Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Pizza Rolls (aka, my son does *not* like lunchbox sandwiches)

This will be my third year of packing school lunches and I've learned a few things:

1.  My son does *not* like sandwiches.
2.  I can pack the best lunch ever, but if everyone in the lunchroom is leaving to go play outside, the lunch will remain uneaten.
3.  The lunchroom is chaotic and distracting, so anything I pack should be able to be eaten in about 4 minutes.
4.  My son does *not* like sandwiches (unless you count BLTs, in which case he only eats the bacon).

So I've had to really search high and low for creative lunch ideas.  There are a slew of ideas I typed up on this post about Great Lunchbox Ideas.

The ideas in the post above really helped us through the last two years.  But here it is, the end of summer, and I am wanting to get a little creative.  So today, the first new idea, Pizza Rolls.  These rolls are easy to pack, easy to eat, boast whole wheat and can be packed full of whatever toppings you please.  

Traditional Pizza Rolls

1 pound whole wheat pizza dough (store-bought or you can make homemade pizza dough)
1 cup marinara or pizza sauce (store-bought or you can make homemade pizza sauce)
1 cup diced vegetables (we used bell peppers, spinach and olives, but use your favorite toppings)
1 cup shredded cheese  (we used a combination of mozzarella and Parmesan)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease the insides of two muffin tins.

Divide the dough in 2 pieces and roll each into an approximately 8 by 20 inch rectangle:


On approximately 2/3 of the dough, spread half the toppings, just like you would on a regular pizza (**note:  you can customize your roll, as we did below, only using olives on half the roll).  Before rolling, wet your hand and spread some water on the plain dough (this helps the dough "seal" when you roll it up):


Once rolled, use a serrated knife and gently saw off 1 1/2-2 inch pieces, and place them in a greased muffin tin.  Repeat process with 2nd half of the dough and toppings.


(Yes, this picture shows a different type of "roll," another recipe idea I will share...)

 Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until tops brown slightly:


Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 24.

I froze these rolls for quick lunchbox packing.  Pull however many you want out of the freezer the night prior and then reheat in the microwave or on the stove-top the next morning before packing.

Life is sweet,
SPC

3 comments:

Erin said...

I've been wanting a good pizza roll recipe and am excited to try this. When you start rolling, do you start with the end with all the toppings or the empty part?

Sweet Pea Chef said...

start on the end with the toppings--good question!

Unknown said...

IMPRESSIVE!!! I so wish I was better in this department. Cooking creatively is my STRUGGLE! Glad I have people like you to look up to and aspire to be more like. Thanks for sharing!!!