As much as I love when my kids eat all of my cooking, I get a secret thrill when I look at the table after dinner and see that we have leftovers. Knowing that I'm not going to have to cook from scratch the following night or have to create something completely new to put in my little ones' lunch boxes the next day makes a mom's life just a little easier. And in my house -- I'm happy to say -- we have leftovers a lot. Yes, even on pizza night when you would think that not even one last bite would remain, we've got some slices for the fridge.
As delicious as a cold slice of pizza can be the next day, I like these Pizza Balls even better. The portioning is smaller than a big slice of pizza and they're easy (and fun) for little hands to hold. I also find them a bit less messy than slices that can drip cheese and sauce everywhere. When these pizza balls are piping hot, the little spheres pull apart to reveal gooey melted cheese and whatever toppings you can think of to put inside. They're great for dinner, to put in the lunchbox or even for when you need an afternoon snack that will sate your kids without stuffing them before dinner. Just one of the Pizza Balls will totally hit the spot, and yes, no matter how good they are, there will probably be leftovers!
Pizza Balls (makes 16 balls)
- Prep Time:10 minutes, (PT10M)
- Cook Time: 25 minutes, (PT25M)
- Total Time: 35 minutes, (PT35M)
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz pkg white or whole wheat pizza dough
- 3/4 cup broccoli florets, cooked & chopped*
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce
- olive oil
- parmesan cheese, grated
Preparation
- 1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
- 2. Bring pizza dough to room temperature and divide into 16 even pieces.
- 3. In a separate bowl combine the broccoli (or whatever addition you choose), mozzarella and pizza sauce.
- 4. Roll out each piece of dough into a round, about 3 inches wide, and place 1 tbsp of the cheese mixture in the center.
- 5. Take the edges of the dough and bring them to the center, pinching along the edges to make sure they stick together, then roll into a ball.
- 6. Place the ball, sealed side down, in a greased pie plate and repeat these steps making the rest of the balls.
- 7. Brush each ball with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
- 8. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.
- 9. Serve.
- * You can substitute the broccoli for any additions you desire.
Accompaniments: chicken, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, olives, pepperoni, pineapple, ham -- the sky's the limit
Comments
LeannaBanana
November 10, 2012 at 6:27 pm
Newatcooking
September 30, 2012 at 6:53 am
catherine
October 1, 2012 at 12:37 pm
Kenzie
August 20, 2012 at 12:27 pm
catherine
August 20, 2012 at 1:09 pm
greenteecher
August 22, 2012 at 4:40 pm
catherine
August 22, 2012 at 6:53 pm
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catherine
April 30, 2012 at 12:17 pm
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April 28, 2012 at 6:13 am
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March 17, 2012 at 4:45 pm
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February 21, 2012 at 6:11 pm
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February 4, 2012 at 2:36 pm
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January 2, 2012 at 4:21 am
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Carrie
November 1, 2011 at 9:57 pm
Jaime
September 5, 2012 at 4:39 pm
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Lauren S
October 9, 2011 at 5:58 pm
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Elisabeth
August 25, 2011 at 6:07 am
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August 21, 2011 at 12:41 pm
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August 17, 2011 at 8:28 pm
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August 10, 2011 at 2:41 am
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July 31, 2011 at 1:24 pm
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July 17, 2011 at 8:10 pm
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July 10, 2011 at 7:32 pm
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July 9, 2011 at 6:22 am
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July 8, 2011 at 6:09 pm
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July 6, 2011 at 11:37 pm