Hawaiian Pizza Muffins

Some days, I'm all about makin' it as easy as possible. Today is certainly one of those days. This weekend wore me out physically/mentally/cookinly (Great. Now I'm not even using real words). I felt like I spent most of my time in the kitchen. Why?

Saturday: 
Baby Shower - Peach Cobbler Muffins
Dad's Birthday - His Favorite Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Almond Crumbs
Progressive Dinner - Fresh Tomato Bruschetta, Strawberry Short Cakes

Sunday:
Lemonade Social - 10 gallons of Roasted Peach Lemonade

I feel like I have a cooking/baking hangover! It was just one of those weekends where everything I volunteered for turned out to be on the same weekend. So I fully take the blame. Thankfully, everything went smoothly, and we had a wonderful time at each event (except for the baby shower... she was in labor at the hospital, so they cancelled. It happens.)

This afternoon I knew two things: I wanted something easy for dinner, and I had a severe craving for pizza. Thankfully, our favorite pizza muffins are super-easy to make. However, I didn't want just our typical brew. I wanted some tasty Canadian bacon slices, thick mozzarella cheese, fresh pineapple, and zesty marinara sauce.... Hawaiian Pizza Muffins! Kid-friendly, and husband-friendly :)

The cool thing about this recipe is that you can substitute in any toppings that your family loves - make them your own! 

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Hawaiian Pizza Muffins

1 small package Canadian bacon
1/2 C chopped green pepper
3/4 C chopped fresh pineapple (or canned)
1 package refrigerator pizza dough (you can do homemade, but again, I was going for easy today.)
1/2 jar marinara sauce (or homemade :)
2 C thickly shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Spray muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.

On a very clean surface, lay out pizza dough (it usually ends up in a rectangle shape if you're using refrigerator dough - perfect for rolling it up like cinnamon-roll dough). Spread marinara sauce over dough, sprinkle cheese, lay down Canadian bacon, sprinkle green pepper and pineapple.

Roll up dough in a large log, pinch the ends and seal the dough flap so there's no openings. With a sharp knife (or some people I've heard use a thin string), slice about 1/2 inch slices in the dough, and carefully put the pizza spirals in the muffin tin.

Cook for about 20 minutes until pizza muffins are cooked through, and cheese on top is bubbly. (I sometimes broil them for a minute or two after to get a little crunch on the Canadian bacon). Dip pizza muffins in extra marinara sauce.


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