meatball sub cupcakes

 

Back in the fall a Facebook friend mentioned that she was making meatball sub cupcakes. That sounded very good to me and I knew Mike would love it. I looked up a recipe using Rhodes frozen dinner rolls and decided to give it a try for our Halloween party. I'm so glad I did. They were a huge hit and disappeared fast. I made a few using the directions listed on the Rhodes web site, but they were messy to assemble and hard to seal without sauce oozing out. I decided to try an easier method and came up with this method. I've listed the directions in steps, as there is some hands-off time while the rolls raise. We had these again on Saturday and they were so good. Landon loves them too and they are definitely kid-friendly.   I used a 1 1/2" round biscuit cutter to cut out little circles of cheese - they fit perfectly. 

Meatball Subs Cupcakes
12 Rhodes Dinner Rolls (frozen)
12 Italian-Style meatballs (frozen)
1 jar marinara sauce
Provolone or Mozzarella Cheese

Step 1 - Spray 12 cup muffin tin lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Place one roll in each cup and allow to rise according to package directions.*

Step 2 -   When it's about 45 minutes from bake time, simmer meatballs in marinara sauce.

Step 3 - Once the rolls have raised...
You're almost ready to put these in the oven! Go ahead and preheat your oven  to 350. Make an indention in the center of each roll, big enough to hold one meatball. Place one meatball in each roll and top with cheese.
Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with extra marinara sauce for dipping if desired.

*Tip 
- I let my rolls rise in the oven with the oven light on. The light provides enough heat to make it a warm space.