[exceptional-citing quoted=”featured-bento” template=”bubble-gray” date=”” ]Pepperoni Pizza Muffins, (gluten free) Marinara, Grapes and Blueberries, Tomatoes and Cucumber Slices. Stored in an Easy Lunchbox.[/exceptional-citing]
Gonna be honest here today … there are some days, I just don’t want to even bother with packing lunches. ESPECIALLY, when dealing with a picky eater like Mr. Boy. That child makes it hard to pack the same thing in every lunch because, 90% of the time, he doesn’t (or claims it, anyway) like what his big sister and little brother enjoy eating.
I’ve discovered, though, in a pure bout of mommy-genius, that the boy will eat just about anything that has Ham, Salami, or Pepperoni in it. He loves to stand at the deli-counter, looking at all of the different Boar’s Head meats and cheeses behind the glass case, and wait for his “sample” that the sweet ladies always offer him.
Mr. Boy takes his job of taste-tester very seriously.
Because I like to change things up from the normal DIY Lunchable — which is how I usually pack deli meats — I decided to experiment with the idea of a Pizza Muffin. It’s honestly nothing more than a bite-size fritatta (which I love making since my backyard chickens keep me supplied with the most amazing eggs every day). These are lighter than the Pizza Bites I created last year (which have a consistency more akin to a hushpuppy) and a piece of cake to whip up!
What I’ve loved over the past month as I’ve tried different variations is that this recipe is GREAT for using up odds and ends from other meals. Have a few leftover mushrooms? Add ’em in!!! Have a few sticks of bell pepper that didn’t get eaten this week? Add ’em in!!! Any and all traditional pizza toppings can be diced or minced to add in to the batter, resulting in the perfect bite of pizza goodness each and every time.
In the batch pictured here, I made them with each ingredient listed in the recipe … and, YES, picky Mr. Boy ate all of his. The trick for those picky eaters is to finely dice (or mince) the ingredients most likely to offend. In Mr. Boy’s case, he cries foul at first site of onions and mushrooms. Guess what? He never noticed them in these muffins!
By the way, don’t be surprised if Daddy tries to sneak a few (or more) while you are packing the lunches. Being bite-size, it’s hard to pass up grabbing a handful!
If you’re a Paleo eater — you can leave off the cheese. We are cheese lovers so the more the merrier for us!
- 8 eggs
- ¼ cup Half -n- Half (or a dairy alternative)
- ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
- ¼ tsp dried basil
- ⅛ tsp ground oregano
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced onion
- 1 small minced clove garlic
- 2-3 chopped mushrooms (or a few tablespoons of your favorite pizza toppings)
- 20 slices Boar's Head pepperoni
- ½ cup shredded cheese
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a mini muffin tin with parchment muffin liners.
- In a small sauté pan, sauté the mushrooms and minced onion till mushrooms have released their moisture and it has evaporated. Add the minced garlic and stir to cook till fragrant. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl or mixer, whisk the eggs, milk and seasonings till the eggs are light and frothy.
- Sprinkle in the coconut flour and whisk in tip incorporated (you may need to scrape down the sides if coconut flour accumulates there).
- Stir in the sautéed veggies and chopped pepperoni.
- Using a cookie scoop (it’s easiest), fill the muffin liners with the batter nearly to the top.
- Put in the oven (middle rack) and bake 10 minutes, till the muffins have puffed up and the centers are set.
- Remove from the oven and put some shredded cheese over the top of each muffin.
- Return to the oven for 2-4 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
- Remove from the oven and put on a wire wrack to cool slightly. May be eaten warm or cold. If desired, serve with marinara as a dipping sauce.
Boar’s Head Products
Yes, Boar’s Head is one of two deli-meat brands we use in our family; even before kiddos who needed gluten-free products, they were my favorite brand for Oven-Roasted Deli Chicken (known as EverRoast) and cheeses. Mr. Boy is obsessed with their Black Forest Ham. The flavor and quality of their meats is simply about the best out there.
They also have a new line of Hummus recently introduced … the traditional hummus is a favorite around here with carrots and bell peppers!
You can check out their site for more kid-friendly lunch and healthy snack ideas.
{IHEARTLUNCH}
Time to share YOUR favorite after-school lunch or kid-friendly treat!
You can link to any snack, kid-lunch/bento or family-friendly recipe on a blog post or via flickr photos — this linky is for any kind of healthy school lunch and kid-food, regardless if it is Bento-style or not. I want to celebrate our efforts to provide good and enjoyable school lunches for our families!
My only request is that you either add a link back to this post or include the Lunch Graphic (which links back) to your post so others can get here to view the linked lunches too!
Link up your school lunches and bentos! Please use a permalink for your post rather than linking your general blog/flickr account URL — this will help people go directly to your fabulous lunch!
disclosure: I received a gift-card from Boar’s Head to try a few of their new products (as if I needed any compensation for one of my favorite brands!). Any opinions expressed are my own.
