These Are Not Meatballs!

They are whole wheat rolls filled with cheese and herbs!  I got the inspiration for this creation because I happened to have some left over whole wheat pizza dough.  I didn't have enough to make more pizza but had too much to throw away (I hate throwing away food).  Of course I had some cheese on hand so I put my hands together and came up with cheese stuffed rolls.  The only problem?  That's not what they look like.  They look like meatballs.

The real trick to making these light and fluffy is the let the dough rise.  I like to put the dough in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place (windowsill, on a pre-heating oven) and it creates almost a greenhouse effect, allowing the dough to rise into a light fluffy mass.  For the cheese mixture, I just used what I had on hand; feta, shredded mozzarella and goat cheese.  You could really use any mixture of cheese, I would just stay away from the ones that can produce a lot of water (ie fresh mozzarella) because it could make your bread watery.

These would be perfect alongside a salad or even great to have with spaghetti so you have something to mop up the sauce with.  These also make a nice little snack or a lunch, especially if you happen to have some pizza/pasta sauce (for dipping) left over, this could even double as a light lunch.  And the best part?  When you make these, your apartment smells amazing because, is there anything that smells better than baking bread?  Serve them warm for the best results.  Special tip: these could be made up in advance and then frozen just before baking.  When you're ready for them, pop them into the oven and bake them up.

Cheese And Herb Stuffed Rolls 
- Leftover pizza dough (I used whole wheat)
- Cheese
- Dried herbs (I just used oregano and basil)
- Fresh ground pepper

To start, let the dough rise.  Place it in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Place in a warm place until the dough rises and just about doubles in size.  Once this happens, preheat the oven to 400.  In a small bowl, mix the cheeses with herbs and black pepper.  Take a small ball of dough and flatten it out a bit in the palm of your hand.  Stuff some cheese into the center and roll the dough around, enclosing the cheese thoroughly inside the bread and creating a ball.  Place the ball onto a non-stick cookie pan.  Repeat the process with the leftover dough.  Bake at 400 until the rolls begin to brown slightly.  When this happens, take them out of the oven and remove them from the pan (otherwise the bottoms will continue to cook).  Serve while still warm.