You know that typical frozen pizza-thing snack?

Pizza rolls, pizza puffs, pizza something... I don't know. Anyway I've never been too intrigued by them, certainly not enough to buy them anyway. And then I get one of my foodie magazines and notice this Pepperoni Pizza Puffs recipe. Check out the ingredients and looks easy and simple enough. Why not? This could be a fun thing for Gavin to eat too! So I make them last night (with some minor adjustments of course!) and oh my goodness are they good!!! You know what the best part is though? I can make them ahead, freeze them, and reheat in the oven when I'm ready to eat. WAHOO!!! That's what I'm talking about. :D For the original recipe click here. Otherwise my slightly altered version is below:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup milk, whatever you keep on hand
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2-ish ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1/2 cup)
• 2-ish ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1/2 cup)
  
• 3-4 ounces turkey pepperoni, cut into small cubes (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon pizza seasoning
  
• 1/2 cup store-bought pizza sauce
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil, optional
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced, optional
  

Frozen Assets
Freeze the baked puffs in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag. To reheat, bake the frozen puffs on a baking sheet in a 350° oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the cheeses, pizza seasoning, and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

2. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through, then stir in 1 tablespoon basil. Sprinkle the puffs with the remaining 1 tablespoon basil. Serve the puffs and red pepper slices with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Oh, and another thin you could do? Play up the filling! Got a vegetarian coming to dinner? Make a batch with just red pepper or spinach in it instead of pepperoni. Just be careful you don't go overboard with it though. These are BITES so you really do need to have more flour than filling. ;) Try them! I don't think you'll be disappointed. :)

Easter Menu

So this was the year that Gavin was finally going to get it. His first Easter he wasn't even walking yet. And last year we attempted to "hide" eggs in plain sight but he just didn't understand what was going on. This year though..this was the year. Been really looking forward to it. :)

And with such a monumental occasion, you'd think I'd make the traditional Easter Dinner with the ham and all the trimmings. Yeah not so much. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I like ham. I appreciate ham. I love having ham leftovers to play around with. But I just didn't feel like making a ham. Does that make me a bad person?

I still wanted to do pork though. What's a good, easy pork recipe that doesn't involve any fruit but is simple and inexpensive to make? DING DING DING DING!!! Rosemary Pork Tenderloin. But don't be deceived by the name of the dish, there are a lot of big, bold flavors in this 5-Ingredient dish... Picture this, dijon mustard kicked up with tons of chopped fresh rosemary, gobs of cracked pepper, and garlic. Liberally bathe the pork in this heavenly concoction. But that's not all! After an hour (or three), lay these beauties on a bed of more fresh rosemary and then slather on the bacon. Yeah, I said bacon. (You've got a little drool there you might want to wipe up there. No, right there. Yup, there.) I'm telling you, this is a good one.

Now what am I supposed to make along with this? Potatoes work. But I'm tired of mashed potatoes. And I cannot bake a potato to save my life (seriously, I can't. They're never done when the recipes and timers tell me though should be done). What to do?? Hmmmm....how about Whipped Potato Casserole?

Ingredients

• 5 lbs all-purpose potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups half & half (or milk)
  
• 1 tub (8oz) whipped cream cheese with chives
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 cup sliced almonds

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350. Coat 13x9x2 pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place potatoes in a large pot with enough water to cover. Lightly salt and bring to a boil. Lower to simmering; cook for 15-20 minutes or until fork tender. Drain.
3. In a large bowl, mash potatoes with hand mixer. Add butter, half & half, cream cheese, garlic salt and nutmeg. With mixer, beat potatoes on medium-high speed until very smooth. Spoon into prepared dish.
4. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Sprinkle sliced almonds over casserole; bake additional 15 minutes, uncovered, until lightly browned.
5. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Yummy. That's all I'm going to say. Add some simple steamed green beans and Rosemary Bread, which I tossed together in the breadmaker right before church, and you have yourself and pretty dang tasty Easter Dinner. Even without the traditional ham. ;)