Quinoa Breaky Bites

I absolutely LOVE breakfast and absolutely HATE waking up early to cook it. This recipe is something that you can easily make on Sunday afternoon and keep in the fridge for the week. You can grab one on the way to work, heat it up or leave it as it. They would be great with a little salad for lunch or with some salsa for breakfast.

The best part about them is you can add whatever you have in the fridge! I love goats cheese so I add it in to whatever I can. The original recipe used mini muffin tins for the bites. I didn't have a mini muffin tin so I used a normal muffin tin. The only issue is that the bigger muffins don't stay together as well. I might try again when I purchase a mini tin. This recipe made 12 bites, but only about 8 stayed together well. 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa (about 3/4 cup uncooked)
3 eggs
2 egg whites
1 cup zucchini, shredded
1 cup butternut squash, roasted
1/2 cup diced ham
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup red peppers, diced
1/4 cup caramalized onions
2 green onions, sliced
salt & pepper

Garnish: cilantro + cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix to combine. Liberally spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray and spoon mixture to the top of each cup. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges of the cups are golden brown. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before removing from the muffin tin.

Enjoy!

Original Recipe from Iowa Girl Eats

Chocolate Easter Nests

How cute are these???

My mom used to make chocolate clusters for the holidays every year. They were a huge hit with friends and family. So when I saw these cute Easter nests on Pinterest last year, I decided that I would make them for this Easter. This recipe is super easy and incredibly fast. I think the whole process took me about 20 minutes.

You can buy most of the ingredients at a bulk food store, which makes it very inexpensive.

Ingredients:

• Dark chocolate chips and/or wafers
• Butterscotch chips
• Chow mein noodles
• Mini Eggs or Eggies

Directions:

1. Melt the dark chocolate chips with the butterscotch chips (either in microwave or double broiler) Use about 2:1 dark chocolate:butterscotch.
2. Remove from heat
3. Mix in chow mein noodles until covered
4. Drop onto metal non stick baking sheet in small clusters
5. Add 3 Mini Eggs to middle of each cluster
6. Put baking sheet in fridge for 10-15 minutes
7. Remove from fridge and they should pop off baking sheet easily
8. Keep in fridge to maintain shape

Enjoy!!!

Butternut Squash, Pecan, Spinach & Quinoa Bowl

So this is going to be my first post in a long seven months. I took a bit of a hiatus as Nathan was kindly 'asked to leave' Canada for a few months. He headed back to Australia and I joined him for an awesome vacation over the Holidays in December. He is now back here in Canada and I thought it was time to try a few fun new recipes.... So things turned out alright in the end (as I've heard they always do) and now it's time to move on and start some more food bloggin!

I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided right then and there that I had to try it ASAP. It is a pretty simple salad using roasted butternut squash, pecans, hummus and any veggies you have around. We added tofu since I had some in the house and thought it would be a nice addition. Not necessary though. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 cups peeled, cubed butternut squash
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• 1 cup cubed tofu (grilled)
• 1 cup steamed spinach (or swiss chard or kale)
• 1/4 cup roasted pecans
• 1 cup hummus (homemade or store bought)

Directions

1. Cook quinoa according to directions, using vegetable stock for half the water (optional) and adding 2 teaspoons curry and brown sugar to the pot before cooking
2. Coat squash with olive oil, white sugar, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon curry and salt to taste. Roast in 400F oven for 30 min or until tender.
3. Add squash, cilantro, tofu and spinach to the cooked quinoa and toss gently to combine. Top each bowl with pecans and hummus.

Enjoy!!

Adapted from: http://pinchofyum.com/spicy-sweet-squash-bowl