Mini Pizza Muffins

These had mixed reviews. They smell yummy, but were a little bland. I'm willing to give them another try, though--maybe adding more cheese or a tablespoon of Italian seasoning to the batter.

Mini Pizza Muffins
Adapted from Mommy Makes at food.com


1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. fine cornmeal
1 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. oil
1/2 pizza or marinara sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
1/3 c. pepperoni, finely chopped (or 1/3 c. cooked sausage or 1/3 c. veggies)

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease 36 mini muffins tins.

In a large bowl stir the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. In a separate smaller bowl, blend the egg, milk, and oil together. Make a well in the center and add the liquid mixture, stirring until combined.

In another small bowl, combine the pizza sauce and cheese.

Fill the muffin tins halfway. Evenly divide the sauce mixture among the muffins. Top with the pepperoni/sausage/veggies. Cover the toppings with the remaining batter.


Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool. When cooled, place on a cookie sheet in the freezer. When frozen solid, place in a labeled ziptop bag.

To serve, place the desired number of muffins in a container in a lunch box (they will defrost by lunchtime). Or, heat in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Chicken Empanadas

These delicious little morsels may be headed for my lunches instead of my kids'!

Chicken Empanadas
Adapted from Miss Annie at food.com

1 c. cooked chicken
1/2 c. monterey jack cheese (mozzarella works, too), shredded
1/2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
4 oz green chilies
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt (or less)
2 pie crusts, frozen (I used homemade)
3 egg yolks (I used about 1 1/2), beaten
2 Tbs. kosher salt
1 Tbs. chili powder

Mix the first 8 ingredients together in a large bowl. On a floured surface, roll out the pie crust and cut out 4 inch circles until the pie crust is used up.

Place approximately 2 Tbs. of filling in the center of a circle. Fold the circles over and crimp the edges closed with a fork.

Place on a baking sheet. Brush with the egg yolk. Sprinkle on the salt (I forgot) and the chili powder.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12-13 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. When cool, place on a cookie sheet in the freezer. When frozen solid, place the empanadas in a labeled ziptop gallon bag.

To serve, place desired number of empanadas in a container in the lunchbox (it will defrost by lunchtime). Or heat in microwave for 30-45 seconds.

Taco Roll-Ups

I made these as a lunch entree for my kiddos. They received rave reviews!

Taco Roll-Ups
From JillAZ at food.com

1 lb. ground beef
1 pkt. (1.5 oz) taco seasoning
2/3 c. water
1 lb. bread dough--defrosted, if frozen or purchased fresh (Winco has it $1.48)
2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese or taco blend

Brown ground beef. Drain fat. Add taco seasoning and water, cooking for 5-10 minutes or until water is absorbed.

Place dough on lightly floured surface. Roll into a 8x20 inch rectangle. Spread beef mixture on the dough, leaving a 1 inch border. Sprinkle with the cheddar cheese.

Roll up the dough, beginning on the long side. Pinch the seams to seal. Use a serrated knife to cut the roll into 1 slices. Place the slices approximately 2 inches aprt on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Place on a wire rack to cool. When completely cooled, place on a cookie sheet in the freezer. When completely frozen, place in a labeled ziptop bag.

To serve, place the desired number of rolls in a container in the lunch bag. Or, heat in the microwave for 45 seconds.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pockets

These are so tasty! My kids love these in their lunches! They make a great dessert if you use only jelly filling.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Pockets
From flower7 on food.com

1 batch biscuit dough cut into 2-3" circles or one pkg refrigerator biscuits (I'm a homemade kinda girl, but convenience comes first sometimes!)
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. jelly (your favorite kind--I used a three berry blend)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or use stoneware.

On a lightly floured surface, roll each biscuit into a flat round, approximately 5-6" across. Place a dollop of peanut butter and a dollop of jelly in the center of each round.

Fold each circle in half over the filling and crimp the edges shut with the tines of a fork.

Place on prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
**The filling wil be VERY hot!**

Place on a cookie sheet in the freezer. When frozen solid, place the pockets into a labeled ziptop bag.

On serving day, place desired number of pockets into a container for lunch. They will defrost in time for eating. Or, warm in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Calzone Roll- Ups

These tasty entrees are perfect for lunches, party snacks, or dinner! Premade pizza dough makes them easy to prepare.

Calzone Roll-Ups
(From a forgotten website--kudos to the original creator, I'm sorry I lost your website!)


1 lb premade pizza dough (Winco has it for $1.48 or you can make your own)
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 c. green peppers, chopped
1/2 c. red peppers, chopped
1 tbs. olive oil
1/3 c. pizza sauce
1/2 c. diced pepperoni
1 c. shredded cheese, italian blend or mozzarella
1/4 c. black olives, chopped
2 tbs. Parmesan cheese, grated

Allow bread dough to come to room temperature. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

In a small skillet, saute the onions and peppers in olive oil for 3-5 minutes. Add mushrooms for the final 2 minutes.

Roll each dough portion into a 16 by 10 inch rectangle. Spread with pizza sauce and top with the sauteed vegetables, diced pepperoni, chopped olives, and shredded cheese. Roll up the dough on the long side, pinching the edge to seal. Cut each roll into 12 slices.

Places the slices, cut side down, in two greased 9 inch circle pans. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Cover and let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Bake at 375 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from pan to cool on a wire rack. After cooled, place on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once frozen solid, place the rolls in a labeled gallon ziptop bag.

To serve, heat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes or place frozen in a lunchbag (it will defrost in time for lunch).

Fresh Fruit Cups

These delicious fruit cups are kept in the freezer until the night before or morning of. The ingredients are fresh, real fruit, and no extra sugar is added!

Fresh Fruit Cups
From Munchkin Mama at food.com


16oz strawberries frozen (thawed) or fresh
12oz pineapple orange juice, thawed
2-20oz pineapple (I use one can crushed and one can of tidbits)
2-11 oz cans mandarin orange segments
6 bananas, not too yellow, diced (I prefer to use three)
16oz frozen blueberries
1/3 c. lemon juice

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and gently stir to mix.

Fill 4oz plastic containers with the mix, then place them in the freezer. After the contents are frozen solid, all the containters go in a plastic shopping bag for easy keeping.

To serve, place in the refrigerator the night before or use as the cold pack in a lunch box. My kids LOVE these--and so do I!

Day Three: 14 Meals

Today was a short day, since I had afternoon plans. I still managed to get quite a few meals into the freezer, but I am definitely tired of cooking all day long!

The recipe list:

Best Breakfast Cookies (2 bags)


Chicken Stew
Beef and Barley Stew
Supersimple Beef Stew
Chuckwagon Casserole
Quick Chicken Lasagna (2 pans)
White Chicken Chili
Italian Wedding Soup
Double-Coated Chicken (2 bags)
PB&J Pockets

Sadly, I have few pictures from today.

Day One: 16+ Meals

Yesterday was a good start to my cooking marathon. My mom stopped by and helped me make:

Pizza Muffins (for the kids' lunches)


Rosemary Chicken --2
English Muffin Breakfast Pizzas--2 bags (these look super tasty when finished!)


Spicy Black Beans and Rice
Black Bean Soup
Taco Soup--2
Winter's Best Bean Soup--2
Weeknight Ravioli Bake--2
Sausage Cheese Balls--2 bags
Calzone Rollups


I'm off to start today's cooking! See you on the other side of the dishes!

Homemade Lunch Kits

When I go grocery shopping with the kids, they beg for the little lunch kits. You know, the little flat packages with 5 slices of American cheese, 5 slices of bologna, and 5 tiny round crackers. Oh, and a little candy bar to round out that delicious, healthy meal.

Please hear my sarcasm. I don't think there is anything healthy about those little kits at all. And I can't bear to spend $2.50 on something that I could prepare myself for about $.50.

I often send the same ingredients in individual plastic containers along with some fresh fruit and baby carrots. Same concept, healthier version.

Anyway, the last time I dragged the kids shopping with me, they saw PIZZA lunch kits. They really wanted those! Again, I couldn't stomach the price or the ingredients list.

But, right above the kits were packages of pepperoni. And bags of fresh pizza dough. Shredded mozzarella cheese was just down the aisle.

"What if I make homemade pizza lunches for you to take?"

The kids were very excited about this. We bought sliced pepperoni ($1.88) and shredded cheese ($2.00). I decided to make the pizza dough at home because I have all the ingredients on hand already, but it was only $2.50 at the store.


My dough recipe made 32 little bitty pizza crusts. If I combine this with a little container of spaghetti sauce, a container of shredded cheese, and another container of pepperoni, my kiddos can be cool and have pizza kits in their lunches.


And I spent less than $5, so I feel cool, too.