Meatball Sandwiches

Home-Made meatballs, cooked (or prepackaged ones)
1 jar Marinara Sauce
1 bag good hoagie rolls
Mozarella or provolone cheese
Split the rolls and place cheese on one side then place on baking sheet. Warm marinara sauce and add cooked meatballs. Place 3-4 meatballs on other side of roll. Set oven to broil and place pan in oven until cheese is melted.

**IF you want to make your own meatballs you can follow this recipe:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup oats
1-2 Tablespoons dried onions (or 3-4 Tablespoons chopped onion)
salt and pepper
1 egg
Mix all together and form into balls. Place in 9x13 pan and bake at 375 for 15-20 min or until cooked through.

Birthday Cake Ideas

This is a dragon I made for one of the boys birthday parites.

Pizza Bites

You can use any bread dough recipe you like. Here is a really quick one I use when I am in a hurry.
Mix and rest 15 min:
1 3/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons yeast
Then add:
1/2 Tablespoon salt
2 eggs
5 1/2 cups flour
Mix well. Roll out and cut into squares or pinch into balls and flatten.
Fill with cheese cubes, pepperoni, pineapple, bits of veggies, etc. Fold dough around filling and let rise 10 min. Bake at 425 for 10-15 min. These freeze well and are great for kids lunchboxes or a quick snack.

Chewy Granola Bars

2 1/2 ups oats

1/2 cup rice krispies

1/4 cup coconut

1/2 cup m&m's or choc chips

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all together and press into 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 18-20 min. Cool 5 min and score into bars. Cool completely and then cut. You can change this up however you like by adding different things in place of the m&m's. You can also use peanut butter in place of the butter. Your kids will love them!

Microwave Popcorn

This is fairly straight forward. Put enough kernals in a brown paper bag to make a single layer on the bottom. Fold over the top and put it in the microwave for 2-3 min. Then you can pour your own butter over it or spray it with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle with butter flavoring or salt. Quick, easy and much better than the stuff you get from the store.