Stuffed Pizza Rolls

These pizza rolls were The Meal That Almost Didn't Happen. When I went to the grocery store to buy the ingredients on the night I was going to make them, the store was out of refrigerated pizza crust. The shelf was totally empty, and I couldn't find an employee to help me. And I live in a pretty small town with only one grocery store, so it's not like I could go somewhere else.

Instead of scrapping our dinner plans, though, I decided to improvise. I found a package of Pillsbury's crescent creations that I thought would probably work, so I decided to use that instead. And it worked wonderfully! I was so glad I went forward with making these, because they were absolutely delicious. Joe is pretty obsessed with frozen pizza rolls, so I was eager to see what he'd think of this homemade version -- and he really liked them too. The same goes for Andrew, who would eat anything dipped in red sauce (he's just like his mama).

These pizza rolls will be a repeat dinner in our house, for sure. Wait until you see what I served them with -- that's coming up on Monday. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Stuffed Pizza Rolls
source: Our Best Bites

1 roll refrigerated pizza dough (I substituted crescent creations out of necessity, which worked fine)Marinara/pizza sauce

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon melted butter

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

Mozzarella cheese, diced

Pizza toppings of your choice: i.e., ham and pineapple, pepperoni slices, sausage, etc. (I used diced pepperoni)

1. Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package, usually 400 degrees.

2. Unroll dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8". Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares.

3. Place cheese and desired toppings on each square, about a teaspoon each of cheese and toppings.

4. When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings. Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).

5. Brush the tops of the dough balls melted butter and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with parmesan cheese.

6. Cook rolls in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.