Pizza Balls and Homemade Marinara Recipes

PIZZA BALLS! Perfect appetizers for Super Bowl Sunday

3 cans Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits (10 per can)
56 pepperoni slices
Block of Colby cheese or Mozzarella 
1 beaten egg
Parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder

Cut the block of cheese into 28 squares. Flatten a biscuit out and stack a slice of pepperoni, cheese and pepperoni in the middle of the biscuit. Gather up the edges of the biscuit. Line up the rolls in a greased 9x13 in. pan (We used a nonstick spray). Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with parmesan, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

Please note...We used our Roulpat in class. If you don't have one, place the pre-made biscuits on wax paper to roll them out. I found that if you do too many at one time, by the time you start to fill them, you may notice they have begun to shrink!  So don't make to many at a time. Make sure to spray your wax paper with baking spray or they will stick! 

I personally think that the larger/jumbo size biscuits work better, but you will need to stuff them more. Also, I did make a few with different ingredients just for the sake of trying them out.  I used pineapple, (chunks) mushrooms, Canadian bacon, onions, and mozzarella cheese.  I tried to add a spoonful of sauce but found that the biscuit will not hold together because its too slippery. The same with crushed pineapple, so make sure they are chunks. Otherwise it's to hard to close when its "wet".

My first attempt at filling them did not go so well as I believe that I tried to "overfill" them. 
When filling use small amounts. I ended up cutting the Canadian bacon into fourths. Only use one piece of pineapple per ball. I served them with three choices of dipping sauce. Pizza Sauce, Ranch, and Melted Garlic Butter. Don't be afraid to use your favorite ingredients.

Quick Marinara Sauce

Ingredients
1- 28oz can of crushed tomatoes

1 tsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, smashed (we used a garlic press)

1 small bay leaf

1 tsp oregano

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1 tbsp brown sugar *optional

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a medium pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden, being careful not to burn.

Add crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, brown sugar, oregano and bay leaf. Stir and reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the fresh basil.