Quinoa Egg Veggie Bake

I made this for dinner but it works equally well as breakfast, so save your leftovers! This recipe is super versatile and you could use whatever veggies (or even meats) and spices you have on hand. Try a southwestern twist with jalapenos and jack cheese, or Denver omelet style with bell peppers, ham and cheese, or Italian style with greens, tomatoes, garlic and top with marinara. The variations are really endless!

Quinoa Egg Veggie Bake Recipe, adapted from Door To Door Organics, serves 6 (two muffins for each person)
1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions and cooled
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup chopped sturdy greens, such as spinach or kale or chard
1 cup chopped tomatoes (I used quartered grape tomatoes since I had them on hand)
6 eggs, beaten
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp dried oregano or basil
cracked pepper
grated cheese of choice for topping (optional, I used Romano)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Spoon into well-greased muffin cups (should fill a normal sized 12-muffin pan). Bake at 400ºF for approx 20 mins or until lightly browned and set. Remove pan from oven, top muffins with grated cheese, return to oven and turn to broil. Broil for a couple mins, just until cheese melts. Remove and let cool a couple mins in the pan. Run a knife around each muffin to loosen and serve immediately.

Saturday Morning Muffins

What do you do when you have liquid whey (from making cheese) and blueberries that have been sitting in the fridge for a couple days too long? You make blueberry muffins! I adapted a recipe I found at Petit Chef. They came out pretty darn tasty and my almost 4-year-old made a cute comment about how the blueberries burst in her mouth and were soooo juicy.

Blueberry Muffins made with Whey
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup coconut sugar (brown or white sugar would work here, but will not be as low-glycemic and will also give you a sweeter muffin. If I was going to use white sugar, I'd reduce the amount a bit)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whey (at room temp)
4 Tbsp butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 eggs (at room temp)
1 cup blueberries


Preheat oven to 425° F (look, I figured out how to make the degrees symbol!). Line a regular sized 12-muffin pan w/paper liners or grease well. Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. In separate bowl, mix whey, butter, and eggs. Make well in center of dry ingredients and add in the wet. Combine gently, just until flour is looking moistened. Don't over mix or you'll activate the gluten and make a tough muffin. Fold in blueberries. Divide batter evenly into muffin cups. Batter should fill each cup almost to the top. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden on top and toothpick inserted in center comes out relatively clean. Let cool in pan about 5 minutes.

Apricot Almond Muffins

A little mid-week snack for you :) I wanted, really wanted, to make muffins today for some reason. Muffins are not all that healthy with their typical sugary, bleached-flour whiteness. So, I found a recipe online for almond meal muffins and tweaked it a bit. I think they came out divine! You must try them...

Apricot Almond Muffin Recipe

1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick cooking)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted (next time I'm going to try coconut oil)
1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup honey (I'm sure you could use agave or brown rice syrup or whatever sweetener you want)
4 eggs
1/2 cup dried unsulphered apricots, chopped

Mix dry ingredients. Beat in melted butter, water, and honey. Mix well. Add eggs and beat well. Add apricots, stir. Pour into greased or lined muffin pans (I filled 16 regular sized muffin cups about 3/4 full). If you end up with unfilled muffin cups in your pan, fill them 1/2 way with water to get more even cooking. I actually don't know if it really makes a difference, but I read that once and have done it ever since. Anyways, fill your cups and bake at 350 degrees F for 15-18 mins. (Mine took 18 mins). They're done when a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for a min or two, then gently remove (I use a rubber spatula to loosen all the way around the edges and then pop out) and let cool on rack (or tipped on their sides in the pan). Enjoy with a tall glass of fresh, raw milk for the ultimate indulgence!