Quinoa and Kale Cups - Real Life Dinner

I am loving these Quinoa and Kale Cups. Not only are they really tasty and filled with protein and fiber, cooking them in muffin tins makes them the perfect size for snacking or putting in lunch boxes.

I love finding recipes that are high in fiber and protein, taste awesome and are packed with veggies. I found this one in a grocery store magazine and made a few adjustments since some of the ingredients were things you can only find in their store.

For instance the original recipe called for their specialty Tuscan Seasoning. I don’t keep that on hand so I came up with some seasonings of my own that still add a delicious flavor. The recipe also called for a specialty oil you can only get at their store. The oil is infused with herbs and garlic, but again, I don’t keep it on hand, so I just used olive oil and made adjustments to the herbs I was already using in the recipe to help compensate for the lack of herbs in my olive oil.

My version came out great. I did half of the batch in a mini muffin tin and half in a regular size muffin tin. The mini ones didn’t come out of the pan super well, but that could have been because I left them sitting in the pan for about 20 minutes before placing them in the oven, I think the oil I had originally sprayed in the tins absorbed into the mixture and didn’t keep them from sticking like it should have. Moral of the story. Spray your tins well and promptly put your pan in the oven after you fill it with the mixture.

I used my food processor to finely chop all the veggies but a food chopper, a cheese grater or a lot of patience and a sharp knife would also do the trick.

Quinoa and Kale Cups

Prep time

40 mins

Cook time

35 mins

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

These Healthy Quinoa and Kale cups can be a great lunch on the go or are perfect for a mid day snack. They also make a fun side dish with fish or poultry. In place of the oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary you can substitute 1½ tsp

Author: Adapted from a Recipe in Wegmans Grocery Magazine

Recipe type: Healthy Fiber and Protein

Serves: 24

Ingredients

2 cups chicken or Veggie Broth
1 cup white quinoa
3-4 cups kale leaves, tightly packed (you can use a bag of pre-cut and washed Kale for convienece)
1 large carrot,
1 large stalk celery
1 medium potato
½ a large onion (about ½ cup chopped)
6 eggs
2 tbsp olive oil
1½ tsp salt, scant
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp rosemary
½ tsp basil
¼ tsp thyme
½ tsp oregano
black pepper to taste

Instructions

In a small sauce pan, bring broth to a boil and add quinoa, reduce to a simmer and cover and simmer for 15 minutes. When quinoa is cooked, remove it from pan spreading it on your cutting board (see picture) or on a sheet pan for 10 minutes. (This will help it cool so that it doesn't start to cook the eggs when added to the egg mixture.)
While the quinoa is cooking, blanch Kale in a large pot of salted boiling water for three minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water
In a food processor, pulse carrots, celery, onion, kale and potato in batches until they are nice and small.
Whisk eggs, olive oil, salt, garlic powder, rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano and ground black pepper together in a small bowl, Pour mixture over the finely chopped veggies. Add in the cooled quinoa and mix until completely combined.
Grease muffin tins and put approx ½ cup of mixture in each cup. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Mine took 40 but I cooked them in a stone, which generally takes a little longer.
If you cook them in mini tins, bake them for 15-20 minutes
Let them cool in the tins for 10 minutes on a cooling rack before removing.
Serve warm or cold. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days. I haven't tried freezing them but I think it would work really well.