Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

Are any of you in need for a new lunch idea for this summer? Did you say yes? Oh good, because I have a fun and creative idea. I found this recipe in kind of a round about way on this website. All of my kids and Drew Sullivan loved these today when I made them for lunch. The mini pepperonis were a huge hit. The kids thought they were great.

Tyler: "Oh man, I love these!"
Drew: "I know, I wish my mom made these!"

Luckily for Drew I know his mom and I will make sure she gets the request.

They all liked them so much they have already requested them for tomorrow's lunch. I think when we make them tomorrow we will try some different variations for the toppings.

At the end of this recipe I have included the recipe I used for the pizza sauce. I have been trying a lot of different pizza sauce recipes lately in hopes of nailing down my absoulute favorite. I found this one on allrecipes.com. I think this may have earned one of the top spots. I will have to try it out on a pizza to be completly sure it is the one. I really liked that it had rosemary and olive oil in it.

3/4 c. flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 egg
1/2 c. mozzerella cheese
1/2 c. parmesad cheese
1/2 c. mini pepperoni

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, milk, salt, oregano and egg. Stir in cheese and pepperoni. Let stand for 10 min.

Stir the batter. Divide evenly among the mini muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with warm pizza sauce for dipping.


Easy pizza sauce

1 (6 oz.) can of tomato paste
1 1/2 c. water (I only used 1 c. because I wanted it a little thicker for dipping)
1/4 c. olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary


Combine all ingredients in small saucepan. Simmer on med-low until ready to serve.

The directions for making a pizza with this sauce (from allrecipes.com):
Mix together the tomato paste, water and olive oil. Mix well. Add in garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, basil and rosemary. Mix well and let stand for several hours to let the flavors blend. No cooking nessesary, just spread on dough.

A Grown-Up Lunch: Brie Paninis

I am always on the lookout for a delicious lunch that I can make in the same amount of time as it takes to grill up my boys' cheese sandwich. Mel's Kitchen Cafe posted this Smoked Turkey, Brie, and Apple Panini and I had to run out and get me some brie. It was divine, and so much more exciting than cheddar on wheat. You can click on the link for more specific instructions, but basically it is sliced apples, sliced brie, caramelized red onions, and turkey lunch meat on a grilled sandwich.

Personally, I'm not a turkey breast person and I left the turkey off my second panini and still loved it, so when I saw this version on Paninihappy.com with pecans instead of turkey I knew it was even more up my alley.

My hybrid version is like this:

French bread
Caramelized Onions
Sliced Brie
Sliced apples
Pecans
French bread

Alas, today I had brie and french bread, but no apples. But, never fear, inspired by this pizza, I made this panini, and I think I might even like it more than the apple version.

French bread
Sliced Brie (Costco has it far better priced than anywhere in Heber)
Fig preserves (The Store in Midway sells it under the Barefoot Contessa Brand)
French bread

Next time maybe I'll add the onions and pecans.


And that is my rather long explanation for a pretty simple lunch.

Baked Taquitos

These taquitos are a great recipe to mix up the lunchtime routine. They are very simple to put together. The best part is they can be made ahead of time and stored in the freezer for a quick and easy lunch. The original recipe was posted on My Kitchen Cafe. In the original post the recipe called for chicken. I have made these a few times now and have substituted shredded beef for the chicken. Both varieties turned out great so you can make these to your families liking. I imagine you could probably even use refried beans in place of the meat too.

Makes 14-16 taquitos

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4-1/2 cup green salsa

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional)

1 green onion, sliced finely (white and green parts to equal about 2 tablespoons)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken, or beef (I cook large batches of chicken in my crockpot with a little chicken broth and salt, shred it and freeze it for meals like this)

1 cup grated monterey jack cheese (use pepperjack if you like a little heat)

small yellow or white corn tortillas

kosher salt

cooking spray

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray. In a medium-sized bowl, mix softened cream cheese, green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well. You can prepare this step ahead of time (which I did - I made it the morning of). Just keep the mixture in the fridge.Working with a few tortillas at a time, place 3-4 between two damp paper towels and microwave for 30-45 seconds, until tortillas are soft and pliable and don't crack while rolling. Place 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture on the lower third of a soft tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Then roll it up as tight as you can. (A few of mine wanted to rebel and come unrolled so I stuck a toothpick through them to keep them right and tight.) Place filled taquitos seam side down on the baking sheet, making sure they don't touch each other. When ready to bake, spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and lightly sprinkle some kosher (coarse) salt on top. Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown. Serve immediately. Taquitos can be dipped in in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or any other combination you can dream up (my kids liked ranch dressing - go figure).

**To freeze taquitos- Place wrapped taquitos on a plate and place in the freezer. After taquitos have hardened transfer them to a ziploc bag. When you are ready to bake the taquitos, place them on a baking sheet, (I let mine sit out on the baking sheet while the oven preheated to take some of the chill off of them before spraying them with Pam) spray with Pam and cook at 425 degrees for 15-20 min.

Pizza Panini

Heather asked for lunch ideas. I really only have one somewhat creative thing, but ALL of my kids really like it, including Hannah. We use the panini maker to make sandwiches with pizza toppings. If you don't have a panini maker, you can just make them like grilled cheese on the stove.

Bread-I like the La Brea breads because they are different from the usual stuff
Pizza Sauce- it can be any tomato sauce you like
Pepperoni or Canadian Bacon-optional
Mozzarella Cheese- grated
Any chopped pizza veggies you like-(olives, green peppers, mushrooms, etc.,.)


Put a small amount of pizza sauce on the bread (you don't want it to get soggy), then some cheese, the toppings, and a little more cheese on top to hold everything together. Cook until the cheese is melted.


The lady at The Cuckoo Cafe gave me the tip of using frozen bread to make panini. The bread holds up better.

With these its easy to make custom sandwiches without going to too much effort. I can even sneak in some veggies for my non-veggie lovers.

Keep the lunch ideas coming! My kids will be grateful and so will I!