Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

This is it my friends.  The final week of pregnancy...at least according to my estimated due date!  Of course, we all know that baby will make his appearance when he's good and ready so he could stick around another two weeks before my OB would consider intervening.  Good thing I'm not *too* uncomfortable yet.

I've been spending the past couple weeks filling my freezer with all sorts of goodies so that we won't starve after baby arrives.  It takes me a little longer than normal to prep things because I need to take frequent breaks and my feet/ankles look gigantic (my sister affectionately calls them "fat kid feet") once I'm done but I know it will all be worth it in the end.  As long as baby stays put, I'll continue to grow my freezer meal stash!

Last week I posted a teaser pic of these pepperoni pizza puffs and had more than one request for the recipe.  I had actually made these for my friends Kristen and Sig when they had their little boy but apparently I never got to blogging about them so here they are now!

They're a bit like cheesy dough puffs (reminding me of the Brazilian cheese bread pao de queijo for those familiar) filled with pepperoni and then served with pizza sauce for dipping.  Of course feel free to substitute whatever pizza toppings you enjoy.  I freeze them on a baking sheet first so they don't clump together and then dump them into a plastic freezer bag.  To reheat, I just pop them in the microwave.  Easy peasy one-handed eating and kid-friendly, too!

One Year Ago: Creamed Corn and Watermelon Slush
Two Years Ago: Five-Minute Healthy Chunky Monkey Ice Cream (one of my favorite treats anytime but especially during pregnancy!)
Four Years Ago: Grands! Taco Melts aka Homemade Hot Pockets (I haven't tried it before but I bet this would also make a great freezer lunch if you fully prepared it and then followed a similar freezing method as in these pizza puffs!)

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 tsp Italian seasoning
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 4 oz (about 1 cup) pepperoni, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• 2 Tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare a 24-cup mini muffin pan by spraying with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and Italian seasoning.  Add the milk and egg.  Finally, stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni and then let the mixture stand for 10 minutes.
3. Give the batter a stir then divide evenly among the mini muffin cups.  Bake until puffed and golden, about 20-25 minutes.  If you intend to freeze them, remove the puffs from the pan while still warm and then arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet to freeze.  Once frozen, transfer to a ziploc freezer bag, removing as much extra air as possible.
4. When ready to serve, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through, then stir in basil.  Serve warm puffs with pizza sauce for dipping.

Source: Barely modified from Noble Pig