Parmesan Meatballs with Crescent Stars

Why crescent stars? Because I was shopping and found a crescent roll "sheet" and was curious. I don't typically buy containers of "dough", but this intrigued me. I love finding uses for ingredients (beyond what the manufacturer intended). I knew I would think of SOME use for it. And, boy, is this a fun use! I unrolled the sheet, cut out cute little stars and topped them with my parmesan meatballs. So fun! 

Note: I served the meatballs and stars with pasta sauce for dipping. Feel free to do that too - choose your favorite sauce or pesto. 

Parmesan Meatballs with Crescent Stars

3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling on top of meatballs
3 tablespoon seasoned bread crumbs
1 large egg
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup pasta sauce, plus more for dipping
8-ounce container refrigerated crescent roll sheet

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 
In a large bowl, combine the beef, 1/4 cup of the cheese, bread crumbs, egg, ketchup, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix well and shape the mixture into 12 meatballs. Place the meatballs on a foil- or parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. 
Unroll the crescent roll sheet onto a flat surface. Use a cookie cutter to cut out 12 stars, slightly bigger than the size of the meatballs. If you have extra dough, shape it into mini pretzels!
Arrange the stars (and pretzels) on parchment-lined baking sheet. Place a meatball on each star. Brush the top of the meatballs with the pasta sauce and sprinkle with cheese. You can do the same with the pretzels. 
Bake for 10 minutes, until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown. 
Serve the meatballs with dipping sauce on the side if desired.

Serves 4