is created inside, nice and flavorful.

Doesn't that look beautiful? 

I love the little crunch that a sprinkling of coarse sugar adds.

By letting the pie cool completely you will be able to serve it without it spilling out all over the sides.  It's strawberry season here in the South but if it's not quite yet that time of year where you live you can do this entire recipe with frozen fruit.  At the very least you might have to use frozen rhubarb since sometimes it can be hard to find fresh.

I'm a huge fan of the sweet strawberries and the little tartness from the rhubarb.  This is one of my favorite flavor combinations!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 1/2 cups strawberries (1 pound) hulled and sliced
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup quick cooking tapioca
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 large egg yolk with 1 tsp of water added for egg wash
• 1 recipe for double pie crust (or store bought)

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. If you're using a fresh pie crust recipe, roll it out on a floured surface and then gently transfer to the deep dish pie plate.
3. In a large bowl add the strawberries, rhubarb, sugars, lemon juice, salt and tapioca. Stir together to combine.
4. Add the fruit mixture to the pie plate in a mound.
5. Dot the fruit with the butter pieces.
6. Top the fruit with the other crust that has been rolled out to form a circle that will overhang by about 1/2 inch.
7. Cut any dough that is longer then 1/2 inch and then tuck the remaining overhang under itself and crimp the edges.
8. Transfer the pie to a baking sheet and then use the egg wash mixture to brush over the top of the crust. Cut some slits for steam to escape. I used a little coarse sugar to sprinkle over the top of the crust as well but that is optional.
9. Bake for 20 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 25 - 30 minutes until the pie liquid is bubbling and the crust is nicely golden.
10. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a cooling rack. The liquid inside will be fully gelled when completely cool.

Roast Chicken

First of all I'd just like to say:

Boston is where my family lives and where my husband and I have lived on two separate occasions.  It's my favorite city.  I'll get off my soap box in a minute. My heart breaks for those that were affected.

Not really sure what to post about today, since I didn't make any Boston Baked Beans or Boston Cream Pie lately. So I decided on Chicken, I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

To softened butter you add lemon zest and rosemary, some salt and pepper.

Smear it all together with your fingers, or a spoon. :)

Slather the chicken with the butter, get every inch of the chicken plus under the skin and inside the cavity.

Roast for about an hour or a little longer depending on the size of your chicken.

Isn't it lovely and moist? The skin was nice and crispy and the lemon rosemary wasn't overpowering but was noticeable.

I will make this again for sure. I make roast chickens often but haven't ever tried this lemon rosemary combination.  I like it.  I like it a lot.

Roast Chicken

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• 3 whole lemons
• 4 springs fresh rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste (or seasoning salt)
• 3/4 cups butter, softened

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a roasting pan with tin foil
3. rinse and pat dry the chicken.
4. In a small bowl mix together the zest from the lemons, 1 sprig of rosemary leaves that have been chopped and the salt and pepper.
5. cut the lemons in half and use your hands to rub the butter mixture all over the chicken, including inside the cavity and under the skin.
6. Squeeze a little of the lemon juice into the cavity and put the halved lemon inside. Do this with all the lemons (if they'll fit).
7. Roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I'm always running into the problem of banana's getting too ripe on my counter.  If I only buy 3 or 4 they are gone so fast I think I'll buy more next time, then I buy more and they sit uneaten until I get panicky and go in search of a new banana recipe.

Welcome to my daughters newest favorite muffin, she loves these things. In fact she's even had one as part of her dinner.  I don't feel bad about giving her one because it does have healthy ingredients even though I know she's only eating them for the chocolate chips.

The muffins have a nice banana flavor without being too banana-y.  The chocolate chips are definitely the biggest flavor but that can easily be controlled either by how many you add or the type of chip you use.  I used semi-sweet chocolate chips but I think these would be excellent with any flavor chip or even toffee chips.

They stayed moist for several days in a zip lock bag, in fact my daughter had them all eaten before we noticed any changes in taste. 

 Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (2 medium or 1 1/2 large)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray or line a muffin tin. (I used one regular sized 12 cup muffin tin and 8 mini muffins)
3. Mix the butter and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
4. Add the mashed banana, egg and vanilla and mix well.
5. Add the milk and mix well.
6. Add the remaining dry ingredients EXCEPT the chocolate chips.
7. When the dry ingredients have been added and mixed well you can add in the chocolate chips.
8. Use a cookie scoop or two Tablespoons to dollop the mix into the regular sized muffin cups, fill them full and mounded on top. Same with the mini muffin tins.
9. Bake the regular sized muffins for between 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
10. For mini muffins cook for about 15-20 minutes.
11. Let cool on a cooling rack slightly before serving.

Pineapple Gelato

It's the time of year when we all start to think about beaches and pools and cool drinks.  Most of us will try our hardest to stop baking so the oven doesn't make the kitchen any hotter and all the while we're sweating it out at the gym so we can look just right in our bathing suits.  It's a vicious cycle but we do it every year.

Speaking of things we do every year, I am in love with my ice cream maker.  Making ice cream is so easy and I love trying out new recipes. I've posted a picture of my ice cream maker at the bottom of this post.  I'm sure there are a million different options out there but I sure do like this one.

This is a very mild flavored ice cream.  Pineapple isn't necessarily the strongest taste anyway but it's oh so good on a hot day when you're just trying to relax. 

If some of you are wondering what the differences are between ice cream and gelato here it goes.  Any "gelato" that you make in an ice cream maker in the comfort of your own home is most likely going to be ice cream and not gelato.  Gelato is churned at a slower speed so it becomes more dense then an ice cream churner.  Gelato is also less fat then a typical ice cream.  Ice cream usually has about 10% fat content where as Gelato is around 7-8% fat.  Another big difference is the temperature in which the Gelato is cooled.  It's not frozen at the same temperatures we have in our freezers and is in fact warmer and therefore the Gelato doesn't get completely frozen and is served sort of halfway between frozen and refrigerator temperature.  I hope that clears things up.  Essentially my "gelato" is really more like ice cream.  I guess if you want the authentic gelato you'll probably have to visit an ice cream shop, specialty shop or Italy. :)  If you're really set on making your own authentic gelato there are gelato makers out there, since I haven't tried any of them I wouldn't be able to give my opinion. 

Pineapple is one of those classic summer fruits so I find that this gelato/ice cream is perfect!  If you're in the mood for something slightly different check out the link below for the original recipe which includes rosemary!

Pineapple Gelato

Recipe modified slightly from Bakingdom

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 - 15.5 ounce can crushed pineapple with the juice (or use fresh like I did)

Cooking Directions

1. In a large bowl, pour 1 cup of heavy cream and place a mesh sieve on top.
2. In a medium saucepan, add the other 1 cup of heavy cream and the milk and sugar and cook over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is right below the boil point.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks and slowly add some hot milk mixture (about a cup) while whisking constantly.
4. Now add the tempered egg yolks back into the milk mixture and bring to a low boil until the mixture has thickened and can coat the back of a spoon.
5. Pour the hot milk/egg mixture through the mesh sieve into the cream and mix well. Add the crushed pineapple and mix.
6. Place some plastic wrap over the mixture (touching the mixture) until it has cooled to room temperature.
7. Refrigerate overnight.
8. Put the mixture in your ice cream maker; following your manufacturers instructions.
9. Freeze.

Steak Tip Marinade

It's that time of year again, break out the grills and little plastic swimming pools.  Temperatures here are making me wish our community pool was open. We're making due with running through the sprinklers instead.  My husband decided a couple of days ago that he was going grill me some steak tips, one of my favorites!  If you're going to grill steak tips, you gotta have a good marinade and this one is awesome!

I had to stray from the recipe slightly since I didn't have a bottle of barbecue sauce in my refrigerator and I didn't want to run out.  I'd say it was a winner since these steak tips didn't need anything additional and I couldn't get enough!

We marinaded our tips for about 24 hours prior to grilling.  Make sure to pull the meat out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before grilling to they can come up in temperature.

Leave a little bit of space between the pieces so there can be even heat distribution.  We cooked ours for 5 minutes per side and they were perfect.  When you pull them off the grill let them sit for 5 - 10 minutes before eating so the juices can redistribute.

I'm telling you, you will want to try this marinade early this year so you can use it all year long, as I will be.  Love it!

Steak Tip Marinade

Recipe modified slightly from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 cup Italian style dressing
• 1 cup steak sauce (I used Peter Luger Old Fashioned Steak Sauce, found in the refrigerated section of the meat counter at my grocery store)
• 2 pounds beef sirloin tip steaks

Cooking Directions

1. Whisk all of the ingredients except steak tips together in a small bowl.
2. Add the steak tips to a dish that has a lid (or use plastic wrap).
3. Pour the mixture over the steak tips and turn to coat.
4. Refrigerate for at least an hour, longer is better.
5. Brush the grill with some olive oil to prevent sticking and cook the steak tips for 5 - 8 minutes on each side or until they've reached the desired doneness.
6. Discard marinade.

Hermit Cookies

Have you ever heard of a Hermit? Well if you're from the Northeast you have.  My husband just about fell over when I didn't know what one was.  I mean, that was years ago but still.  Some grocery stores sell Hermit cookies but those are mostly in the Northeast too.  Hermit cookies usually have the shape of a NutriGrain bar but taste completely different. They are a spicy molasses bar, chewy and usually with raisins.  There are many different variations but they almost all have those basic properties. 

Somewhere along my cookbook collecting ways I either bought or was given a New England cookbook and I found this recipe there.  My husband says that the taste was right on even if the shape wasn't exactly right.  When I make this again I'll try harder to get the shape right too.  

I made my recipe in a basic 9x13 inch baking dish.  Next time I will form two separate rows of dough that are long and skinny.  Bake them that way and then cut them into bars for a more authentic look.

Your kitchen will smell heavenly. These bars tend to stay nice and chewy and moist for several days after baking.  Store in an airtight container. My husband likes them cold so we store ours in the refrigerator.  Enjoy this nice New England treat the next time you're having some shellfish for dinner and you'll feel like you time traveled to New England's

Hermit Cookies

Recipe from "Cape Cod Cookbook"

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup raisins
• 2 cups flour
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 Tbsp baking soda
• 1/2 Tbsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 Tbsp mace
• 1/4 Tbsp nutmeg

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease a 9x13 inch dish or some cookie sheets
3. Toss the raisins with 1/4 cup of the flour. Set aside.
4. Cream the butter and then add the sugar and blend well.
5. Add the salt, eggs and molasses and mix well.
6. Mix the remaining 1 3/4 cup flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon, cloves, mace and nutmeg.
7. Add the flour and spice mixture to the butter mixture and mix well. Stir in the flour/raisins mixture.
8. Spread into the prepared pan or drop by rounded teaspoons onto a cookie sheet.
9. Bake only until the top is firm and the center is chewy, about 15-20 minutes for the 9x13 inch pan or 8-10 minutes for the cookies.

Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is what happens when the New Year rolls around and all of a sudden you realize you only have 12 months to lose all the weight you gained last year. Or maybe that's just me.

I've been attempting to get my family onto a healthier eating lifestyle which is not easy to do when I have a serious sugar addiction.  I'd only been at it for about a  month when I decided it was time for some cookies. I didn't want to completely derail our progress so I found this recipe which had everything I wanted in a "healthy" cookie.

Moist and chocolaty

I really liked these cookies and they are a much healthier option to the regular kind.  They do have a different texture since they are whole grained and they are nice and sweet.  I think you could even get away with lessening the amount of sugar added (if you wanted to). They do have more of a crumble then the "full fat" variety.  I didn't find the crumble to be a problem especially when I was allowing myself a treat that wasn't too over the top. 
Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from Becky Bakes

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups white whole-wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1/3 cup agave
• 1/2 cup organic cane sugar (granulated)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2-3 cups chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
3. In a food processor, blend the oats until they turn into a fine powder.
4. In a medium bowl add the flour, ground oats, baking powder and salt. Mix.
5. In the bowl of your stand mixer add the butter, shortening, agave and both sugars and mix to combine.
6. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.
7. Slowly add the flour mixture until combined and then stir in the chocolate chips.
8. Drop by rounded tablespoon fills onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 10-13 minutes or until the bottom edges are golden brown.
9. Let cool on the cookie sheets for about 5 minutes and then move to cooling racks to cool completely.

Beef and Cheese Manicotti

Boy I'm late posting this recipe!  It was the dinner that we had for my husbands birthday....in December.  I think Manicotti might be something that you would enjoy any time of the year, at least I would. 

When I asked my husband what he wanted for his birthday dinner he hem'd and haw'd and couldn't really make up his mind.  I started thinking about the kinds of things he orders when we go out for dinner and manicotti was right at the top of the list.  I can almost guarantee you that if we go to an Italian restaurant that he'll order one of two things, manicotti or lasagna.  So I just told him I had it covered and let it be a surprise.  He was happy.  Very very happy. 

If you're looking for an Italian meal you have to go right to a trusted source, for me that is Giada De Laurentiis.  

We loved everything about this meal.  The filling is to die for, the sauce is fantastic, topped with lots of yummy cheese.  There isn't one thing I would change.  

If it's still a little chilly in your neck of the woods you might want to whip this up sometime soon, heck you might want to make it no matter where you live.  You could also make a big pan of it and freeze half of it for later. Just make it up as usual but don't bake it, freeze it and then un-thaw it and bake as usual.

Beef and Cheese Manicotti

Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• salt and pepper
• 1 container (15 oz) whole milk ricotta
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups marinara sauce
• 2 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces

Cooking Directions

1. In a large skillet add 1 tsp of olive oil and then add the onion and ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the meat has browned and the onions are translucent.
2. Brush a cookie sheet with 1 tsp of olive oil.
3. Cook the manicotti in salted water until slightly soft but still firm. Lay the cooked manicotti on the prepared cookie sheet to cool.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta, 1 1/2 to 2 cups mozzarella, 1/2 cup of Parmesan and the parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Mix until well combined.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
6. Use the remaining 2 tsp of olive oil to brush over a 9x13 inch pan.
7. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the marinara into the bottom of the pan.
8. Spoon the filling into the manicotti and lay them in a single layer into the prepared dish.
9. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the manicotti and top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan and then dot the butter over the top of the cheese.
10. Let the manicotti cook for 30-35 minutes until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling along the sides of the dish.
11. Let the manicotti sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

Pizza Balls

For the last couple of weeks I've been helping some friends out by watching their kids while their daycare is temporarily closed.  During this time I've had a lot of time to contemplate everything I thought I knew about kids eating habits.  Turns out I didn't know much. My daughter is a very picky eater and that hasn't changed but she'd also eat a lot of things that the rest of the kids were absolutely appalled at. Like cucumbers, she can eat those all day long and loves them but the others seemed like they hadn't ever seen one.  They were like "what is THAT"?

Needless to say, I've been trying to stick with some very basic items for lunch.  This little pizza ball that I made was an experiment.  I knew they'd all probably eat pizza if they could get past how it looked.  Not many kids are familiar with pizza being in a ball shape.  Once they moved past their initial shock they fell in love with them. I had requests for seconds and my own little girl even asked if she could have them again for dinner; and that shocked ME!

There isn't anything difficult about this process at all. You start by flattening out one jumbo biscuit from a can. 

Then you add the ingredients that your family likes the most.  Most of the kids I was watching preferred cheese so I tried some with sauce and some without.  They were both equally good.

I had one little boy who said he'd eat pepperoni so I put one on the bottom, cheese in the middle and one more on top.  I also tried adding sauce - it all worked and was equally as good.  Serve with sauce on the side for dipping as well.

When stuffed, roll the edges up to the top and pinch the ends together.

Now turn the smooth side toward the top and brush with an egg wash (optional).

Sprinkle with some Italian seasoning.

Bake until golden brown. Mine all leaked a little cheese out but it was no big deal.  Serve with pizza sauce or marinara sauce on the side and it was a huge hit! I used canned biscuits but I bet the canned croissant rolls would be good as would the canned pizza dough, or fresh dough, whatever you have time for. 

I can't wait to make these again for my family.  It's such fun to have little pizza's you can customize yourself.  I also think this would be a cute fun idea for a birthday party project or a sleepover project.  Heck, even your adult friends would have fun customizing their own little pizza balls. 

This recipe is a keeper!

Pizza Balls

Recipe modified slightly from Pinterest, unsure of where the original recipe is found.  

Ingredients

• 1 - 16 oz can (8 biscuits) refrigerated jumbo biscuits
• 1 small jar pizza sauce
• 1 small bag pepperoni slices
• 1 small bag shredded colby jack cheese
• 1 large egg (optional)
• Italian seasoning

Cooking Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet, set aside.
3. Grab one biscuit and flatten it out with your hands or a rolling pin until it is about 5 inches in diameter.
4. Lay one pepperoni slice in the middle, cover with 1 Tbsp of cheese and top with another slice of pepperoni.
5. Fold the edges of the biscuit up over the filling and pinch together until it is sealed well.
6. Lay the biscuit on the prepared cookie sheet with the seam side down. Finish with the remaining rolls.
7. Put the egg in a small dish and whisk slightly.
8. Brush the egg over the tops of the rolls and then season with Italian Seasoning.
9. Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. All oven times vary and mine didn't take more than about 15 minutes, so keep checking on them. 
10. Let sit for about 5-10 minutes to cool slightly.
11. Serve with pizza sauce on the side as a dipper.