Name: Eggplant Parmesan
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 small eggplant, sliced thin; 2 cups vegetable broth; 2 cups marinara sauce; 1 cup mozzarella, for serving; fresh basil, for serving

Instant Pot Eggplant Parmesan

January 15, 2020 By Kristi

Today, I'm tackling homemade instant pot eggplant Parmesan. Cheesy, saucy, delicious Italian classic eggplant Parmesan made simple in the instant pot!

I'm so excited. Every year on my birthday, I order eggplant Parmesan from a local restaurant that has a complimentary birthday meal.

Why? Because it's kind of a pain to make eggplant Parmesan myself and, I really shouldn't have the wheat (I skip the noodles, but it's still lightly breaded). And, because I love eggplant Parmesan!

I'm a superfan of risotto, too. It's a toss-up between those two for all-time favorite Italian dish. And what's up with most everyday Italian places not having risotto on the menu anymore? Sad. So, for the 364 (or sometimes 365) in between my birthdays) I need to come up with an easier way to make a gluten-free version at home.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my eggplant tian. It's delicious and it's pretty close to eggplant parm, so it nearly satisfies that desire, but if I really want parm it's not quite right. And my more recent discovery of chickpea Parmesan is absolutely fantastic. And so simple!

But again, it's not the same. So, today, we're doing it. We're going full eggplant parm. Well, minus the breading. Because, honestly, to me, that's not the important part. I do have a recipe coming up in the future for eggplant parm bites that are breaded and are more like nuggets. But for now, we're going with thin slivers of eggplant, marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Instant Pot Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients

1 small eggplant, sliced thin

2 cups vegetable broth

2 cups marinara sauce

1 cup mozzarella, for serving

fresh basil, for serving

Instant Pot Method

Place all ingredients except mozzarella and basil in instant pot and cook on low pressure for 30 minutes.

Note: If your marinara is thicker, you can also use the pot-in-pot method to prevent the burn warning. Use a smaller oven-safe dish, or the inner pot for a 3-quart instant pot for your food. Then, pour 1 cup of water in your larger instant pot. Place the trivet in the bottom and the smaller pot with the food inside on top before cooking.

Top with cheese and basil.

Serve over noodles.

Slow Cooker Method

Place all ingredients except mozzarella and basil in slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.

Top with cheese and basil.

Serve over noodles.

Yield: 8

Eggplant Parmesan

Today, I'm tackling homemade instant pot eggplant Parmesan. Cheesy, saucy, delicious Italian classic eggplant Parmesan made simple in the instant pot!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 small eggplant, sliced thin
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups marinara sauce
1 cup mozzarella, for serving
fresh basil, for serving

Instructions

Place all ingredients except mozzarella and basil in instant pot and cook on low pressure for 30 minutes.
Top with cheese and basil. (Cover and switch to saute mode or pop under your oven broiler for 5 minutes if you want to melt the cheese.)
Serve over noodles.

Goose Eggs

June 29, 2019 By Goose

Goose eggs are famous in my family. Some of you know me as Goose or Small Fry from my mom, VeggieConverter. My favorite way to have these scrambled eggs is with a little cheese, cilantro and parsley.

VeggieConverter's Note: Man, Goose is a master of breakfast. She's the queen of eggs, I tell you. If I want breakfast eggs of any variety, she's my girl. These Goose eggs are her specialty. And she makes them with or without the salami underneath for variety. She's also great at omelettes, and working on her other egg varieties like poached eggs, over hard, over easy and frittatas.

And these are sooo good. The combination of the herbs and cheese are just right and she just nails it every single time. She's been making these eggs since she still needed a stool to reach the stove top and she's a straight up pro at it at this point. I love this little firecracker in the kitchen so much and I hope you guys love her recipe, too! Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite egg style or for Goose to try out? Let her know in the comments! She's always looking for a new breakfast challenge!

Goose will be sharing her favorite recipe's from now on at VeggieConverter in her series, Goose's Cookery Corner.

Please also check out Goose's sister, Bug's, posts here: Bug and Cat's Bakery Course.

Goose eggs

Ingredients

4 eggs
1/4 cup cilantro
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon cheese
olive oil

Tools

1 pan
1 small bowl

Method

Heat up the pan while you mix all of the eggs, cilantro, and parsley.
Once the pan is heated add olive oil in the pan.
Once the oil is spread, add the eggs.
Let the eggs set then stir until cooked.
Add the cheese on top and wait two minutes and there you have it, Goose eggs.
Serve atop salami, if desired.

Yield: 4

Goose Eggs

Goose eggs

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

4 eggs
1/4 cup cilantro
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon cheese
olive oil

Instructions

Heat up the pan while you mix all of the eggs, cilantro, and parsley.
Once the pan is heated add olive oil in the pan.
Once the oil is spread, add the eggs.
Let the eggs set then stir until cooked.
Add the cheese on top and wait two minutes and there you have it, Goose eggs.
Serve atop salami, if desired.

Fathead Pizza: Keto Adventures

May 30, 2018 By Kristi

As if our food requirements weren't complicated enough, my husband recently decided to try the keto diet. So far, my favorite super keto recipe is by far fathead pizza.

Why keto you ask? Primarily for weight loss, which (spoiler alert) has totally worked for him so far. After he was laid off last month, Mr. Meaty decided he'd work on that belly he gained from years of sedentary desk work. Of course, keto is all over the place these days and we've had some friends and acquaintances who reported success from the diet. So he gave it a shot and I have been eating more low carb as well by association. I've lost a couple of pounds, but I didn't really start out NEEDing to lose weight, so there's that. He's lost more than 20 pounds, which is insane. Granted, we've both also been exercising more often, too.

Here's what our average day looks like on keto/low carb (most days I end up at the keto carb guidelines by happenstance, but I don't go crazy over the number).

Breakfast: cheese omelets

Lunch: Salad with protein toppings

Dinner: Some sort of keto type recipe like fathead pizza, chicken and vegetables, etc.

For dinner ideas, I really like the Keto Instant Pot cookbook from the Two Sleevers blogger. It's adventurous but not difficult. I already had her Indian Instant Pot cookbook and love it, so it was an easy choice to grab this one.

It's been interesting for sure. I didn't have too far to go on the carbs front, I thought. What, with the only grain I really eat being rice. But it's surprising how many carbs are in things you wouldn't think about. The first awful realization was fruit. There's a lot of carbs in fruit. Now, I don't avoid fruit. If I want it, I eat it. It's good for me, so there. But if I were doing true keto, I'd have to cut out or drastically reduce fruit.

And then there's the veggies! Certain veggies are actually pretty high in net carbs (regular carbs minus the fiber).

And here's the toughest one (for me)---beans. I've had them once or twice since starting this little foray. But the reality is that beans are stupid high in carbs and not as high in fiber as I expected. I pretty much only have them with Mr. Meaty and the kiddos are having meat that I don't want to attempt. I miss them. I'll be glad when they're back.

I think the best parts of this diet have been completely removing added sugar (yes, even agave and maple syrup,which is pretty much all I eat normally) and the focus (for me, at least) on healthy veggie-based meals. Vegetables are awesome.

In the rush to get dinner on the table, I (used to) often resort to rice or rice noodles to accompany veggie sauces or smaller amounts of veggies and meat. Not relying on those starchy bases makes it easy to have full vegetable and protein meals. It's likely much healthier to eat more vegetables (and sometimes a bit of meat) than it is to serve it over a pile of rice.

For whatever reason (more healthy fats and nutrients perhaps?), my joints feel better. My trick shoulder and my knees have never been better. I did suffer a few days of what people refer to as keto flu (muscle fatigue and headache, which was weird because although I often have migraines I rarely have "normal" headaches), but it wasn't terrible.

I also haven't been drinking much alcohol since most of my favorite mixers are out. If I want alcohol, I go with flavored (with essential oils sometimes) bubbly water made with my Soda Stream as my mixer. I like lemon/lime vitality EOs best so far. Though orange is good, too.

But on to the pizza! We've tried several keto pizzas, including cauliflower crust and a primarily coconut flour crust. And then there was a weird egg-based crust that was strangely wet and weird. It was more like flat quiche and it got super odd when it cooled off. All were pizza-like but didn't really cut it entirely as pizza.

We'd heard about fathead pizza, but we don't keep cream cheese on-hand, so we had to wait until we went to Costco to make it happen. Needless to say, we were happy that we got the 6-pack of cream cheese after we first tried the recipe. Fathead pizza was definitely the most similar to regular pizza. It's crispy and chewy at the same time and is the perfect vessel for ooey, gooey cheese and whatever toppings you like (I'm a fan of olives and bacon, personally...and jalapenos if we have them).

Fathead Pizza

Serves 4

Ingredients

6 ounces fresh mozzarella (yes, there's mozzarella on the inside)
1 ounce (2 Tablespoons) cream cheese
3/4 cup almond flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon minced garlic
dash of salt

Toppings:
6 ounces fresh mozzarella
olives, crispy bacon, etc., if desired

Method

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix your first 6 ounces of mozzarella, the cream cheese and almond flour in a double boiler.

Once melted, add egg, salt and herbs and mix to combine.

Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper.

Remove the top paper and poke fork holes in your crust.

Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-15 minutes.

Check out this beautiful, crispy crust. Here's the top (soon to become the bottom). Once you've got this beauty done, you flip it, top it with the mozzarella (and toppings, if desired) and pop it back in the oven.:

Here's that extra crispy bottom (soon to be the top):

Take the crust out and flip it over (bottom's up).

Top it with whatever you like (we usually opt for mozzarella and olives, sometimes crispy bacon.

Bake for another 5 minutes.

Serve.

Fathead Pizza: Keto Experiments

Ingredients

6 ounces fresh mozzarella (yes, there's mozzarella on the inside)
1 ounce (2 Tablespoons) cream cheese
3/4 cup almond flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon minced garlic
dash of salt
Toppings:
6 ounces fresh mozzarella
olives, crispy bacon, etc., if desired

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mix your first 6 ounces of mozzarella, the cream cheese and almond flour in a double boiler.
Once melted, add egg, salt and herbs to combine.
Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper.
Remove the top paper and poke fork holes in your crust.
Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-15 minutes.
Take the crust out and flip it over (bottom's up).
Top it with whatever you like (we usually opt for mozzarella and olives, sometimes crispy bacon.
Bake for another 5 minutes.
Serve.

Bacon Carbonara

February 6, 2014 By Kristi

My husband, Mr. Meaty, makes a mean Bacon Carbonara. It's one of the first things he made me for dinner when we were dating. And it is delicious. Bacon has always been my meat weakness. And now that I'm a chicken-and-baconatarian, I am enjoying the flexibility of bacon. Since I'm unfortunately gluten-free as well, we had to come up with a noodles option for me. We went with flat rice noodles and it worked fabulously. The rest of the family has theirs with spaghetti noodles.

The crispy bacon, combined with the salty Parmesan and eggs really make this dish delicious. Enjoy! [Read more...]

Paleo Vegetable Chowder

December 10, 2013 By Kristi

Vegetable chowder is one of our all-time favorite meals. And now we're doing it Paleo-style, so it's gluten-free and grain-free soup. Enjoy this Paleo Vegetable Chowder recipe!

Paleo Vegetable Chowder

Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 cups bell pepper, red, chopped

1/2 cups onion, chopped

1/4 cups butter, ghee or dairy-free alternative

1 cups cauliflower, chopped

1 cups carrots, diced

1 cups broccoli, chopped

3 cups Easy Slow Cooker Vegetable Broth

1/2 cups almond flour

1 tablespoons parsley, fresh

3 cups cheddar, shredded (or dairy-free alternative)

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

1 1/2 cups milk (or dairy-free alternative)

For a flavor variation, you can swap in Mexican blend cheese and cilantro in lieu of cheddar and parsley.

Method

Saute pepper and onions in butter/ghee until tender in a soup kettle.

Add remaining veggies, vegetable broth (or water and bouillon) salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes, or until tender.

Combine almond flour and milk. Stir flour/milk into pan. Bring back to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. mix in parsley and cheese.

Instant Pot Method

Saute pepper and onions in butter/ghee or alternative until tender on saute mode of instant pot.

Add remaining veggies, vegetable broth (or water and bouillon) salt and pepper. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes and allow pressure to release naturally.

Meanwhile, combine almond flour and milk. Stir into instant pot once cooking is complete. Switch to saute mode and add parsley and cheese.

Allow to warm through for about 5 minutes.

Freezing Method

Divide among reusable freezer bags. Freeze.

To serve: heat on stovetop about 15 minutes or in microwave about 1.5 minutes until heated through.

Yield: 4

Vegetable Chowder

Vegetable chowder is one of our all-time favorite meals. And now we're doing it Paleo-style, so it's gluten-free and grain-free Paleo vegetable chowder.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cups bell pepper, red, chopped
1/2 cups onion, chopped
1/4 cups butter, ghee or dairy-free alternative
1 cups cauliflower, chopped
1 cups carrots, diced
1 cups broccoli, chopped
3 cups Easy Slow Cooker Vegetable Broth
1/2 cups almond flour
1 tablespoons parsley, fresh
3 cups cheddar, shredded (or dairy-free alternative)
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups milk (or dairy-free alternative)

Instructions

Saute pepper and onions in butter/ghee until tender in a soup kettle.
Add remaining veggies, vegetable broth (or water and bouillon) salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes, or until tender.
Combine almond flour and milk.
Stir flour/milk into pan.
Bring back to a boil.
Cook and stir for 2 minutes.
Mix in parsley and cheese.

Instant Pot Method

Saute pepper and onions in butter/ghee or alternative until tender on saute mode of instant pot.

Add remaining veggies, vegetable broth (or water and bouillon) salt and pepper. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes and allow pressure to release naturally.

Meanwhile, combine almond flour and milk. Stir into instant pot once cooking is complete. Switch to saute mode and add parsley and cheese.

Allow to warm through for about 5 minutes.

Freezing Method
Divide among freezer bags. Freeze.

To serve: heat on stove top about 15 minutes or in microwave about 1.5 minutes until heated through.

Notes

For a flavor variation, you can swap in Mexican blend cheese and cilantro in lieu of cheddar and parsley.

Whole Food Mac and Cheese for Kids

July 1, 2013 By Kristi

We finally found the best whole food mac and cheese. We've tried A LOT of macaroni and cheese recipes in this family since improving our food choices and going without the blue box. I mean A LOT of recipes, check out all our Macaroni Recipes for a few examples. Before now, our family favorite was this Easy Cheese Sauce poured over macaroni. Obviously unbaked macaroni and cheese is a totally different category than baked (on the baked front, we like Fancy Homemade Macaroni and Cheese with Tomatoes).

But I do believe, after our unplanned family vacation, we've discovered the biggest mac and cheese hit for kids and adults yet. My 2-year-old niece (who is a super picky eater) actually drank the remains of her sauce from her bowl and asked for seconds. Her 4-year-old sister ate a second bowl and then asked that we save the rest for tomorrow so she could eat it again. My girls absolutely love this version, too. And, bonus: all the adults love it as well. It's especially awesome since Goose (our almost 3-year-old) has developed the family curse: tomato allergy. I'm sure you can imagine how tough that is with a whole foodie vegetarian mommy. Ugh. But I digress.

This version is stupid simple to throw together in about 10 minutes and all you need is butter, cream cheese, milk, a bit of flour and shredded cheese. We use Mexican blend cheese because that's what we keep around, but it'd be great with mild cheddar, too.

You should try this recipe today, your kids will thank you!

Note: I like to keep the sauce and macaroni separate at the end so the mac doesn't get soggy when you store leftovers. If you like, you can mix it all together instead. We simply pour our desired amount of sauce on top of our macs and mix it up in the bowl.

You can also use this cheese sauce on other stuff, like broccoli and cauliflower. Yum!

Whole Food Mac and Cheese for Kids

Ingredients

1 pound macaroni noodles, cooked (we use rice noodles)
2 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon minced garlic (optional)
1 tablespoon flour (we use gluten-free)
4 ounces cream cheese, cubed
1 cup milk
1 heaping cup shredded cheese
Kosher salt, to taste (optional)

Method

If you haven't boiled your noodles, start those first.

Meanwhile, melt butter and add garlic to a medium saucepan. Saute for about 1 minute at medium heat.
Stir in flour to make a roux. Note: If you're not good at making a roux, no problem! Just whisk in the flour after the next step instead. I've done it both ways (some days Mommy just isn't feeling the roux) and both work great.

Add cream cheese and milk.

Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until cream cheese is melted, about 7 minutes.
Add shredded cheese and whisk until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth about 1-2 minutes. Salt to taste, if desired.
Pour sauce over macaroni noodles. (Keep the sauce separate and pour over individual servings if you're expecting to store leftovers.)

Instant Pot Method

Make roux as directed above on saute mode in instant pot.

Place all remaining ingredients except noodles and shredded cheese in the instant pot.

Cook on medium heat for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook noodles on the stovetop.

Add shredded cheese and whisk until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth about 1-2 minutes. Salt to taste, if desired.

Stir in macaroni noodles.

Serve.

Yield: 4

Best Ever Whole Food Kids' Mac and Cheese

Stovetop or instant pot easy whole food kid-friendly mac and cheese

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound macaroni noodles, cooked (we use rice noodles)
2 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon minced garlic (optional)
1 tablespoon flour (we use gluten-free)
4 ounces cream cheese, cubed
1 cup milk
1 heaping cup shredded cheese
Kosher salt, to taste (optional)

Instructions

Stovetop Method
If you haven't boiled your noodles, start those first.
Meanwhile, melt butter and add garlic to a medium saucepan. Saute for about 1 minute at medium heat.
Stir in flour to make a roux. Note: If you're not good at making a roux, no problem! Just whisk in the flour after the next step instead. I've done it both ways (some days Mommy just isn't feeling the roux) and both work great.
Add cream cheese and milk.
Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until cream cheese is melted, about 7 minutes.
Add shredded cheese and whisk until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth about 1-2 minutes. Salt to taste, if desired.
Pour sauce over macaroni noodles. (Keep the sauce separate and pour over individual servings if you're expecting to store leftovers.)
Instant Pot Method
Make roux as directed above on saute mode in instant pot.
Place all remaining ingredients except noodles and shredded cheese in the instant pot.
Cook on medium heat for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, cook noodles on the stovetop.
Add shredded cheese and whisk until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth about 1-2 minutes. Salt to taste, if desired.
Stir in macaroni noodles.
Serve.

Rainbow Carrots and Cream Cheese Dip

May 11, 2013 By Kristi

We've been getting some beautiful rainbow carrots in our CSA box lately (ours are purple, yellow, orange and some are a bit chartreuse). So the kids and I have been enjoying julienned carrots dipped in yogurt a lot. We decided to make an extra special dip last week from our fun book, The Outrageously Big Activity, Play and Project Book.

The recipe says the kids can do it all by themselves. But we found it much easier to have a parent help hold an immersion blender to blend up the cream cheese and milk in the first step. Having a kid smash it together with a wooden spoon is probably an effective activity if you're wanting your kids to focus on something, but we wanted our dip NOW!

So, we stick-blended it instead of smashing. What you do in your house is, of course, your choice. I'll try to keep myself from staring over your shoulder with a stick blender. 🙂 The kids had a ton of fun mixing up the dip and they absolutely devoured the dip and carrots once it was all ready. I definitely recommend this dip for a snack or even a pre-meal distraction technique while you're fixing dinner. It's a great way to keep the kids snacking on something healthy if you can't handle them "helping" with dinner. I don't know about you, but some days I have the patience for it and others I don't.

Enjoy!

Rainbow Carrots and Cream Cheese Dip

Ingredients

1 bunch rainbow carrots
8 ounces cream cheese (full fat)
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 green onion, chopped (or chives)

Method

Julienne all but one carrot, shred the remaining carrot. Mix all but carrots and a bit of the green onion.
Top with shredded carrot and remaining green onion. Serve with julienned carrots.

Fancy Homemade Mac and Cheese with Tomatoes

April 19, 2013 By Kristi

Mac and Cheese is a vegetarian potluck favorite. But it doesn't always have the prettiest presentation. The simple, yet somehow I've never tried it before solution? Place slices of tomato on top prior to baking for color contrast and bonus nutrients!

I found this little gem of a suggestion in one of my thrift store cookbook finds, the 1965 edition of the Better Homes and Gardens New CookBook. You probably know the one. It has a red and white picnic tablecoth-esque cover and is sprial-bound. Notably, this is also where I came across the notion of Everyday Cupcakes! What? Cupcakes every day! (Recipe to come.) But I digress.

Mac and cheese is, unsurprisingly, one of our family favorites, but we love to try new recipes since our toddlers' tastebuds are always changing. This one is pretty simple, but the tomato slices add that extra flourish for potlucks or company's-coming-over nights.

The kids and adults all loved it. Though Bug, our 4-year-old, refused to eat the tomatoes once they were cooked. She helped with the cooking and ate the extra tomato slices raw, and agreed the mac and cheese looked especially fancy. But when it came time to eat the cooked tomatoes, she politely asked her little sister if she would like to eat hers for her.

Goose, 2, ate double tomatoes without complaint and Bug ate nearly her own weight in macaroni.

Fancy Homemade Mac and Cheese with Tomatoes

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour (we use whole wheat white)
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons dried minced onion
2 cups shredded cheese (we use Mexican blend)
1 Roma tomato, sliced and sprinkled with salt (optional)

Method
Preheat oven to 350F.
Cook macaroni in boiling water.
Melt butter. Blend in flour, mix in milk, salt, onion, and whisk in cheese. Pour sauce over macaroni in a baking dish. Top with tomato slices and bake 35 minutes.

Kid-Constructed Funny Face Mini Pizzas Recipe

April 3, 2013 By Kristi

We found this crazy book at a garage sale a couple of years ago, called The Outrageously Big Activity, Play and Project Book. It's a British import so there are a lot of craft and recipe ideas that I haven't come across in American books. The kids love the book and ask to make something out of it frequently. We decided to make the funny face pizzas from the book recently and had so much fun putting them together as a family.

As it turned out, the kids wanted to eat the ears and bow-ties (made of kiwi and grapes) continuously and weren't all that interested in the actual pizzas. I think they may be fruititarians. But the memory of making them together was the best part. And I think they turned out super cute.

You can really use whatever toppings you like for the ears, nose and mouth. The book suggests flower-cut slices of mozzarella cheese for eyes, a mushroom slice for the nose and a green pepper strip for the mouth. The book also adds "a carton of mustard and cress" for hair. We thought about adding alfalfa sprouts, but decided to go with bald funny faces instead so we didn't have to head to the store. We used black olive slices for eyes and leftover purple hashbrowns for the mouths. The kids had fun making a crazy face that they named "Pete," after the pseudo bad guy on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He had a lot of eyes, a melted off mouth, plenty of noses and was awarded no ears or bow-ties. Hilarious.

I think the most important part of the recipe is the kiwi ears and the cute little kiwi bow-tie. It's so simple, but brilliant. For this recipe, we made six mini pizzas, so I sliced 12 slices of kiwi (about 1 1/2 kiwis...Bug obliged me my throwing herself on the extra kiwi half). Then you cut those slices in half. Slice the ear halves lengthwise and the bow-tie halves across the shorter width for the most accurate ears and ties. Then you top the center of each bow-tie with a grape for the knot! We left ours whole, but I suppose you could cut your grapes in half so they'd lay flat if you want it to be perfect.

Kid-Constructed Funny Face Mini Pizzas Recipe

Homemade Whole Wheat Garlic Cheese Sticks Recipe and Superbowl Snacks Round-Up

February 1, 2013 By Kristi

I used to be a bit of a Papa John's Cheese Sticks junkie. And the garlic butter sauce? Uh, yum! But, once I started eating more whole foods and cooking most of our food at home, we didn't order cheese sticks or pizza much. One day last year, we were congratulating ourselves for a big cleaning and organization day, so we ordered some cheese sticks and pizza for dinner. It turns out, my memory of the store-bought variety was so much better than reality. I liked my own homemade pizza better! I was disappointed and overjoyed at the same time.

Since then, I've been making plain cheese, garlic and olive oil sauce pizzas (the kids favorite) pretty regularly. And I think with the new pizza dough recipe I've achieved simple perfection! These are incredible. And they don't even need a dipping sauce.

And, also super cool, my daughters were able to help me make these cheese sticks. And Bug, our nearly 4-year-old, even took a couple of pictures, including the one below. She's always saying she's going to be grow up to be an artist, just like me. 🙂 Cutie.

Homemade Whole Wheat Garlic Cheese Sticks

Ingredients

1 pizza dough
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I usually use a blend of Italian cheeses)

Instructions

Preheat oven and pizza stone to 450.
Smear olive oil and garlic on dough and top with cheese.
Bake for 5-7 minutes.

And, check out these great other Superbowl Snacks:

White Pizza Dip

Mandarin Almond Hummus

Homemade Whole Wheat Garlic Cheese Sticks Recipe and Superbowl Snacks Round-Up 15

Guacamole

Vegan Slow Cooker Chili is one of our all-time favorites and it's perfect for the big game!

Easy Homemade Hummus is so simple and it's a great dip for chips or veggies.

Vegan Pepporanata Pizza vegan and pizza, hello!

Buffalo Chicken French Bread Pizza veggie buffalo chicken pizza is so yummy. I love this combo.

Pizza Bagel Bites are one of those guilty pleasures from my childhood and this recreation is so tasty.

Instant Pot Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients

Instant Pot Method

Slow Cooker Method

Ingredients

Instructions

Goose eggs

Ingredients

Tools

Method

Ingredients

Instructions

Fathead Pizza

Ingredients

Instructions

Paleo Vegetable Chowder

Ingredients

Method

Instant Pot Method

Freezing Method

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Whole Food Mac and Cheese for Kids

Ingredients

Method

Instant Pot Method

Ingredients

Instructions

Rainbow Carrots and Cream Cheese Dip

Fancy Homemade Mac and Cheese with Tomatoes

Homemade Whole Wheat Garlic Cheese Sticks

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