Yummy Cheesy Veggie Quinoa Bites

I still had some cooked quinoa left and was not sure what to with it. I could add it with some brown rice as a side dish for this evening’s dinner, but I wanted to try something more exciting.

I ran into a couple of recipes that seem to be good candidates: both are quite similar to each other. One is Quinoa Pizza Bites and the other is a Mini Ham Cheese Quinoa Cups. Although I really wanted to make the pizza bites, I did not have all the herbs or mozzarella cheese. So, I decided to somewhat use components of both recipes. I did not have any ham either, so it had to be vegetarian.

This is also a good clean-the-refrigerator recipe; you don’t have to use the exact veggies in the recipe, just use what you have in your fridge that would be good for baking (much like Chopped).

This is a great protein-filled snack: quinoa, eggs, cheese, and veggies – you can’t beat that. Combined with a green salad, the veggie version is a great lunch for Meatless Mondays… or any day for that matter. 

You can double the recipe to make more. Also, for a meatier version, add 1/2 cup of diced ham to the mixture.

Cheesy Veggie Quinoa Bites
 Adapted from Fit for Success' Quinoa Pizza Bites & IowaGirlEats' Mini Ham and Cheese Quinoa Bites
Makes about 12 mini cups

Ingredients

·       1 cup cooked quinoa (about 1/3 cup uncooked)

·       2 eggs

·       1/2 cup red onions

·       1/2 cup peppers, shredded

·       1/2 cup broccoli, diced

·       1/2 cup shredded jack cheese

·       2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese

·       1/4 cup green onions

·       1 ½ tsp of Italian Seasoning

·       Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.     Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix to combine.

3.     Liberally spray a mini muffin tin with non-stick spray and spoon mixture to the top of each cup.

4.     Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges of the cups are golden brown. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before removing from the mini muffin tin.