Dishin with Denise… The “Quintessential Quinao”… Pizza Bite

Denise Gianatasio is a Northport 
Village resident and freelance writer. 
She is a licensed agent at Signature 
Premier Properties, 172 Main Street, Northport 631-754-3600. Denise 
enjoys cooking and sharing her recipes and family stories, as she wants to
inspire a warm sense of home with 
her readers. Please feel free to contact her for any advice you may need at  
dishinwithdenise@yahoo.com.

We recently flew to Dallas Texas to visit our zainy, brainy, son the “Neuro guy” who surprised us with a light late night grainy snack ~ an American favorite~ done different. Pizza bites made from Quinoa. Leave it to my son… after fixing peoples brains all day he went home and created a RX for our arrival. True Texan Hospitality. He read recently somewhere that I was trying hard to cut back on the carbs and pastas ??? (In ETW~ I’m sure) So, instead of a slice of pizza~ this “brainy Dr”prepared a delicious grainy treat for us!  Quinoa pizza bites ( power packed with fiber and protein!) served  with a light marinara dipping sauce on the side. It’s so versatile and has a nice crunch, you will find many ways to eat it for breakfast lunch, dinner and snacks. Use your brain and create tasty ways to prepare this food! Healthy doesn’t have to be hard!  He served these with a green spring salad on the side with his own homemade oil and vinegar infusion. Good Flight, Good Night and ate right! My son whether in the O.R. or at home in his kitchen ~ he celebrates a love of life and food and caters to the most discerning diners and palates~ mine! With tornados looming over Dallas we ate inside~ with his RX for hydration~ a glass of chilled wine. Superb! We found “GOLD!” in the Lone Star State! xoxo

“Dishin with my Doc”
12-muffin cup tin
1 cup cooked (as per package directions) 
  of Quinoa
2 large beaten eggs
½ cup fresh chopped basil
1 t dried or fresh oregano
½ cup diced fresh cherry tomatoes
1 cup diced or shredded mozzarella
1 Grated cheese
6 cups of fresh marinara 
   (Look up at etweekmedia.com) 
   For Marinara Magnitude Recipe
 1 cup Vidalia onion  (sautéed in ¼ cup extra 
   virgin olive oil, until caramelized and soft)

When done add 1 minced garlic clove and ½ cup mushrooms until soft. 3 minutes
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes ~ optional
Variations optional~ ½ cup diced cooked zucchini, spinach, petite peas; pepperoni dried sausage or crumbled bits cooked Italian sausage.
Preheat oven to 350, grease or pam muffin tins, fill each cup to top and press down gently to compact. Bake 15 minutes~ cool and remove. Plate with a scoop of fresh warm marinara on the side for dipping. Sprinkle with extra cheeses and basil. Ummm! Delicious!