Yes you read right, this post is about a little snack that was dubbed the muffQuin by my good friend Nancy. This snack was born when I had some leftover quinoa and vegetables at the end of the week.
As a child I was always aware of the environment and encouraged my family to recycle. As I have grown and matured I have adapted these traits to my eats. I always look for opportunities to use leftovers from meals or produce that will soon perish. It often means that left over roasted veggies are made into slices or omelettes, or older vegetables are made into soups or thrown into those always interesting “one pots.”
When I had some leftover quinoa and sautéed sweet potato and kale I knew I could do something a little more interesting than add it to my salad (although this is a good option too).
Lets start with how I made the sautéed sweet potato and kale because this dish is enough to write about in itself. This dish is a great side to any meal and adds a good punch of nutrients with a great taste to say the least.
Sautéed sweet potato and kale
Ingredients
Approximately 2 tablespoons of cooking oil (type as you desire)
1 medium to large sweet potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 handful of kale, leaves cut from stems and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon of chilli flakes
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
¼ of a teaspoon of paprika
1/2 of a teaspoon of cumin
1/2 of a teaspoon of ground coriander seeds
Method
Heat oil in a pan over medium to high heat.
Add sweet potato and sauté for 4-5 minutes or until almost tender, stirring frequently.
Add chilli, garlic, cumin and ground coriander, a dash of water and stir through sweet potato for a couple of minutes.
Add kale and continue to stir frequently for ~5 minutes or until the kale starts to shrink.
I served this with a lamb roast, green beans and a quinoa salad.
With the left overs I made these MuffQuins…
Ingredients - Makes 6 MuffQuins
1 cup of sweet potato and kale mixture (although I am sure you could use any leftover roasted veggies or tinned corn and with some spices).
1 cup of cooked quinoa
2 eggs
¼ cup of grated cheddar cheese
Cracked pepper to season
Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Whisk eggs in a large bowl.
Add quinoa, vegetables, cheese and season with pepper.
Lightly grease muffin moulds.
Evenly distribute mixture into 6 muffin moulds.
Cook for approximately 30-40 minutes.
These are tasty, nutrient dense snacks with approximately 5g of protein, 10g of carbohydrate and 365 kilojoules (87 calories).
Bon Appetit