30 Minute Kid-Friendly Meals {using biscuits, crescent roll or pizza dough}

Kim

I know many of you are in the same situation as I am…Spring Sports. The constant running of children from school to practice to games, etc. When is practice? Dinner time. So when do you feed the kids? For us it has to be something super quick and easy. Sometimes portable! Today’s round-up comes from my stash of recipes using store-bought biscuits, crescent roll dough or pizza dough. I try not to rely on these too often, but sometimes you just need some shortcuts, and I still think it’s healthier than the choices my kids would make in a drive-thru!

The most popular on the blog are the “Bubble Up” Recipes, using canned biscuits. These are a hit with my kids as well.

Bubble Up Taco Casserole

Bubble Up Garlic Cheese Bread – not a meal in itself, but serve with a salad and fruit; or with soup/chili…

Bubble Up Pizza – add any ingredients your family likes on a pizza. This is one of the top viewed recipes on my blog and I see different versions all over Pinterest.

Ham and Cheese Bubble Up – this could go for breakfast or dinner!

Speaking of Breakfast…or dessert!

Blueberry Maple Bubble Up

Bubble Up Apple Pie

Other recipes using canned biscuits –

Ham and Cheese Melts – basically a hand pie made with biscuits…fill with anything you like!

Chicken and Biscuits Casserole

Pizza Cupcakes

Biscuit Breakfast Casserole – another breakfast or dinner option. We love breakfast for dinner!

And a quick and easy breakfast option – Copycat Burger King Cini-Minis

Pizza Dough is also a great option for quick and easy meals. Obviously you can make traditional pizza, but you can also make some fun variations.

Upside Down Pizza Casserole

Pizza ‘Braid’ – this can have any fillings you want, and you can use pizza dough or crescent roll dough. It’s the presentation that makes this one unique!

“Stromboli”

Stuffed Crust Pizza – this is SO easy and my kids love it. Can you have too much cheese?

And another breakfast option –

Yes, pizza dough to the rescue for Quick and Easy Cinnamon Rolls

Crescent Roll Dough

Crescent Roll Pizza Ring – again, fill it with anything your family likes. Throw some veggies in there if your kids will eat them!

Crescent Breakfast Casserole

I also like frozen rolls or bread dough, but it has to be thawed in advance. Both of these can be made with biscuits as well.

Pizza Monkey Bread

Monkey Bread – this is usually a “special occasion” breakfast, and requires prep time the night before, but with Mother’s Day coming soon I thought I would include it!

I also have a shortcut for Caramel Sticky Buns using store bought cinnamon rolls.

So what are your “go-to” meals when there is no time?! I also love the crock-pot, and will do a round up of those soon.

I may be linking up at any of the following – (Monday) , , , , (Tuesday) , , ,, , , (Wednesday) , , , , (Thursday) , , (Friday) , , , ,, , , , ,

Bubble Up Taco Casserole

Kim

With everything going on this holiday season (Christmas is 3 weeks away! Yikes!!) everyone needs a few simple recipes in their arsenal. I mean really, when you’ve spent every moment shopping, planning, wrapping, decorating and pinning Elf on the Shelf ideas…you need something easy to throw together for dinner. Bubble Up Pizza is the third most popular recipe on my site, probably for just that reason. It’s super easy, it’s kid-friendly, and hey, it’s pizza! I’ve made it for my kids several times myself, but when I saw the new Pillsbury Corn Biscuits, I immediately decided that a new version was in order….Bubble Up Taco! As with the pizza version, this uses just a few basic ingredients –

and you could add any additional toppings you like (olives, green chilies, etc.) Of course, my kids wouldn’t eat anything other than the basics.

It’s pretty tasty, it’s simple to throw together, and I love the corn biscuits. (They have blueberry too. I made Blueberry Maple Pull Apart Casserole with those. YUMMM.)

Bubble Up Taco Casserole

1 cans Pillsbury Corn Biscuits
1/2 can Enchilada Sauce
1 cup Mexican Cheese Blend
1/2 lb. taco meat (lean ground beef or turkey with taco seasoning added)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut biscuits into quarters or eighths (I did some of both – these biscuits are pretty large) and place in medium bowl.

Toss biscuits with enchilada sauce.

Add taco meat and any additional ingredients you may want (green chilies, etc.) and half of the cheese. Toss until well blended.

Spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with cooking spray. Pour biscuit mixture into pan and top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, or until biscuits are done. (Check center for doneness – it should be somewhat firm in the middle. Biscuits are going to remain soft because they are covered in sauce, but they shouldn’t be gooey.)

*This recipe is easily doubled to make a 9 x 13 size

When serving, add lettuce, sour cream, salsa, etc. However you like your tacos, you can add it to this. You can also adjust the enchilada sauce to your tastes…some people will want more sauce. My only complaint is that I wanted more spice! My kids need to toughen up their taste buds 🙂

I may be linking up at any of the following – (Monday) , , , , , , , , , , , (Tuesday) , , ,,, , and , , (Wednesday) , , , , , , , (Thursday) ,, , , (Friday) , , , , , ,, , , ,, , , ,, , (Saturday) , , ,

Blueberry Maple Biscuit Bake {aka Monkey Bread} & GIVEAWAY

Kim

Is anyone else fah-REAKING out that it is already November 19th?! The holidays are HERE people! I’m sorry to shout, but like I said, freaking out over here!! Am I ready for Thanksgiving? No. Am I ready for Christmas? HELLLOOO-NO. Am I the girl who lives not any where near civilization and shopping? Yes. Yes I am.

Wow. Thank goodness for online shopping and free shipping deals. Sorry to rant. I feel better now. *breath in; breath out*

One thing I do not have to stress about is breakfast during the holidays. With things like this Blueberry Biscuit Bake, I can throw it together with minimal effort and have it ready for everyone to feast upon so I can do more important things…like search for Black Friday Deals. Or wrap presents…b/c of course that will be done at the very.last.minute. Because that’s how I roll.

But don’t these look scrum-dily-umptious?! That means good, in case you’re wondering. I make up words sometimes too.

This is similar to monkey bread…but it’s not made in a bundt pan (but you could, just double the recipe), and it’s made with blueberry biscuits! Have you seen them? Grands Biscuits makes them (there are probably other brands too, but that’s the one sold around here). I knew I wanted to make something with these new found treasures, but I didn’t want to make a traditional monkey bread…I wanted less cinnamon/brown sugar and more blueberry. And a little maple syrup thrown in for good measure. AND, a glaze of course. Can’t have blueberry biscuits without a glaze (are you familiar with BoBerry Biscuits? Bojangles, baby. That’s where it’s at. It’s a Southern thing.)

Blueberry Maple Pull Apart Breakfast Bake

1 can (16 oz) Pillsbury Grands Blueberry Biscuits

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen)

3 T. maple syrup (or one of the little bottles pilfered from your last trip to Cracker Barrel. 🙂

2 T. butter

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

approx. 3-4 T. half and half (or milk/cream/flavored coffee creamer)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease an 8 x 8 baking pan (I used Chinet Bakeware)
Cut biscuits into quarters and place in a medium bowl.
Mix sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle over biscuits.
Toss to coat biscuits in sugar mixture.
Arrange coated biscuit pieces in the bottom of baking dish.
In a small microwave safe bowl, heat blueberries and maple syrup for one minute. Add butter, and microwave for a minute more.
Pour blueberry mixture over the biscuits.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center.
Cool 10 minutes.
While cooling, mix up glaze in a small bowl – Mix powdered sugar, vanilla and whatever liquid you are using until desired consistency is reached. Pour over biscuit bake.

Adapted from

Now, onto the giveaway I mentioned. Since I’m such a fan of , the thoughtful folks over at Chinet are allowing me to giveaway one last set of disposable Chinet Bakeware. What a perfect time to try these bad boys out! They are so convenient to bake in, then carry off, and then throw away! Or, if you are one of those super organized people, make some dishes up ahead of time, freeze them, then toss them in the oven whenever you are ready. Yes, Chinet Bakeware can go straight from freezer to oven!

The winner will receive a set of Chinet Bakeware including one of each size:

8×8 Square Pan

7×11 Large Oval Pan

9×11 Rectangle Pan

7.25×9 Small Oval Pan

Please enter via the Rafflecopter form. If you are viewing this in an email, you will need to click over the actual post. Shipping only available within the US.

I received a complimentary set of bakeware and stipend for supplies from Chinet. All opinions are my own. This is part 4 of a 4 part series featuring Chinet.

Ham and Cheese Biscuit Pull Apart Casserole

Kim

Do you like biscuits? (I have both of my hands raised) Do you like a meal that can be put together in a hurry with just a few ingredients? (yes again!) How about a dinner that the kids say ‘this is really good, you need to make this again!’ (Do you know how rare that is in the Mo’Betta house?!) If any of these are sounding good to you…read on!

Flaky, delicious biscuits…

Ham and cheese too…

That comes together in a quick and easy casserole.

Ham and Cheese Biscuit Pull Aparts

adapted from

1 (16.3 oz) Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers Biscuits
1 egg
2 tablespoons skim milk
1 cup diced ham
1 cup cheese of choice (I used 1/2 cup fat free cheddar and 1/2 cup 2% mozzarella)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

fresh ground pepper (to taste)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray an 11 x 7 glass baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk egg and milk together.
Open biscuits and cut each biscuit into quarters.

Gently stir biscuit pieces into egg mixture until evenly coated.

Fold in ham, cheese, garlic powder and pepper.

Dump biscuit mixture into prepared dish, and spread out in an even layer.
Bake at 350 for approx. 25 minutes or until golden brown.

I divided this into 6 servings, and based on the ingredients I used it came to 6 Points Plus (Weight Watchers) per serving. My girls each ate 2 servings!

Some other recipes I’ve made using canned biscuits:

Biscuit Breakfast Casserole

Bubble Up Pizza

Pizza Cupcakes

Monkey Bread

Ham and Cheese Melts

Yay! This recipe as been featured at , , ; thanks ladies!

I may be linking up at any of the following – (Monday) , , , , , , , , , , , (Tuesday) , , ,,, , and , , (Wednesday) , , , , , , , , (Thursday) ,, , , ,, (Friday) , , , , , ,, , , ,, , , ,, (Saturday) , , , , (Sunday) , , ;

Biscuit Breakfast Casserole {& GIVEAWAY}

Kim

I have been using eggs for a good while now, so when they contacted me with this opportunity to host a brunch and offered a fun giveaway for you guys, I jumped on it! I love brunch. It’s not breakfast, it’s not lunch…you can pretty much get away with anything for the menu. It’s a great time to change up those (like this Biscuit Breakfast Casserole), combine breakfast and lunch items, such as with breakfast pizzas, just let your imagination go. Unless your family is like mine…in which foods must be boring basic, non-spicy, and “normal”. If they found spinach in their breakfast casserole, they would fah-reak. *sigh*

Thankfully, I was able to come up with a few dishes that were winners all around. That’s one of the great things about eggs, they are so versatile! I’m so thankful that my son is no longer allergic to eggs as it has opened up a whole new world in the way of menu planning! Since we eat so many dishes with eggs now (we also LOVE breakfast for dinner…brinner?) it is nice to know that Eggland’s Best eggs offer more than your ‘average egg’. They have 10 times more vitamin E; double the amount of omega-3’s; twice the amount of vitamin D; 3 times more vitamin B12; 25% less saturated fat and 38% more lutein. I know, wow!

So what eggs-tremely (haha, couldn’t resist) delicious dishes did I serve?

This Biscuit Breakfast Casserole with sausage, eggs, and cheese was pretty delicious. I especially liked mine with a little sausage gravy. We Southerners like gravy on most anything 🙂

Biscuit Breakfast Casserole

adapted from Sausage, Egg and Biscuit Casserole by

1 lb breakfast turkey sausage
7 Eggland’s Best eggs
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup fat free half and half

1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pepper
8 frozen buttermilk biscuits, slightly thawed, halved (I used Grands)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 375.
Lightly spray a 7×11-inch dish with cooking spray.
Brown sausage in pan, breaking into chunks. Drain fat if necessary.
Whisk together eggs, milk, half and half, cream, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Slice each biscuit in half with serrated knife. Place biscuit bottoms in baking dish.
Sprinkle half of cooked sausage over biscuits and top with half of the cheese.
Place remaining biscuits on top of cheese, and sprinkle with remaining sausage.
Pour egg mixture over biscuits.
Bake 30 minutes.
Sprinkle remaining cheese over casserole and bake until eggs are set, about 10-15 minutes longer.
Let casserole stand 10 minutes before serving.

I’m also loving this idea for mini breakfast casseroles! You make it in a muffin pan, which would have been great for brunch.

We also had Breakfast Pizza, similar to this . This from the also looks pretty amazing. The site has LOTS of good looking recipes if you want new ideas. (They also have a special going on right now for a free for Facebook fans, click on the link to learn more.) There was also delicious fruit salad, grits, and maybe a mimosa or two.

So…I know I mentioned a giveaway and you have patiently waited to hear the details. Eggland’s Best is offering a Makin’ it Mo’Betta reader the following prize pack.

(1) coupon for one free dozen Eggland’s Best eggs

(1) ceramic mixing bowl
(1) egg-shaped wooden cutting board
(1) whisk
(1) bowl scraper
(1) ceramic mug

(1) eco bag

It’s a fun and useful gift pack, and I have been using mine a lot! To enter, just follow the directions in the rafflecopter form.

The Eggland’s Best coupon, information, and two gift packs have been provided by Eggland’s Best. Any opinions expressed about the product are my own.

Linking up this recipe with

Bubble Up Pizza {recipe revisited}

Kim

Bubble Up Pizza is the most popular recipe on my blog. For good reason, I think. It’s super easy, super kid-friendly, and it’s pizza. And biscuits! How often can you go wrong with biscuits?! Well, I started getting some feedback on the recipe – mostly positive, but a few people said it wasn’t enough sauce, and a couple said they couldn’t get it done in the middle. So, I decided to make this again, per the recipe, to see if I had any issues.

I used a different pan, different oven, but the same ingredients as before.

Nope, no problems! It was a little too sauce-y for our taste (last time I reduced it a bit), but other than that, the kids loved it. It was done in the center, and did not get too brown on top. I cooked it for about 30 minutes. I think the type of biscuits you use will definitely make a difference. If you like a thick, deep dish pizza crust, you will probably like this, and like I said, it is very kid friendly!

Check out the original post for the recipe!

Pizza Cupcakes

Kim

When my 4 year old son saw these come out of the oven he said “Pizza CUPCAKES”!! He was so excited, so that’s what we’ve been calling them. It’s not exactly what I had planned, but seeing as how I had no real plan, this is what we ended up with. The kids loved it, so ‘pizza cupcakes’ are a keeper. I had this Bubble Up Pizza and Pizza Monkey Bread in mind when I started, but I wanted to do it in a muffin pan. However, I was tired, it was getting late, and I was in a hurry {side story- I had taken my daughter to a ‘bonfire’ party…a “boy/girl” bonfire party! and had got SO.FREAKIN’.LOST. that my nerves and dinner plans were shot by the time I got home. My child was at least 30 mins late to the party, just to find out that the house we were trying to find was about 2 miles from mine. TWO. MILES. True story. Navigation system my a*s.}

I ended up taking a can of Grands Biscuits, flattening them out, and pressing them in a muffin pan (bottom and up the sides). I put a little sauce in the bottom, then filled with cheese, and topped with a slice of turkey pepperoni. The biscuits rise (le duh) and they turned out looking like a cupcake!

Pretty darn cute if you ask me.

They received 2 thumbs up from the little guy!

and in true cupcake fashion, he ate the top first!

We have already made these again since I took these pics. I wonder if I can make broccoli look like a cupcake? Probably wouldn’t have the same effect!

I’m linking up over at: , , , , , , , ,

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