Gfree Pizza Bite Cups

Ok, so right up front, I did not invent this recipe, I found it on several different webpages. I'm so not even creative enough for that. However, I did love it, and with a few modifications, my family does too!

You will need a mini cupcake tin (which for some reason, I have, and I can't believe how many times I've used it this month).

Begin by rinsing about a cup of quinoa. I have a nifty mesh strainer for this, I'm not sure what its actually for, but its AMAZING for quinoa rinsing. Anyway, rinse it to remove the icky outer coating and you are good to go.

Put the newly rinsed quinoa in a pot with plenty of water and turn up the heat. A good rule of thumb is about 2 cups of water for every cup of quinoa, if you want all the water to be absorbed by the quinoa. You can always put in as much water as you want, and just dump any excess, but you can loose nutrients this way. The quinoa is done when its fluffier looking, paler, and almost looks like its sprouting something. This usually takes about 20 minutes or so.

While your quinoa is boiling away, use this time to cut up whatever you want as your pizza toppings. We opted for green pepper, onions, mushrooms and pepperoni. Chopping size depends on your preference, but remember, this is all going in a mini cupcake tin, so I cut it fairly small. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

I feel I have to note at this time that the spell checker on this thing is freaking out over my repeated use of the word quinoa. It has no idea what to do with it.

The recipe I followed called for one cup of mozzarella cheese, but honestly, for this family...not nearly cheesy enough. If you are going for a less healthy, lower fat snack, a cup will be plenty. Otherwise, I would add a bit more cheese.

Mix the cheese, all the toppings, two eggs, and the cooked quinoa to a bowl and stir! I added fresh oregano, basil and garlic, along with some random "Italian seasonings" labeled spice jar and a bit of paprika as well.

Use a tablespoon to put the mixture in the mini cupcake tins. GREASED cupcake tins. I can't stress that obvious point enough. I forgot on the first batch. Luckily my one-year-old-son doesn't care how they look. Use the spoon to compact the mixture into the cups, and fill it to the top. Cook for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.


Hubby recommends adding cheese to the top part way through the cooking process, I'll try that next time.  When the bites are done, serve them with pizza sauce for dipping.  I was very impressed and really liked them...Hubby, not so much. Maybe they were a bit too healthy to be called pizza?