Pizza Rolls

Easy homemade pizza rolls are a family favorite.

This post was updated Sept 2024.

Pizza rolls are easy to make, kids love them, adults love them, and the possibilities for customizing are practically endless. I shared a picture on my Instagram and Facebook pages of my kids lunches with these pizza rolls and I got so many requests for the recipe!  

Pizza rolls are one of my favorite things to pack for lunch - really anything in the pizza for lunch category is always a hit with the kids.

The full pizza rolls recipe is at the end of this post, so keep reading because I’ve got lots of handy tips for you about how to make these. But if you really want to just skip to this easy recipe, you can click the button below.

You can make these with as little 3 items from your fridge, only a few minutes to put together.

You could totally go make some of these now and be eating them in 20 minutes - that's how fast!  And as with most of my favorite recipes - the ingredients here are very flexible.

I think these might be one of the perfect kid foods.

They're small enough for little hands, they are not messy, they seem to travel and keep well, and - best of all - they taste like pizza!

A few tips about how I make these pizza rolls. 

Because my goal with this recipe is to have something that comes together super fast and easy, I go with a packaged dough most of the time.  Usually I use a can of crescent roll dough from Trader Joe's. But use any quick and easy dough you like.You could also use biscuit dough, or certainly if you have homemade dough, go for it!  

If I'm buying pre-made dough I try to look for one that's not got too much nasty stuff in it.  The TJ's brand is not too bad.  It's not as easy to handle as some others (maybe because it's missing some of the chemical dough conditioners and junk), but for this recipe that's ok. You're not actually making crescent rolls with it.  

For the sauce I used a canned pizza sauce or sometimes just plain tomato sauce. Any kind you like will do.  I use traditional mozzarella for ours most of the time, but any flavor if cheese you like would be great too. 

The amounts of the sauce and cheese are also flexible - it's really about your personal taste. Just don't add too much - you don't want to squish it all out when you cut.

These are such great kid food, my kids scarf them up.  

But the husband and I eat our fair share too.  I think they are a perfect make-ahead item for kids lunches.

Everybody loves homemade pizza rolls!

Let's be honest - a big green salad with a few of these on the side, doesn't that sound like a perfect weeknight dinner?  These freeze great.  Whenever I make them I always at least double the recipe and I put a bunch in the freezer.  

It doesn't get any easier for packing a school lunch - to pull out a few of these, throw in a few carrots and a little fruit, and lunch is done. 

Pizza Rolls Recipe

Author: Lisa Marsh, WhatLisaCooks.comPrint Recipe

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Easy Homemade Pizza Rolls

A crowd pleasing favorite!

ingredients:

• Dough - 1 can of prepared crescent roll dough. Or any other dough of your choice. 
• A little flour (any kind will do - it's just for rolling the dough)
• A few tablespoons of pizza sauce (or just plain tomato sauce)
• About 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, or whatever cheese you like.
• Other fillings of your choice - cut into small pieces (pepperoni, ham, veggies, etc.)

instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
   

Prepare dough

1. Take the dough out of the can, sprinkle both sides with a little flour
2. Fold it over on itself once or twice (otherwise it's trying to come apart at the seams)
3. Roll out into a rectangle until it's about 1/4 inch thick

Add toppings

1. Spread pizza sauce or tomato sauce thinly and evenly across the whole piece of dough
2. Sprinkle cheese evenly 
3. Add other toppings as desired
   

Roll and slice

1. Start rolling from the long edge, you want your final roll to be long and narrow.  Try to get it as tight as you can without feeling like you're squishing it.

2. At this point if you've handled it a lot and you feel like your dough is getting too soft to slice, stick it in the fridge for 20 minutes or so to firm up. 
3. Slice into 3/4 inch pieces with a very sharp knife.
   

Bake

1. Lay your cut rolls out evenly on a baking sheet - either spray with a bit of cooking spray or line with parchment
2. Bake at 350 for about 12-14 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and dough is golden brown.

NOTES:

Double or triple or quadruple this recipe and make lots extra. These freeze great and are perfect for the lunch box.

Created using The Recipes Generator

Grazing Table For Kids

Grazing Tables and Charcuterie boards are all the rage these days and I am totally here for it. I have been feeding kids like this for years and it is the easiest way to get them to eat a good meal.

I am a huge believer in giving kids control over their food - they really will eat better if they feel like they are in control of it.

This doesn’t mean it’s a junk food free for all. It means you give them a variety of easy, healthy choices, and a few guidelines, and let them build their own plate. I do this regularly and it works really well.

A big mixed platter of protein, fruits, veggies, and a little carbs. I give them a guideline that they have to choose at least one protein, one veggie, and one fruit. The carbs are optional, and honestly if I leave them off the kids don’t even miss it and eat more of the other stuff.

This is basically a guaranteed way to get kids to eat. Seriously. 

It's a win-win for everyone. You get to know that your kids are eating food you want them to eat - healthy food! And the kids get to feel like they have control over their own meal. 

Every time I make a lunch like this my kids attack it like they haven't eaten for days. And a bonus tip for you - grown ups love to eat this way too. You don’t have to make a charcuterie or grazing table of fancy expensive stuff, fill it full of “kid food” and it will get devoured.

One-Pot Macaroni and Cheese

Are you looking for an easy homemade mac and cheese recipe? 

Below is my recipe for the best easy homemade mac and cheese you will ever make!

Not only is it delicious, but this Macaroni and Cheese Recipe also is FAST and EASY to make, and you make it in ONE POT!

Nobody wants to stand over a hot stove on a summer day - so this easy mac & cheese recipe comes together in 15 minutes!

I came up with this recipe when I was in a hurry for a kid dinner one night not too long ago, and it has been one of my favorites ever since.  

This is the easiest homemade mac and cheese you will ever make!

It is just as good as Grandma's old fashioned recipe. Maybe even better, because you didn't slave over it. 

It takes 15 minutes, about as long as it would take you to make one from a box!

Seriously, I timed it.  

I had the whole thing done and the stove turned off exactly 15 minutes from the time I turned the burner on.  

You've seen all those Pinterest posts about "one pot wonder" pasta dishes.  Well this is like one of those.  But it's homemade MACARONI AND CHEESE.

You might look at this and realize that it's similar to a lot of other homemade mac & cheese recipes.  It is. The ingredients are basically the same.  But the technique is different.  

This is a one pot recipe.  You don't drain the pasta!

This is comfort food - it is creamy and cheesy and fills your tummy, just like comfort food should.  But unlike a lot of comfort foods that take hours to make, this takes only minutes.  It almost sounds too good to be true, but it's not!  

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One Pot Macaroni and Cheese

Yield: 6

Author: Lisa Marsh

Cook time: 15 MinTotal time: 15 Min

The easiest homemade mac & cheese you will ever make - all in one pot.

Ingredients

• 1 pound (1 package) of dry elbow macaroni pasta
• 5 cups water
• 3 cups of shredded cheese
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• dash of garlic powder
• dash of onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric (optional, just gives that classic orange color)

Instructions

1. Put macaroni, salt, 5 cups of water, and butter in a pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer, stirring frequently, until most of the water is absorbed (about 10-12 minutes). If the water is almost gone but you don't think the pasta is done enough, then add the rest of the water, 1/2 cup at a time. Thicker pasta is going to absorb more water.
2. Meanwhile, mix the flour and spices into the cold milk.
3. When the pasta is mostly cooked and the water mostly absorbed, add the milk mixture and stir until well combined.
4. Then add the shredded cheese, and mix over low heat just until the cheese is melted and mixed in.
5. Turn off heat, cover, and let sit for a few minutes to thicken.

Notes

• Use whatever kind of cheese you like - I think it's great with a combination of cheeses.
• If you really want this to look like the box stuff, get the small elbow macaroni. If that doesn't matter so much to you, then try other shapes - little shells are nice, or curly pasta - you just want something that is going to grab that cheesy sauce and hold onto it.
• If you really want it to taste more like the box stuff, then go ahead and use a little processed cheese. I've done it with American cheese and it tastes great! I just use the slices and tear it into pieces. I think a blend of a little American cheese plus a little sharp cheddar gets you a really nice flavor.
• The seasoning and spices are definitely flexible. I keep it mild because my kids are picky. But if you want more spice or kick to it, then go for it.
• It reheats great - just add a little more milk.

https://www.whatlisacooks.com/blog/2015/10/10/one-pot-homemade-macaroni-and-cheese

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No drain pasta - One pot Pasta!

I’m about to completely change the way you cook pasta.

Once you cook pasta with this no-drain one pot pasta method, you’ll wonder why you ever did it any other way. This is the only way I cook pasta any more - the no draining method.

All those years spent thinking pasta had to be cooked in gallons of water - I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to do that.

This way is so much faster, and it works perfectly every time.

Here is the basic formula for one pot no drain pasta:

1 package of pasta + 4 cups cold water.

In a shallow pot, one pound of pasta, any shape, needs about 4 cups of cold water. A standard sized package of most kinds of pasta in the US is usually one pound.

You can play around with this ratio and figure out what works for you, if you like your pasta softer or more firm, but I’ve found these quantities to be pretty spot on for us.

I add a bit of salt and butter, bring it up to a simmer, stir occasionally until the water is absorbed and pasta is cooked, maybe 10 minutes. If you want to add sauce of any kind, do that when most of the water is absorbed.

My kids favorite - which I recently found out that most children in Italy eat and they call it Pasta Blanco - White Pasta:

When the pasta is almost finished, add a little more butter and a few tablespoons of cream. Mix well until the butter is all melted. Taste and see if it needs a bit more salt. Serve with parmesan cheese on top.

This is so quick and easy. No waiting for water to boil! No rinsing. No draining. You are going to wonder why you ever did it any other way.

Meatballs for the family

Oh meatballs!  Who doesn't love them?  I think they have become a staple for busy American families.  A big bowl of spaghetti and meatballs, I think we all grew up on that. I've got one who, at 4 years old, already begs me to make it for her. It's a classic melting pot thing, originally Italian, but now I'd say it's classic American food. But all too often meatballs are purchased in big bags at warehouse stores, with way too much filler and salt and who knows what other processed ingredients.  I get it, I used to buy those. But with a little bit time on a weekend afternoon, you can make something that is so much better!  They are not hard to make, and are yet another very flexible recipe, and you'll be so glad you did. 

To top it off here - I'm not only giving you a great meatball recipe, I'm going to tell you how to cook them so that you'll end up with the most amazing tasting sauce to serve them with!

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds of ground meat (any kind you like, but I like to use at least 3 kinds together)

• 3 eggs

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

• 1 Tablespoons worchestershire

• 1 Tablespoon horseradish

• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder

• 1 Tablespoon onion powder

• 1 Tablespoon dried parsley

• 1 Tablespoon dried celery

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

• a couple quarts of good tomato sauce

First - about the meat.  This is totally personal preference.  Some people do all beef, some do all turkey.  I personally like a blend of meats, I think it makes the meatballs more flavorful.  I usually do beef, turkey, and either lamb or pork (this time I actually had a pound of each).  

A few eggs help hold everything together.  A lot of recipes suggest that you need bread to help bind them, and I have found that this is simply not true. Bread is a great filler.  If your budget is tight and you want to make a couple pounds of meat go even further, then bread works great for that, so go for it. (And if you're going to do that to save a little money, then you might as well go one further and use free bread crumbs. I keep a bag in my freezer, into which I throw the ends of the loaves of bread that my family won't eat.  When the bag is full, I dump it into the food processor and let her rip - and you have free bread crumbs.  Don't buy them!)  Anyway - I sidetrack. The point is - breadcrumbs aren't in my recipe because I don't think they're necessary, but feel free to add them if you want to stretch your meat a little further.  To this amount of meat I would add maybe up to a cup of breadcrumbs.  

After that - the other ingredients are all about adding a little flavor.  But I try not to go overboard, I want to actually taste my meat.  So many recipes have so much other stuff in them that it's hard to even know what the meat tastes like.  I like meat, so I want to taste it. Don't feel like you have to follow this to the letter - if you want more or less of something, go for it. Dried celery can be hard to find, but I dry my own, so I have it handy.  Leave it out, or add a little celery seed instead.  Or add some oregano, or basil, whatever you like. 

Directions: 

Throw everything, except the tomato sauce, in a bowl. Roll up your sleeves, and get in there.  I've tried other ways, and really the easiest is to just mix it with your hands.  Don't worry.  You're washable.

Meanwhile - get your sauce in a big pot on the stove and get it simmering.  I made a super simple sauce in the summer time with just fresh garden tomatoes, garlic and salt, blended in my vitamix - for this dinner I just took some of my homemade sauce out of the freezer.  But it's not summer any more, so fresh tomatoes are not the thing.  But you can easily make a similar quick sauce with just a couple quarts of good organic canned tomatoes. Throw them in the blender with some garlic and salt, a little basil if you want.  In my opinion, that's all you need.  You can buy jars of premade sauce if you want, but I don't think it's necessary.

Back to the meatballs. Once it's all really well mixed, pinch off a little piece and cook it in a pan. You want to taste it for seasoning before you cook them all up.  A few minutes on each side over medium/high heat should be good.  Give it a taste and see what you think.  Need more salt?  more garlic?  more cheese? Adjust your seasoning and then you're ready to go. 

Start shaping them into balls.  I like to make them small-ish, about the size of a walnut or a golf ball, maybe a little smaller. I love an over-sized meatball as well, but I think smaller is more practical for family meals - little kids have an easier time handling them, they cook more evenly, and they are easier to freeze and reheat. 

Now here's where it gets a little different from how you might be doing it.  A lot of recipes have you cook off those meatballs in the oven. That's how I did it for years (and sometimes still do).  But then a friend mentioned how she did them.  Actually, she said something about her son wanting some chicken parmesan.  But she didn't want to take the time to make it, because in order to make chicken parm, she first had to make meatballs. Wait, what? What do meatballs have to do with chicken parm? Well, it's the sauce!  Her tomato sauce recipe for her family's chicken parm recipe requires that you have sauce that has had meatballs cooked in it!  Seriously.  I had to try this.

Think about it - have you cooked meatballs in the oven? You know all that yummy flavored stuff that oozes out of them and gets left on the pan?  Well that now ends up in your sauce! 

So go ahead and cook those meatballs in that simmering sauce!  Depending on how wide your pot is, it might take 2 or 3 batches of cooking, so you're not crowding them too much.  Just set them gently in the sauce, cover, and let simmer on med/low heat for about 15 minutes.  Take them out with a slotted spoon so you're leaving the sauce behind for the next batch.  

Now you've got a pile of the juiciest meatballs ever, and a pot of sauce with the most amazing flavor.  What you do from here depends on what your plans are.  If you're serving spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, then you can put the meatballs back in the sauce to keep warm, and then cook up your spaghetti.  Or go ahead and use that sauce for your chicken parm, and spread your meatballs out on wax paper lined baking sheets to freeze.  

This recipe should leave you with a lot of meatballs.  Depending on size, at least 4 dozen, probably more. You can have a nice dinner and then end up with plenty to freeze.  Just lay them out on a wax paper lined baking sheet and freeze, then when they are frozen you can peel them off and bag them.  Now you have a bag of frozen meatballs that are just as handy as the ones from the store, but taste so much better. 

If you don't want to deal with the whole sauce thing, of course you can still use this recipe and just bake the meatballs in the oven. They will still taste great and be great to freeze.

Corn Dog Muffins

I think this may officially go down as the very best kid food item I have ever made.  I have always loved corn dogs, and my kids love them too.  I love the idea of making them at home, but I don't have a deep fryer, and I have no intention of getting one.  So when I came across this idea of making corn dog muffins I just knew we had to have it.  It's super easy - basically just good homemade cornbread with a piece of hot dog.  Cooking in the oven as muffins means no mess from frying, and I loved that I could make different size options using different size muffin pans and cutting the hot dogs.  I have a great corn bread recipe that I love - it's adapted from this recipe, with a few changes to make it the way I like it (I changed the oil to butter and reduced the sugar).  It's just right - buttery, and just a little sweet.  The touch of sweetness worked perfectly with the salty hot dogs. 

Ingredients for the corn bread:

• 1 1/2 cups medium or coarse ground cornmeal

• 2 1/2 cups milk

• 2 cups unbleached white bread flour

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 cup melted butter, (cooled slightly so it doesn't cook your eggs)

And you'll need a package or two of good quality hot dogs.  I only buy the Applegate brand. 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small bowl, combine cornmeal and milk; let stand for at least 5 minutes (longer is better).

2. Grease your pans with your preferred oil. I have a coconut oil spray that I like, butter would be great too. Or use muffin papers or silicon cups and then greasing won't be necessary.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar (if you use honey, mix that with the wet ingredients instead. Mix the eggs and butter in with the milk and cornmeal, and then combine the wet and dry ingredients. Mix until smooth. Spoon it into your prepared muffin cups to about 3/4 full.

4. Cut your hot dogs to the size you want and stick them in the center of each muffin cup.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 15 - 30 minutes until golden brown (depending on size of muffin - 15-20 for minis, 25-30 for big ones, just watch and make sure they don't get too brown), or until a knife inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean.

Notes:

• Medium or coarse ground cornmeal is a must in this recipe. I tried it once with a finer grind and it was too heavy and dense. I usually buy Bob's Red Mill medium grind.

• Soaking the cornmeal in the milk also makes a huge difference, the recipe calls for 5 minutes, I think longer is even better.

• The original recipe for cornbread made one 9x13 inch casserole pan. I think this ends up with about 2 dozen standard size muffins, or more/less depending on size.

• This recipe works great with gluten free flour!

• I have not tried this with whole wheat flour. I think it would be pretty dense. But I am curious to try. Although I'm a big believer in everything in moderation, so I don't mind a little white flour in some cornbread occasionally.

• I think you could easily substitute honey for the sugar, maybe just reduce the milk by a little.

Let them cool a little and pop them out of the pans, and serve with some good organic ketchup and/or yellow mustard. I of course had to make a double recipe because we love leftovers - and these things are so good that there would have been no leftover if I hadn't made lots extra.  I've packed them in school lunches, and I've put a bunch in the freezer for another day. 

And - next time you're making a big pot of soup or chili or stew, make up a batch of this cornbread without the hot dogs - it comes together pretty quick for a weeknight side. 

Let me know what you think!

Pancake muffins

I love a good cooking shortcut - or I guess we call them "hacks" these days. So here is one of my favorite breakfast hacks: muffins made from pancake batter. 

Muffins made from pancake batter? Yes! It totally works.

When I make pancakes I always make extra batter.

If you look at my breakfast for lunch posts, you'll see that we make a lot of lunches with leftover pancakes. Pancakes refrigerate well and freeze great and they are a perfect item to have on hand for quick and easy breakfasts and lunches. 

But sometimes I get about halfway through the batter and I'm just feeling done with standing over the stove and cooking pancakes.

So I take the rest and just make muffins! 

All you do is fill greased (or paper lined) mini muffin pans with the batter and then top as you like.

These work best with mini muffin pans because pancake batter is lighter than regular muffin batter, so bigger muffins fall a little and don't look quite as pretty. But bite sized pancake muffins are perfect. You can make them plain, or you can dress them up.  I like to fill all the spots with batter, and then add stuff to the top.

In this batch you can see that I did three different flavors. I put a couple of blueberries in some, a big frozen raspberry in the middle of some, and the rest I just sprinkled with a little cinnamon sugar.  

They are so good - light and moist and just perfectly sweet enough. They are the perfect size for little hands and small enough to just pop in your mouth, and they make a great portable breakfast. 

As for the pancake recipe - I make my own. Pancakes are so easy to make from scratch, it's almost silly. You can read my pancake recipe here. You'll note in my recipe that I say that the butter is optional, but I think it's necessary for muffins - it really helps to keep them from sticking. If you don't want to take the time to melt and cool butter, I've substituted vegetable oil for the butter and they still come out great. 

You can totally do this with a store bought pancake mix if you prefer, I would just gently suggest that you try to find one with no artificial ingredients. For extra tasty pancakes, I always add a little maple syrup to the batter. This makes them taste great on their own, which means that for a quick weekday breakfast or lunch you don't need to get out all that sticky syrup. 

Pancake Muffins

• Mixed pancake batter (be sure to include the butter or oil, and add a little extra sweetener)

• oil of choice for muffin pans, or muffin cups

• mini muffin pan

• toppings / fillings of choice: berries, chocolate chips, cinnamon & sugar, etc.

Preheat oven to 350, or 325 convection. Grease mini muffin pans, or line with muffin papers.

Prepare your pancake batter as usual. Be sure to include the butter or oil called for in the recipe, and add a little extra sweetener. I usually sweeten my pancake batter with maple syrup. My recipe calls for enough syrup to make the batter nicely sweet without needing to add extra syrup when you eat them. But if you're using a different recipe, or a box mix, I would recommend that you add a few tablespoons of extra syrup or sugar. 

Fill your muffin cups about half way with pancake batter. Add toppings as desired - a piece of fruit, a frozen berry, a little sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. Bake for about 15 minutes for mini muffins (time will vary depending on your oven temperature).

Enjoy!

~ Lisa

Banana Chocolate Chip Blender Muffins

You read that title right - blender muffins.  Absorb that for a sec....

I think I need to just bow out while I'm ahead with this one - I will never try another muffin recipe again.  My children have declared these to be the best muffins they've ever had.  And if you knew my kids, you'd know that they are pretty tough little food critics (my fault, I'm sure). 

I've made a couple batches of these over the last week, and they are inhaling them as fast as I can bake them. But it's totally ok, because these are super easy to make, and relatively healthy (as far as things containing chocolate chips go), and fast! We're talking from starting mixing, to in the oven, in like 5 minutes. 

They are fast to make because they are mostly made in the blender!

I know it's an unconventional way to make this type of recipe, but it totally works.  I love baking stuff like this for my kids, but all the steps and multiple bowls, and waiting for butter to come to room temperature so you can slowly cream it with sugar.... it was kiiillllling me. I had to find an easier way. I am an instant gratification kind of cook.  I like to whip it out and move on to the next thing. So this is just my type of recipe. 

Also the amount of sugar in so many recipes is just crazy! We're not making cake folks, we're making muffins.  If I'm going to put 2 cups of white sugar in something, then let's just be honest and call it cake. I love cake, but I'm not feeding it to my kids every day.  With super sweet ripe bananas and some honey, all that sugar is just not necessary. 

I think these work best as mini muffins, they are just a perfect two bite size, for a little sweet treat or snack. But full size muffins work great too. The whole wheat flour makes them feel really filling, and the little bit of yogurt adds moisture and just a hint of tang that balances out the sweetness really nicely.  You can swap out sour cream if you don't have yogurt.  Or add more banana. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour

• 3 very ripe bananas

• 1/2 cup honey

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

• 1/4 cup plain yogurt (I use whole milk Greek yogurt)

• 1 egg

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350, or 300 convection. Grease muffin pans (we prefer mini muffin pans), or if you are using paper or silicone liners then just set them out. 

• In the container of your high powered blender, put bananas (broken into a couple of pieces), cold butter (cut up a little), honey, yogurt, vanilla, and egg.

• Start out pulsing the blender to get it started. Stop and push the contents down if you need to. Pulse some more. Once the butter is starting to break up and the ingredients blend together, turn it up gradually. Blend just until everything is well mixed.

• In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips.

• Pour the wet mixture over the dry and fold together gently just until all the flour is moistened.

Note: if you don't have a high powered blender, you can still make these! You'll just do it the old school way - let the butter soften, cream together with the honey, mix in the other wet ingredients (including mashed bananas), and then mix with the dry ingredients.  They will still taste awesome, it will just take a little longer. So get yourself a blender, ok? 

For mini muffins, I like to use a small cookie scoop to fill the muffin cups.  I get the perfect amount every time and all the muffins end up evenly sized with no overflow.

Bake: 20 minutes for mini muffins.  30-40 minutes for regular muffins (depends on how big your cups are and how full you fill them). 1 hour for a loaf of bread. 

If you're of the banana nut persuasion, you could totally add some chopped nuts to these.  We just don't believe in mixing our nuts with our baked goods in this house. ;-) 

Also, a hint:  this recipe totally works with other mashed/pureed fruits too. I'm working an upcoming post about that, with a master quick bread recipe.  But if you can't wait - just use this recipe, and swap out the bananas for any other pureed fruit, just make sure that it adds up to no more than 1 1/4 cups of puree, less if you're using something super wet (like apples). Leave out the chocolate chips and add nuts or raisins, and add a little spice.

Just a few ideas:

• pumpkin muffins: pureed pumpkin, swap maple syrup for the honey, and add 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

• apple pie muffins: puree a couple of tart apples, and add 2 teaspoons cinnamon

• carrot muffin: puree a couple of carrots & a zucchini, and add 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• try other combinations - banana + zucchini, pear + carrot, apple + carrot

(Links contained here are affiliate links.  If you purchase something from a product link I've provided, I get a small commission.  It doesn't cost you any more, but it helps me keep the lights on here.)

Quick and Easy Homemade Peanut Butter

With four kids, we go through a lot of peanut butter in this house. I buy lots of it, but sometimes it's fun to figure out how to make some of our everyday things from scratch. 

And I can definitely tell you - once you've had fresh homemade peanut butter, you will not want to go back. Especially if you can make it with fresh peanuts. I recommend buying them from the bulk bins at someplace that goes through a lot of bulk food, so you know they haven't been sitting around for very long.

Not only does it taste amazing, but it's so easy!

Basically, I took a pile of peanuts and dumped the whole thing into my Vitamix, added a dash of salt, and voila! Peanut Butter.

Ok, it wasn't quite that magical.  

But it was close.  I had to coax it along at first - pulsing off and on, pushing it down several times. But once it got going and all that oil was released, it very quickly turned into a super smooth and almost liquid consistency. Amazing how something that seems so dry can turn into liquid!  And the whole process took less than 5 minutes. 

 Ingredients:

• 1 pound roasted shelled peanuts.

• 1/2 teaspoon (or so) kosher salt.

• A drizzle of honey to taste (optional)

Directions:

Put peanuts and salt in blender.  Pulse and push down until the peanuts start to release their oil. This is the only slightly labor intensive part. It takes a bit of coaxing to get it going. But once they start to release their oil then you can move faster, and blend to the consistency you prefer. We like creamy peanut butter here, so I really let it go until there were no chunks left. Once you think it looks good, taste it. At this stage you can add a little honey if you like your peanut butter lightly sweetened (most popular commercial peanut butters have sugar in them), and you can also add a little more salt if you like, and then just blend long enough to get that well mixed in. 

Pour in a jar, let it rest to firm up just a bit, and then get out the bread and jam, because you're going to want to make a sandwich. 

Also note - you can follow this same technique with basically any kind of nuts or seeds. I've also made sunflower seed butter this way, and it tastes great. If the seeds or nuts you buy aren't already roasted, then you'll want to either roast them in the oven or toast lightly in a pan first, to really bring out the flavor.

Chicken nugget meatballs

A few weeks ago I had an idea to make some simple chicken meatballs. Most of my kids will eat meatballs, so it's usually a good easy weeknight meal for us. With some pasta and a salad, we've got a good dinner and it isn't much work. But I wanted to lighted them up a bit this time, so I thought I'd make them with chicken instead of my usual combination of beef & pork (or frozen!). 

And in doing so, something magical happened...

I mixed these up and started browning them, and tasted one. I realized that it tasted an awful lot like a chicken nugget (in a good way!). I have one super picky child who eats nothing, but chicken nuggets are on her very short list.

So I asked her if she would be willing to taste this thing I just made that tastes just like a chicken nugget. 

She agreed. And she liked it! I was giddy!

If you have an extreme picky eater, then you understand the joy you feel when you discover something they will eat that is homemade and relatively healthy.

I've made homemade chicken nuggets before, but it seemed so labor intensive that I didn't do it again. They had to be shaped like nuggets, and rolled in breading - a lot of work for nuggets. But for these I just used a cookie scoop to get the rough balls, and then finished rolling and dropped in a pan with some oil. I think because they had bread crumbs in the mix then they had a feeling of a crust, without having to actually crust them. It was easy and quick!

My original plan had been to plop all of these in a pot of sauce to finish cooking, but since she liked them I decided to not do that. I instead cooked them through and then put in a couple of oven proof dishes. I kept one dish of them plain, and the other I topped with sauce & cheese - so it had a bit of a chicken parmesan taste to it. 

This is definitely one of those guideline type of recipes. This is the approximate ingredients that I used, but these quantities are not mandatory and really it's more of an eyeball type thing. 

Ingredients:

• ground white meat chicken - around 2 pounds
• Italian style seasoned bread crumbs - a cup or so
• eggs - 2 or 3
• garlic powder - a teaspoon or so
• onion powder - a teaspoon or so
• fresh ground pepper
• oil for cooking

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together except the oil. The consistency should be bit like dough - you should be able to form it into shape without it falling apart or seeming too wet. It's the combination of bread crumbs + eggs that help hold this together. If your mixture seems too wet, add a bit more bread crumbs. Too dry, add another egg.

Generally for this kind of thing it's a good idea to cook a little bit to taste and check for seasoning before you cook the whole lot. Seasoned bread crumbs can often have a lot of salt in them, so I wouldn't salt this much if at all until you've tasted. Pinch off a bit and put it in a hot pan to cook, and then taste. Then add salt as needed. Then when you are happy with the seasoning you can shape into meatballs. I use a small cookie scoop, drop the scooped bit into my hands, finish shaping into a ball, and then put in my pan.

Brown on all sides in a pan with a bit of vegetable oil over medium heat. They likely won't be cooked all the way through, so you'll need to either turn down your heat and cook for another 5-10 minutes, or you can put them in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes. 

You could also cook these from star to finish in the oven - I'd do a foil lined baking sheet, at 350 for probably 20-30 minutes.

We had ours with sauce & pasta. They'd be great just dipped in ketchup too. 

Enjoy!

Homemade "instant" oatmeal

It totally kills me that my kids prefer those instant oatmeal packets over real cooked oats.  But lately I'm really trying to focus on choosing my battles, and trying to force people to learn to like oatmeal with some texture over the creamy, mushy stuff, just seems like a fight that's not worth fighting at this stage, especially on an already manic school day morning.  But instant oatmeal packets have all kinds of strikes against them, and I just can't bring myself to buy them any more.  The artificial flavorings in so many of the mainstream brands, the amount of sugar, and the cost - with 4 kids eating two packets each, we would use whole box at one meal.  I have bought some organic ones before, which are a little better, but they still have so much sugar and are even more expensive. I had seen several mentions on various food blogs and pinterest boards about making your own, so I thought I'd give it a try.

There are lots of different versions of recipes out there, some of which are no healthier than the store-bought ones, calling for things like non-dairy creamer and way too much sugar.  But I did find a few that I liked.  I can't seem to find the exact page that I got the final recipe from that I ended up using, I'll certainly link back to it when I come across it again.  But I don't think it was a totally original recipe anyway, as so many of them have the same basic proportions in common.

Homemade Instant Oatmeal

• 10 cups of quick cooking oats (I use this brand - 10 cups was almost the whole bag, so I think you could use the whole bag and be just fine)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup brown sugar (I actually substituted coconut sugar because that was what I had, and I really like the flavor).  Use more sugar if you know you want it sweeter, but I like the idea of keeping it less sweet to start, and then I can add a little maple syrup if someone really wants sweeter.
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup powdered milk (I use this organic one).

Here's the key that all the good recipes seem to have in common: some of the oats need to be blended and broken down - that is what gives the softer consistency.  So, put 4 cups of the oats in your blender or food processor and blend until almost like flour.  Then just mix all the ingredients together.  That's all.

I think you could easily go ahead and add in some chopped up dried apples or apricots, or nuts, at this stage as well.  Given how fast I think we'll go through it, I think it would keep just fine. Maple sugar would probably be really good in this, or vanilla sugar too.

Most of the other recipes out there have you portion it out in 1/2 cup servings in individual snack bags.  But I thought that seemed like way too much waste, so I just put it all in a couple of big containers and I measure it out when I am ready to serve it.  I also thought for home use you could just as easily measure out your portions into pint sized jam jars, and then just add your water and serve right out the jars.  For eating right away, using equal parts water to the dry mix seems about right, which I think would be the same as the packets.  But I've noticed that instant oatmeal tends to get thicker as it sits, so if making ahead for lunch I would add a little extra water, so it's not too thick by lunch time.  Maybe 3/4 water to 1/2 cup dry mix.  I also like to add just a little cream or half & half to the finished oatmeal.

I made this last week and my kids ate it up for breakfast.  And today I used it for breakfast for lunch (which my kids love).  I measured the mixture out the night before, and just added hot water this morning when I was ready to pack up the lunches.

Enjoy!

Basic recipe: pancakes and waffles

Add to the list of things that I can't for the life of me figure out why I ever bought in a box: pancakes. 

Pancakes and waffles are so easy to make from scratch.

Call me lazy, but I love a recipe that's versatile and adaptable to a number of uses. I like to think about it once and use it a lot - and this one definitely fits that bill.

I started with the basic pancake recipe from my favorite cookbook Mark Bittman's "How To Cook Everything", and I have adapted slightly from there to suit our needs. I like to use whole wheat flour to make them healthier, and real maple syrup for a more natural sweetener.  My pancake recipe is a little sweeter than most, because I personally like for the pancake or waffle to taste really good without the need for syrup.  I make a lot extra and keep them in the freezer to pop out for my kids for a weekday breakfast or lunch, and it's just quicker and easier if they already taste great without having to get out the syrup.  But if you're going to only eat these with a generous pouring of syrup, then you'll probably want to cut back on the sweetener in the recipe. 

Basic Pancake Recipe:

• 4 cups flour (whole wheat, or half whole wheat and half white)
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups milk (I use whole milk)
• 3 or 4 eggs - Enough to make about 4 cups of liquid when added to the milk & syrup, depending on the size of your eggs.
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (less if you plan on soaking your pancakes with syrup)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled. (optional, I often leave it out)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• butter for your pan

Directions:

Measure all the dry ingredients into a big mixing bowl and stir to combine. 

For the liquid ingredients: I fill my big measuring bowl up to 3 cups with milk, then add the syrup and vanilla, then add eggs until it gets to around 4 cups of total liquid ingredients. Then mix all that together with an egg beater until well combined (or you can use a whisk). Then pour into the dry ingredients and stir gently until combined. Try not to mix more than necessary, this will help keep your pancakes nice and light. 

For pancakes you want the batter to be pretty thin, they puff up a lot and stay nice and light.

Waffle batter needs to be just slightly thicker, so I use 1/4 cup less liquid if I'm making waffles - either use one less egg, or cut your milk back a little.

Then cook: Pancakes on a hot buttered griddle, or waffles on a buttered nonstick waffle iron.

I like to cook my pancakes in lots of butter, I think it adds that amazing final layer of flavor. Pour our a ladle full of batter onto a well buttered griddle. I have a big double sized cast iron griddle that heats really evenly and works great. And the extra big size is perfect for making a bunch of pancakes at once. If you are going to add extras I like to add it at this stage, when the top of the pancake is still wet. We love to add blueberries, or slices of banana, and mini chocolate chips are a fun little treat too. Then watch for a little browning around the edges and bubbles in the middle, and then flip. Serve hot with hot maple syrup, and we like to have whipped cream on ours too.

For waffles, a good waffle iron makes all the difference. I worked with a cheap one for years and I was amazed at how much better the waffles were with just a new waffle maker. They are light and fluffy on the inside, and lightly crisp on the outside. For a big family like ours, the kind that makes two at a time is a must-have. If you want flavored waffles then mix your extras into the batter. Finely chopped nuts are really great, or a little grated apple.

Notes:

• This is a double recipe because we like a lot extra, but feel free to cut it in half.
• You can use all white flour, all wheat flour, or a mix of both. Or take out a little of the flour and add in some oats, or ground flax, or wheat germ, or oat bran - whatever you like to make them even more healthy
• I've also made these with gluten free flour and they work great.  They key to that is to separate the eggs, mix in the yolks with your batter as usual, and then beat the whites until soft peaks and then fold in.  The beaten egg white provides the light and airy texture that you miss without the gluten. 
• Use less sweetener if you really are going to soak these with syrup.
• I've done this vegan many times and it works great.  Just substitute flax + water for the eggs.  1 T ground flax + 3T water, per egg to be replaced. Mix that together and let sit for a minute, then add it just as you would add the eggs.
• You can use brown sugar instead of syrup in the batter.
• When I want to make this more of a 'complete' meal for my kids, with more protein, I'll add a little less liquid and more eggs, or add some protein powder in with the dry mix.
• Options for extra flavorings are pretty limitless.  We love blueberry pancakes.  Bananas or apples are great too.  Finely chopped nuts and a little orange zest are really good in waffles.
• If you want to take the extra time, separating the eggs and whipping up the egg whites is also a great trick to get really light and airy waffles.  
• For pancakes, I pour the batter on the greased griddle and then add stuff - a few blueberries, slices of banana or apple, chocolate chips, then flip them.

Easy homemade fruit leather

Well I was going to wait until I did this again and took some better pictures, but life seems to be getting in the way, so I figured that I shouldn't let the lack of good photos get in the way of me sharing this with you.

My kids love those little fruit leathers from the store. I refuse to buy the cheap ones that are filled with artificial stuff, but the better quality ones get expensive - especially when they want to eat 2 or 3 at a time! So having a quick and easy way to make my own seemed like a great idea.

Yes, I know you can do this totally from scratch - puree your fruit, yada, yada. But that's not quick and easy, therefore, it doesn't get done. 

I think this method is a perfect compromise.

It's much less expensive than buying fruit leather, but it's almost no work.

All you need is a jar of applesauce, a cookie sheet, and some parchment paper. You can use whatever flavor of applesauce you like. 

All you do is line a cookie sheet with a layer of parchment paper, pour out the applesauce and spread it a little so it's even. Put it in your oven at its lowest setting, and walk away. Leave it in the oven until the top is no longer wet and sticky. My oven has a convection setting, and the lowest temp is 175. It took about 4 hours to dry. If you don't have a convection oven then you will probably need 6-8 hours or more, depending on the temp and how dry your air is and how thick it is. 

After it's done, take it out of the oven and let cool. Then use a clean pair of scissors to cut it up. You can cut in small rectangles like some of the store bought ones come in. I cut mine in longer strips which I then rolled up with the parchment - sort of like some of those 'fruit by the foot' things you can buy.

And that's it! My kids loved it!

These are great for snacks or for a little something extra to throw in a lunch box. I can't wait to try it with other flavors of applesauce. 

How I have ended meal time battles with a picky eater.

I'd like to introduce you to the pickiest child I have ever known.

Does it surprise you to learn that I have a super picky child?  I know that people think that my kids must eat everything, because I post pictures of the wide variety of foods that I serve them. But just because I serve it, doesn't mean they all eat it.  (But that doesn't stop me from serving it.)

Up until a few weeks ago, I could count on one hand the things this child would reliably eat, and maybe on my other hand the things she would *sometimes* eat.  So, a total of maybe 10 food items at any given time.

Before I had kids I was of the opinion that you could just make kids eat something.  I figured you just don't give them an option to not eat it, and they will eat it. 

Growing up I remember spending a lot of time sitting at the table in front of a plate of cooked carrots and peas because I was required to clean my plate before I could be excused. My parents weren't mean about it, but I think we had the rule that you had to have some of everything that was served, and you had to clean your plate. I think they had the idea that if I just would eat it, then I would learn to like it. It didn't work. I still don't like cooked carrots, or peas, or lima beans, or corn mixed into stuff.  And I'm still very picky about the beef that I eat, I have a steak at most maybe once a hear and that is enough for me.  All of the things that they made me eat as a kid - I still don't really like. 

I have learned that pressuring children to eat does not work. 

What I have learned, as mother who takes food and nutrition very seriously, is that making children eat a food they don't want isn't the key to long term success. It just creates a recipe for miserable power struggles at every meal. Threatening or bribing does not work. Creating arbitrary rules does not work. Negotiating does not work.  All of these things create battles that aren't necessary.  You might have short term success and get a child to reluctantly clean their plate, but it's not setting them up for long term healthy eating, and most likely not going to make them like those foods. Studies have shown that over time these battles will cause a negative relationship with food that will last them a lifetime, and can even lead to living on junk food, or possibly even eating disorders.  I do not want that for my children.  

I've tried all the "tricks".

I've learned this from experience.  I have gone the rounds with this child.  I've tried bribing her. I've tried tell her she has to taste it. I've tried telling her she has to eat one bite (what some people call a "no thank you bite"). We tried making a rule that once she turned four she at least had to taste the food (that worked for about a month). I've tried to tell her she has to choose a protein and a veggie. I've tried telling her that she has to choose something green. I've tried hiding foods in sauces or soups or dips.

I know all the tricks and I've tried them all. They might work on some kids (they sometimes work on my other kids), but they don't work on this kid. If she does not want to eat it, she WILL NOT eat it. You will not get any food in her mouth that she does not choose to eat. She will choose to have not even one bite of dinner before she will eat a food that she does not want. This child is STUBBORN.  If there is a power struggle to be had, she will have it. 

So I don't do it any more.  I have stopped fighting with her.

I put the food out, and I let her decide what to eat.  The food is just presented, with no drama and no pressure. 

I put the family meal on the table, and let her choose what of it to eat.  I don't make special or separate meals of 'kid food'. I do my best to make sure that there is some part of the meal that I know she will eat. If I've made something that I am pretty sure she is not going to want, then I also don't mind getting out some cheese or yogurt to add to the meal.  The key is that it is put on the table as part of the meal, and not presented as making a separate or special "kid food" meal. I'm not going to punish her with no dinner just because she doesn't like what I have offered - I don't think that's how you make a child feel good about coming to the dinner table. 

I got rid of the junk, and I no longer worry about snacking. 

I no longer keep anything in the house (or at least within sight and reach of a small child) that I am not comfortable with letting her eat at any time. It's not like we ever had a lot of junk food, but we did have some stuff that I didn't want her choosing all the time.  So it's out of sight. Our snack drawer no longer has packaged granola bars and goldfish. It now contains dried fruits and nuts, my homemade instant oatmeal, seaweed snacks, and a small amount of whole grain cereals and crackers - all things that I am fine with my kids having at any time.  I have a drawer in the fridge that she can reach with single serving packs of cheeses that she can help herself to.  I keep her cup of milk in the door of the fridge where she can reach it. I set out snacks on the table in the afternoons that consist of fresh veggies, fruits, nuts, and cheese, so that all the children can help themselves.

I've given up on the idea of "spoiling your dinner" with a snack.  If the "snack" is healthy food that nourishes her body, then why does it matter if she fills herself up with nuts and cheese at 4:30? Maybe 4:30 is just when her body needs food. Regardless of whether she eats, she still comes to the table with us at family dinner time, and participates in the conversation, and usually at least drinks some milk. But I no longer subscribe to the idea that we need to force our bodies to a meal time that is convenient for somebody else's schedule.  I want my children to learn to eat when they are actually hungry, and stop eating when they are no longer hungry. That doesn't stop us from sitting down to a family dinner every night, but it just means that I am not going to stress about how much anybody eats at that time.  

I provide the food, but I let her choose what and when she is going to eat. 

I let her see what the rest of us are eating and how much we like it.  I let her experience the food through sight and smell, and even touch if she wants to. If she wants to have a tasted of something in a separate little dish so that it doesn't touch the rest of her food, that's fine. I continue to expose her to all of the food so she can learn what a normal healthy meal should look like. I let her be involved in the shopping or cooking if she wants to. I let her help arrange the things on the table. I let her see that her siblings are willing to taste things, and that sometimes they like it and sometimes they don't, and that's OK.  

And then I leave it up to her to decide when she is ready to try something.  I make suggestions, I provide the choices, but she decides whether to eat. 

I do not fight with her about her meal.

That's all.  I make a variety of healthy food available, and I let her decide.  I don't tell her to try one bite.  I don't even ask her if she wants to taste.  I just say "this is the dinner, eat what you want". 

Of course I worried for a while whether she was getting enough nutrition.  I went back and forth about whether I should be trying harder to make her eat more so that she didn't get malnourished.  But I kept being reminded (by her) that making her eat what she didn't just wasn't going to work. I do give her vitamins, the occasional fortified organic cereal, and lots of smoothies, to make sure she is getting the core nutrients she needs while she is taking the time to accept new foods at her own pace. 

And do you know what? It's working!  

Just in the last few weeks, she has started asking to try things.  She has tasted more new foods in the past 2 weeks than in the past 2 years. 

The child that wouldn't eat eggs: Last week asked for the boiled egg off my plate, and ate almost half of it.  Over the weekend she asked for some of the scrambled eggs at breakfast, and ate two servings. 

The child that wouldn't eat meat: The other night she asked for a piece of ham.  Just out of the blue, "can I try some ham?".  And she ate it.  

The child that won't eat anything green:  Monday night with her dinner she chose cucumbers.  Tuesday night she chose to put both lettuce and cabbage in her taco. 

Earlier this week she watched as everybody gushed about how delicious the broth was from the chicken.  So she asked for a taste.  And she liked it, and asked for a bowl of broth.  

I am happy.  She is happy. 

The war is not won, but these little victories are underscoring for me that my approach is the right one for this child.  Meal time is so much easier.  She is smaller than her siblings, but she is healthy and growing along a perfectly acceptable curve. Her color is good. Her energy level is good. She is meeting her developmental milestones and then some.  She is learning and thriving.  So I feel confident that she is getting the nutrients that she needs, while she explores and tries new foods at her own pace. 

I think as parents we spend too much time worrying.  I see so many comments from parents saying they worry that their child won't eat vegetables, or doesn't get enough protein, or that their child is too addicted to the junk food.  Stop doing that.  Just make a wide variety of healthy food available for them to choose from, and then let them choose without worrying that they will make a 'wrong' choice.  Children like to feel control.  So let them have control.

Recognize their differences and don't try to make them fit your expectations.

One of the biggest things I've learned about parenting in these past 7 years is that each child is so unique and different.  Having twins really teaches you this.  Having two children come out of the same womb, with the same treatment, the same diet, the same everything, and seeing how different they can be, really teaches you a strong lesson about how our personalities are formed before we are even born.  

No matter what the situation, there is no single approach that will work for every child.  I have found this to be the case with all of my children at every single major milestone - whether it's sleeping, potty training, separation, weaning from bottle or breast, or giving up their pacifier. Children will achieve each milestone at their own pace, when they are ready.  You can push them to fit your timeline, but it will be a difficult and painful battle for all involved.  Or you can gently guide and show them the way, and let them achieve their milestones on their own unique schedule. Your life will be so much more peaceful, and their success will be so much sweeter.

This couldn't be more true than with their relationship with food and eating. Everything I thought I knew about feeding kids was thrown out the window with this child.  She didn't fit any of the approaches that work with my other kids.  So I had to really step back and reevaluate my approach with her.

And I'm so glad I did.

Pizza Muffins and Meatball Muffins!!

These little guys really are irresistible!  The meatball muffins are like a little bite size (or two bite!) meatball sandwich.  Everything you want - a tasty meatball, a little drippy with sauce, melted cheese, and soft bread that gets a little soaked up with sauce - but in a much more manageable size, so it's not all running down your elbows.

The pizza version is the same, minus the meatball - just a couple bites of saucy and cheesy goodness.  They are very much like my pizza rolls, only shaped a little different.   I made these for my kids to have for dinner, and enough to save for a school lunch later in the week. 

I don't think I can call these recipes, they're just too easy.  These were really just something I threw together, but as soon as I shared it on IG and FB I had folks asking me for the recipe.  So I guess these easy crowd pleasers are what you all want!  I don't get as much opportunities to cook and photograph something as I'd like.  This isn't one of those food blogs where people are cooking something just to photograph and blog about.  No, here you are getting what we are actually eating.  But this was a rare occasion when I was cooking something in the middle of the day to have ready for later, so I was able to actually get some nice photos of it for you. 

The "Ingredients"

• Crescent roll dough
• Tomato sauce
• Cheese
• Cooked meatballs

I use Trader Joe's crescent roll dough.  I think it has a much more 'homemade' flavor than the other brands, and even though it's still quite processed it at least doesn't have a big long list of unrecognizable stuff in it.  It doesn't come out of the can very nicely, they almost always tear when it pops open.  I'm guessing that this is because the package isn't lined with all that nice BPA, so it's a tradeoff I"m willing to make.  You could use biscuits as well, or you could certainly do this with any kind of homemade dough.   One can of dough has 8 rolls, so you'll need 1 1/2 for a dozen muffins.  I made two pans, half with meatballs and half without, so 3 cans of dough and 12 meatballs. 

My tomato sauce was just canned tomatoes, pureed with a blender.  We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner last night so I had heated up the meatballs in the sauce.  I think you could use any kind of tomato sauce or pizza sauce.

The meatballs I used were a combination of some homemade, and some frozen from the store - I had a little bit of each.  My homemade meatball recipe is here.  If you're going to make meatballs for this I would suggest you make them small.  The dough is very tender, so I don't think it will hold a big meatball.  These meatballs were all cooked and cold from the refrigerator (not frozen). 

And for cheese - well, I would have used shredded mozzarella, but I was out, so I just took some mozzarella string cheese and tore it into pieces.  I think any kind of cheese you've got would be just great. 

Directions:

• Line muffin tins with dough.  For the crescent rolls, I used one piece per muffin space, and just folded and worked it around to shape like a little nest. I did not grease my pans at all because my pans are new and pretty well nonstick, and this dough has a lot of fat in it.
• Put in a small spoonful of sauce
• For the meatball muffins: place 1 meatball on top of dough.
• Cover with shredded or just pieces of cheese.
• If you have pieces of dough hanging over the sides, fold them over just a bit.
• Bake in a 350 oven for 12-15 minutes.
• Let cool for a few minutes before trying to remove from the pans, they are much easier to handle once the cheese has set up a little. 

And that's it.  Easy!