Worst part of this week = having to pack a lunch for FIVE WHOLE DAYS! It’s been weeks since I’ve put in a 40 hour’er – the joy of Christmas brings with it the joy of consecutive 4-5 day weekends. But now, the grim reality that the next company holiday won’t be here until the snow is melted and my brown puffy down coat has been retired for the Winter. Sigh.
Thank god I have these delicious Roasted Red Pepper, Spinach and Goat Cheese Quinoa bites to look forward to at lunch 🙂
Roasted Red Pepper, Spinach & Goat Cheese Quinoa Bites
INGREDIENTS
*yields about 34 bites
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small jar of roasted red peppers, chopped
2 cups frozen chopped spinach
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
2 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2) Heat the olive oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is heated, add chopped red peppers, spinach and minced garlic and sautee for about 5 minutes, until all the liquid from the peppers and spinach has evaporated. Remove from heat.
3) In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, spinach/red pepper mixture and crumbled goat cheese. Mix together to allow the goat cheese to melt. Once the mixture has cooled a bit more (about 10 minutes), you can then add the eggs and mix together. Season the mixture with salt & pepper to taste.
4) Spray a mini-muffin pan (24 count) with non-stick cooking spray, making sure to spray the top of the pan as well to avoid the bites from sticking. Place one tablespoon of the mixture in each muffin slot and bake in your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
These are a nice light option for lunch or even a snack. They’d also be a great appetizer for your next ladies night! Healthy, yummy and would go nicely with red OR white 🙂
I will confess that this blog post is recycled – as I think I have made this about 394803594830 times since I found it a couple years ago from Cooking Light. But, the reason I’m sharing is because this dip is because it’s all three of my favorite things in a recipe:
1) Delicious
2) Healthy
3) Ridiculously easy to make
And you can do a million things with it – I use it like a hummus almost and spread it on sandwiches, or you can use it as a dip for veggies and chips, or you could toss it with pasta as an alternative to tomato sauce. It’s so fresh tasting, perfect for summer!
Roasted Red Pepper and Cannellini Bean Dip
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 – 7oz. bottle roasted red peppers, rinsed and drained
1 large garlic clove
salt and pepper to tatse
1) Place all ingredients into a food processor – season with salt and pepper.
2) Pulse a few times until you reach your desired consistency (I personally like it a little chunkier, but you can always add some olive oil and pulse longer if you like it more thin)
3) Serve immediately or chill overnight.
THAT’S IT! I can’t tell you how many compliments I have gotten on this dip and people asking for the recipe, so here it is folks – make it – it will be the best use of 10 minutes you’ll ever spend in the kitchen.
And for all you WW’ers out there? It’s low in points! For the entire thing (almost 2 cups) only 9 points.
Happy pulsing and dipping!
And They Cooked Happily Ever After 