Elder Care Recipes: Pizza Pinwheels

Senior Care in Sudbury, MA

Giving your aging loved ones delicious, satisfying, and nutritious meals is an important part of your elder care plan, but with all of your other responsibilities, it can seem daunting to prepare a meal while also trying to handle all of your other tasks. Whether you have a day filled with doctors’ appointments and running errands with your elderly loved ones, or doing the car pool and attending sports events with your children, or working and then handling your care responsibilities, when you get to the end of the day and feel like you just do not have the time to cook a whole meal, having some quick and easy recipes on hand help you prepare something all of you can enjoy without the stress.

These easy pizza pinwheels take advantage of some of the convenience items you should always have sitting around in your parents’ refrigerator – refrigerated rolls, pizza sauce, and shredded cheese. The recipe is simple enough that you can throw it together in less than half an hour for a quick weeknight dinner, or your parents and their non-medical caregiver can make it together for a fun afternoon activity and delicious, unique lunch.

What You Will Need

• One 8 ounce can of refrigerated crescent roll dough
• One bag of pre shredded mozzarella cheese (2 cups)
• One bag of pre-sliced pepperoni
• One can of pizza sauce or your favorite homemade pizza sauce recipe
• One large baking sheet
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Spoon
• Small serving bowl
• Sharp knife
• Rolling pin

What to Do

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
• Measure 2 cups of mozzarella cheese
• Prepare the baking sheet by spraying lightly with the nonstick cooking spray
• Carefully open the refrigerated crescent roll dough, directing it away from your face to prevent injury from the popping open
• Use the rolling pin to roll the 8 crescent roll dough triangles into 4 rectangles
• Place the rectangles beside each other for assembly
• Layer each rectangle with 6 slices of pepperoni
• Add an even amount of mozzarella cheese to each rectangle
• Roll each rectangle tightly lengthwise to create a log shape
• Press the seam into the roll to seal firmly. If it does not seal readily, dip your finger into water and use that to help you seal the roll
• Use the sharp knife to slice each rectangle into 4 or more pieces depending on how small you wish them to be
• Arrange the pinwheels on the prepared baking sheet, leaving an inch of space in between
• Place pizza pinwheels into preheated oven
• Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden brown
• Serve with pizza sauce for dipping

Modified from this recipe.

If your aging parents do not like pepperoni, or you just want to change up the flavor and nutrition of your pinwheels, try customizing the recipe with a few extra toppings such as chopped onions, chopped green peppers, chopped black olives, chopped mushrooms, crumbled sausage, or even different types of cheeses to recreate your parents’ favorite pizza flavors.