Last night we got home from small group later than normal, which meant I put Annalyn to bed later than normal and we started talking about what to eat for dinner EVEN LATER. As in, we ordered a pizza just minutes before the store closed and after waiting 45 minutes for it to be delivered, decided the delivery guy probably took our pizza home. So after some hemming and hawing and lamenting the fact that only fast food places were open now, Mark jumped in the car to hit a drive thru. Of course, THAT is when the pizza FINALLY got to our house, which is why we ate dinner at an obscenely late hour.
And that is also why I don’t have a brain cell left to write something deeper than a recipe post right now. Well, that and the fact that I’m sitting on the couch next to my husband, who’s using his remote control powers for evil not good – flipping between Vanilla Ice’s home remodeling show and Finding Bigfoot.
I’m not even kidding. [Oh, and look! Now we – HE – found a show on the Cooking Channel with two girls who call themselves the “Beer Chicks.” *sigh*]
So let me just tell you about the delicious {and spicy!} appetizer I made last weekend.
A hundred years ago (FINE. two years ago.), my friend Dana wrote about Pizza Snowballs. The short version is that she smushed canned biscuits, cheese and pepperoni into balls, baked them in a muffin tin, and had a quick, easy and tasty meal that her kids loved helping her make.
Sounds good, right?
I’ve thought about making them several times, but remembered Dana’s recipe most recently when I noticed I’d pinned something very similar. After comparing the two recipes, considering the pros and cons of each, calculating the cost of ingredients, and basically saying “eeny meeny miney moe,” I decided to go with the Rachael Ray recipe that Monica adapted on Lick the Bowl Good.
Because I needed more pizza pieces (Wow. Say THAT three times fast: “pizza pieces, pizza pieces, pizza pieces”!) than Monica’s recipe yielded, I adapted it even further – mainly by doubling it and adding sausage.
You know, just in case the original recipe wasn’t spicy or greasy enough for you.
BUT LOOK HOW TASTY THEY LOOK!
Pizza Poppers
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 cups Italian mix shredded cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup diced pepperoni
1 cup browned sausage
1 cup pizza (or spaghetti) sauce
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Mix dry ingredients, then stir in milk and egg. Fold in cheeses and meat, and let stand for 10 minutes. Pour or scoop batter into greased mini muffin tin. Bake 20-25 minutes. Yields 48 mini muffins. Serve with warmed pizza sauce.
AND TRY NOT TO EAT THEM ALL.
When I realized that I needed to add sausage to my batter because I didn’t have enough pepperoni for the doubled recipe, I wondered if I really needed to make so many. Then I tried one, and I thought, “Yeah, it’s probably a good thing I doubled the recipe. I hope my friends like them.”
THEY ATE THEM ALL. I’m pretty sure if I’d TRIPLED the recipe, they would’ve EATEN THEM ALL. And there I’d thought I’d bring home a few and call it good for dinner.
Because, as I may have mentioned earlier, dinner on small group nights is kind of an issue.
Oh, hey, you know what’s funny? The blog post where I found the recipe for the pizza poppers? Talks about HER husband watching horrible TV shows! Apparently this is a common problem.
What’s your favorite late-night dinner? And does anyone in your house watch horrible TV when he (OR SHE) gets control of the remote?
This post will be linked to Mouthwatering Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, 33 Shades of Green and Works for Me Wednesday.
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My husband would say I make horrible remote choices by choosing to DVR The Bachelor/Bachelorette most seasons … :) And these pizza popper look yummy!
Ummmm, yum! I’m totally going to make these and call them supper!
And Hubby? He just turned it to “Signs” again. I swear it comes on twice a week and he watches it every single time it’s on.
And thanks for the link!!!
Those look delicious. I wish they were paleo.
These look so yummy!! I have a different problem on small group nights. We feed another family of 4 (we share a babysitter). So, I have to have meals that will feed 4 adults and 4 kids. Yeah. Not cheap and not that easy. Tonight is pasta, next time will probably be a hearty soup. I might mix it up with enchiladas, but that is what is pretty much going on a permanent rotation!
I’m not big on the crockpot except for soups. Maybe you could try throwing together a soup in the crockpot for your small group days. I make a taco soup that is pretty good and forgiving. 1 lb. browned ground beef or turkey, 1 envelope of taco seasoning, 1 can black beans (rinsed), 1 can diced tomatoes (not drained), 1 can corn or 2-3 handful of frozen, 1 cup tomato sauce (any kind), 1-2 cans of water + beef boullion OR beef broth (depends on if you want it more like chili or soup). Low all day or high for 4 hours. Tasty with chips and cheese:) I also like this white chicken chili: http://momadvice.com/blog/2012/11/white-chicken-chili.
Oh wow, that’s feeding a lot of people! Do you have to do that every week?! You know, I do love taco soup, and I haven’t made it in forever. Great idea!
I just made these, delicious while fresh! I plan on taking them to my work potluck tomorrow, hoping a quick pop in the oven will do the trick. Im sure my co-workers will be pleased! (the instructions do not say when to add the meat/ pepperoni so I assumed at the end after the cheese)
Oops. Yes, that’s when to add the meat. Hope your co-workers liked them!
Can you pre mix the ingredients, keep in the fridge and then bake once people arrive so they are hot?
Probably! I haven’t tried it, but it makes sense that it would work just fine…
These are evil. I could eat all of them myself, I think. (I just used pepperoni – still awesome!)
Totally evil. In the very best way. :)
I have extra kids coming tomorrow – no school day- so I mixed this up and baked it so that I can have a quick lunch to make tomorrow. I “had” to try them when they came out of the oven and YUM! Oh, I made them egg free (for a child with an allergy) by using 1tsp corn starch and 1/4 cup water to replace each egg. I doubled the recipe for the big eaters I’ll have, so I used 1 cup water and 4tsp corn starch total. I don’t think I had to bake them as long either. Oh, one last change I made was I used 1 pepperoni (not cut- to save time) in each of my regular sized muffin cups. I put sausage in some of them and just pepperoni in the others. – delightful! Thanks for the post!!
Next time when I have more time ;) I would like to try and use some peppers and onions in some of the cups.
Reading about all your tweaks to the recipe makes me want to make these again soon!! I hope all the kids loved them! :)
So I decided since I am super lazy to cook this in a 12-inch skillet all at one time and cut it into slices. Totally worked. Still delicious!
Oooh, good to know (since I, also, am super lazy)!
Can you substitute a baking mix such as Biscuik for the flour/baking powder?