Quinoa Cakes

Good morning friends! I know that I have mentioned being really busy with work over the past few weeks (borringgg!), but I’m getting better and better at time management. I spent some time Sunday planning out my meals AND making them so those late nights at work don’t turn into a free for all with whatever is in my fridge.

One item that has become a staple in my pantry has been quinoa. One of the “rules” of the Tone It Up Nutrition plan is no starches after a certain time. An exception to that rule is Quinoa. It is a perfect protein and the perfect filler for any meal.

I go in spurts with quinoa. I’m in love with it. I don’t even put it in the grocery cart. Right now I’m in total love and it is all thanks to Christie and her epic brunch.

She used this great recipe from Fine Cooking with a few different touches and served it to us warm. The combination of warm gouda, crunchy walnuts, and sweet apples was the perfect salad mix. With the addition of the quinoa this could have easily been a full meal for me!

Once I had the taste of quinoa again I was all over using it at my house. In the past I’ve stuffed portobello mushrooms with it and I’ve created a hearty tomato soup with it. This time around I was in the mood to make it into cake form.

I did a lot of searching around for different quinoa cake recipes and found all of them involved flour and frying them in oil. I’m not against this. I’m just completely and utterly too lazy to get all those ingredients out. So I made do. I didn’t make do with the best of my ability, but it worked for the night.

Easy Quinoa Cakes
-1 c. quinoa, cooked
-1/4 avocado, diced
-2 tbsp feta cheese
-1 tbsp herbs (I used a little bit of chives and basil)
-1 egg (I used a flax egg-1 tbsp ground flax seed & 3 tbsp water)
-S&P to taste

*Tip for cooking quinoa: Make sure to rinse the quinoa thoroughly before cooking! There is a bitter taste on the outside of the shells that will go away after a nice bath.*

After cooking the quinoa according to the instructions I set it aside to cool. I then mixed together my other goodies, including the flax egg. I added the quinoa and formed them into small patties. In a skillet sprayed with cooking spray I cooked each patty over medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side.

While those little suckers were cooking I steamed a few of my CSA eggs (a little too long for my taste) in some spaghetti sauce.

Almost hard boiled eggs still taste good over quinoa cakes and with spaghetti sauce.

Next time I make this I think I will pay extra attention to my eggs to ensure the proper runny yolk situation happens. These little buddies aren’t the most appetizing thing on the plate, but they are SO GOOD.

Quinoa is a really versatile food. It can serve as a great side dish or be the star of the show. Either way, it’s the perfect food to have in the pantry for a quick, nutritious and delicious meal.

For your foodie enjoyment, here are a few future quinoa attempts that will happen in the AGAHM household:

*Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes with Blackberry Salsa from How Sweet Eats
*Smoked Salmon and Quinoa Cakes from Sparkpeople
*Spicy Quinoa Patties from Soup Addict
*Quinoa Spinach Salad from Tone It Up
*Quinoa Tabouli from Daily Garnish

Everyone having a good week?! Korky and I are gearing up for some HOT weather. Anyone want to buy us a house with central a/c? I will never ever take central a/c for granted again!

Are you a quinoa fan?

Tagged as: eggs, quinoa, recipes