School resumes in the less than two weeks. Levi, finally, will be in Kindergarten(woot woot!) and Isaac will be the big cheese(5th grade) on campus. Eli-the head honchow will be in 8th grade, the end of middle school is near. How the heck did this happen?
I am going to miss our lazy days of summer. Breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner doesn’t seem as daunting during the summer as it does during the school year. First of all, I get a bit of help with the prep, the clean up, and their culinary suggestions inspire me.
The school year brings it own set of hurdles. Breakfast and lunch have to be prepared at the same time – unless I can get my act together to prep the night before. Then there is the after school rush. Piling them into the car only to hurry home, get their homework done, give them a healthy snack, and hustle them to their various after school activities. Oh boy am I going to miss summer.
I am going to try and treat snack similar to how I approach both breakfast and dinner – by utilizing my freezer. Some of it will be pre-made and stored in the freezer. Breakfast quiches, waffles, pancakes, all can be heated in minutes and pureed fresh fruit (frozen in ice cube trays)are stored in freezer safe containers for either early morning protein shakes or late afternoon smoothies. My homemade frozen dinners consist of soups, stocks, marinara sauces, bolognese, enchillada sauce, pesto, chicken meatballs, pizza dough, chicken fingers, and turkey loaf. Roast or steam some veggies, make a salad and dinner can be on the table in less than 30 minutes.
For the past few weeks I have been experimenting with a few ideas. My kids love pizza, but the stuff in the box leaves much to be desired and I just don’t have enough time to make one from scratch – given our schedule and how limited our time is (sadly said). Solution: pizza muffins. I grew up eating lots of crap in small frozen little boxes, Gino pizza rolls being one of them. These snacks are not a pizza roll, but more like a pizza muffin. Served with a side of my homemade pizza sauce and I have covered all the bases. Eli stuffed his with mozzarella cheese, homemade meatballs, and grated parmesan. Isaac, fresh mozzarella, basil, and some marinated, roasted peppers. Levi liked it simple – cheese and sauce. Use your imagination; spinach, mushrooms, olives, procuitto, BBQ chicken, or sauteeed onions would all work. you be the judge.
Homemade Pizza Muffins
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups shredded mozarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1-2 cups of your favorite toppings
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. italian seasoning 1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
pizza sauce for serving
Instructions
• preheat oven to 375. Grease 2 12(grease 14)-cup muffin pan.
• in a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients.
• in another bowl whisk the eggs and the milk. add to the dry ingredients and mix well. add your cheese and seasonings and mix well.
• fill your muffin cups half way. add your various toppings and a tablespoon of pizza sauce.
• cover toppings and sauce with batter. top with a dollop of sauce and bit of grated parmesan cheese
• bake until puffed and golden, 25-30 minutes. Let cool and remove from the pan.
• serve the pizza muffins warm with heated pizza sauce for dipping.
• flash freeze the left overs and when frozen place in a freezer safe container. when ready to eat, warm in your toaster oven and bake at 375* until warm (about 10 minutes).
The Urban Baker / SusanSalzman.com
More After School Snacks:
Quick Skillet Whole Wheat Pizza – Deliciously Organic
Oven Baked Green Beans – The Foodie Couple
Bacon Hash – The Urban Baker
Back to School Snacks – After School Snacks
Pretzel Bites – Two Peas in a Pod
Roasted Tomato Salsa – The Urban Baker
my mouth is watering. oh my gosh!! this looks fantastic!!
Jenn- these are so easy and so good. You can also sub the whole wheat flour for white flour – should be just as good! I want to make them again with slow roasted tomatoes and ricotta! MMM!
I am going to make this my after school snack (aka after work snack). Yum!
Such a neat recipe!! I think your idea of utilizing your freezer more is a great one… I should follow suit! 🙂
Susan, I am so in LOVE with these pizza muffins. Must try something like this soon. Think this is my favorite recipe yet over here (though I love ’em all 🙂 xo
I know you will come up with something so fabulous, Marla! Don’t forget the sauce becuase it makes it!
I was directed here from Marla, Family fresh cooking, and wow! I’m so glad I was! These sound fantastic!!! My girls would love these!
Love these! Fun for the kiddos and adults!
I am definitely making these for my husband — he’s in grad school, so that counts, right? 😉
These look just spectacular. I’ve never thought of turning pizza into a muffin but it’s such a great idea for when you’re on the go!
Brilliant… simply brilliant!! You definitely have the luckiest kids Susan!! I will definitely be making a batch of these for my freezer as well!!
Ahh, Thanks Nancy. I think you children are pretty darn lucky as well. October- you-me – lunch!!!
What a great idea, Susan. These are a refreshing (and healthy) break from those English muffin pizzas everyone used to make as snacks.
I lived on those english muffin pizzas at CAL! When I was pregnant with my first, I craved all of the comforts of my childhood and oddly enough, those were one of my biggest cravings! Thanks for reminding me of those, Aida!
LOL, I remember those pizza rolls. Truthfully I still get a craving for those sometimes, but now I get the healthier Amy’s Organics version. I’m all for pizza in muffin form too!
Ginos Pizza Rolls, The Mini Pizzas that came in a four pack and what about Van De Kamps enchilladas? So disgustingly good! I have entertained the thought of making homemade pizza rolls! Maybe we should tackle that together???
Love this savory muffin recipe, it’s a good idea for a snack or just to serve with a bowl of soup for lunch. It’s a great back to school idea!
Savory it is, Kim! You will love them! I am going to get wildly creative with my next batch
I am so making these, Suz! My teenage sister will love them – and I’ll give her the recipe, too, since she’s becoming quite a baker herself. Yum!