Cooking For Toddlers ~Hidden Veggie Pizza Bites~

As we all know, toddlers are extremely picky when it comes to food. Unless you're one of those moms whose toddler eats anything. We're all jealous of you. Maybe it's just me, but getting my child to eat anything other than pizza and fruit snacks is a serious chore. So what did I do? I hid some healthy stuff in cute little pizza bites. And now when it comes to the lunch time battle, Mom - 1, Raelyn - 193423423. But HEY! At least I have a point right?? Haha. 

 This recipe is so yummy and you can sneak in any kind of veggie your heart desires! I even snuck in a bit of protein powder, because I can. They'd make great appetizers for a party, and you can make a big batch ahead of time and freeze them too! 

  Let's get started. You'll need the veggie of your choice (I chose spinach), protein powder (optional),

spaghetti sauce, heavy cream, tortilla, cheese (I used mozzarella, but you can substitute with your favorite pizza cheese), & Parsley (optional). You'll also need a muffin tin and something around the same size as your tins to cut circles out of your tortilla. 

First, preheat your oven to 350. 

Then, cut circles out of your tortilla roughly the size of a muffin tin. I used a can of chick peas. A biscuit cutter would work awesome for this! 

 Now for the cheese, I only had mozzarella sticks. I need to go grocery shopping... Story of my life. One mozzarella stick is enough for 3 pizza bites. I'm making 6 bites so I grated 2 cheese sticks.

Now that you have your cheese and crust ready, it's time to make the sauce. If you're using a blender, it's easier to make this in bulk. A food processor works best for small portions. Take 1/4 cup of whatever veggie you're using, 1/2 cup of your sauce, and 1-2 tbsp of protein powder. You can add more or less of the protein powder.

 Blend everything together. If you're sauce is too thick, add in some heavy cream. It'll add some really                                              good flavor while thinning it out a bit.

  

 Now take your muffin tin and place your tortilla crusts on top. Push down the centers to make a little bowl shape. I think I need a new muffin tin. This one has definitely seen better days...

When you have all your crusts pushed down, spoon some of your sauce in and spread it around. You don't want it too thick, you should have just enough sauce to cover the crust. 

 Add your cheese. Try and cover up all of the sauce. Especially if your kiddo won't eat anything green!

I like to add parsley just for looks, but again, obviously skip this if your munchkin wont eat something with green ;)

Pop them in your oven for 7-10 minutes. Around 7 minutes for gooey pizza bites, and around 10 for crispy. Just keep peeking in on them. I like them crispy, less mess.

I think these turn out so cute and my daughter LOVES them. They're so cheap to make and if you leave out the veggies, they're super quick too! I hope you and your kiddies enjoy these pizza bites as much as we do :)

Hidden Veggie Pizza Bites

Yield: 6 Pizza Bites
Cook Time: 7-10 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 17-20 minutes

• 1/4 cup Spinach
• 1/2 cup Marinara sauce
• Heavy cream (for thinning)
• 2 Tbsp Protein powder
• 2 Mozzarella sticks (grated)
• 1 tortilla shell
• Parsley

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cut 6 circles from tortilla shells roughly the same size as muffin tin openings. 
3. Place cut circles (crusts) on top of tin openings and push down centers with one finger. Making a small bowl shape. set aside
4. Combine spinach, marinara sauce, and protein powder in blender or food processor. Blend and add heavy cream to thin if it gets too thick.
5. Add small dollops of sauce to center of crusts and spread just enough sauce to coat the crusts.
6. Sprinkle enough cheese to cover up the sauce. 
7. Garnish with parsley (optional)
8. Bake in oven for 7 (gooey) to 10 (crispy) minutes.
9. Let cool slightly and serve.

Ok, Mom

 Ok, Mom. The phrase I heard about 3 billion times throughout my childhood.

 My friend skinned her knee. "Oh my gosh! Are you ok?? Let's go inside and put some peroxide on it. You don't want it to get infected, do you?" "Yea, OK, Mom..."

  Childhood crush fails to put on sunblock at a youth group event. "You should really wear sunblock. You don't want to get a sunburn, they really suck. Here, I packed some in my backpack just in case. You should put some on." Ok, Mom."

 My coworker skips her lunch. "You know, you're going to shrivel up and die if you don't nourish yourself. We're not busy, go in the back and eat your lunch!" "Ok, Mom."

 My sister would say it to me most. She knew it got under my skin. "Olivia, You need to pick up your room. Someone is going to trip and die on all this crap." "Ok, Mom."

 I'm sure every friend that I had growing up had said that to me at some point. Coworkers, teammates, crushes; (let me tell you, the mom zone is WORSE than the friend zone) I think my own mother has even said it to me. The only one who hasn't said that to me is my husband, Josh. I think I wised up and turned the mothering down because I didn't want to scare him away. Muahaha and now he's stuck with me!

 Back then I hated it. Fast forward to now, what I'd do to hear "ok, Mom". My little girl Raelyn, who is 2, has yet to say ok, mom. Do you know how easy my life would be if she would say those two sweet little words? My life would be complete. That might be a bit dramatic, but you understand if you're a mom... and I'm also going on 4 hours of sleep. We're switching her to her big girl bed, and her little brother (Judah, 4 months today) is going through a sleep regression. But that's another story...