Meatless Monday - Italian Quinoa Patties

Alrighty then! I've been gone so long from my blog that I took Google by surprise. I will have to start posting more often. Anyhew, I'm baaaack! From moving and getting a big garden in to baby chicks and tearing out flooring to chasing stuff from room to room so the new flooring could be installed..... to tearing out cabinets and having to find a place for everything that was in the old cabinets to painting and more, I've been way too busy to even think about blogging. We are almost at normal now, and am so happy with the results. Will post pictures when all is done.
For now I want to share a recipe I found on Pinterest and tweaked of course, that filled the bill for our meatless Monday plan. Quinoa is a super food grain that is also very versatile. We had these delicious patties, accompanied by fresh from the garden salad and baked potatoes. I made a creamy spicy mayo to top the patties with and even Nature Guy went back for seconds. We will do this again, perhaps as little meatballs for marinara. So yummy and easy as well!

Italian Quinoa Patties
1/3 c. quinoa cooked in 2/3 cup water according to package directions.
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 tablespoon each fresh minced parsley and basil
3 tablespoons each fresh minced chives or green onion, and yellow onion
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Rinse your quinoa and add to small pan with the water. Bring to boil and turn the burner to low, cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes. Let cool. After cool beat eggs and add those along with the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Let sit 5 minutes. Using wet hands form 4 patties about 1 inch tall. In a frying pan place 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and turn burner to medium low. Once hot add patties and cook covered for 5 minutes on each side. They should be golden. Serve with spicy mayo, recipe below.
6 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon spicy chile sauce, and teaspoon sweet chile sauce.Whisk together and serve with patties.

Enjoy!

Meatless Monday - Cheesy Mexi Corn Casserole

 

Let me start by giving credit where credit is due, as I snagged the idea for this recipe from the Taste of Home Best Church Supper Recipes cookbook. The original one was submitted by Patricia Barkman of Riverton, Manitoba, thank you! As usual I couldn't leave well enough alone, as this looked like a great main dish idea with a few additions/changes. I didn't use egg substitute as we just don't use the stuff, and I think reduced fat sour cream is, well.... just yucky! I have my own way of making sour cream low fat that actually tastes much better. I didn't use low fat cheddar either for the same reason. I did add bell pepper and onion though and it was a hit! The corn is double the original recipe as well and I left out the two tablespoons of butter as it just didn't seem necessary to have them and I added the italian seasoning. I also dchange the name, because it isn't quite the same and spoonbread doesn't really describe my version which is more of a quiche or souffle type dish.

Cheesy Mexi Corn Casserole

3 large eggs
1 15 oz. can corn, drained
1 15 oz. can cream corn
1/2 c. each sour cream and plain non fat yogurt
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 4 oz. can chopped green chilies, drained
1/2 c. each finely chopped red or green bell pepper and onion
1/2 c. cornmeal
1/2 t. each italian seasoning and salt
1/2 t. worcestershire sauce
1/8 t. cayenne pepper

In a large bowl beat eggs, then add the rest of the ingredients. Stir until blended. Pour into 9 inch square baking dish, coated with non stick spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Yield 9 servings.