Ultimate Imaginary Brunch Guests

I took last Monday off from work and slept in as late as the pup would let me. When I finally rolled out of bed, I was in the mood to experiment with something new in the kitchen. I opened my cupboards to hunt for ingredients to play with and settled on quinoa- a word I didn't learn to pronounce correctly until the day after I cooked with it (like a moron, I had been pronouncing in quinn-oh-ah). Then I hopped on Pinterest and scrolled through my "nom nom nom" board for breakfast or brunch quinoa recipes. I decided on frittata-esque quinoa muffins, inspired by a pair of recipes from Iowa Girl Eats. Before I started cooking, I made a cup of coffee and searched my Neflix Instant Queue for something to watch.

You know the Imaginary Dinner Party game, right? You pick five people, alive or dead, real or fictional, that you would invite to a fantasy dinner party. Well, it turns out that watching TED Talks on Netflix is sort of like being a guest at the most awesome imaginary party- an imaginary brunch in this case. I watched the "For All of Womankind" series while cooking and eating these quinoa cups. Let me tell you, those ladies (and one gentleman) were inspirational company! It was as if I had hosted the most stimulating brunch, without having to clean my house. I often watch something on Netflix while playing around in the kitchen, and TED Talks are going to be my new favorite programming while cooking.

You'll find two delicious variations of quinoa bites on the Iowa Girl Eats blog. Her recipes inspired me to create my own version based on the ingredients I had available. She suggests using a mini-muffin tin to make adorable and easy to eat bites; I only own a 12-muffin tin so I made larger quinoa cups. Not only are these cheesy, eggy treats super tasty and satisfying, they're also über versatile. You could mix up just about any combination of ingredients that you're craving. I'm considering a caprese salad version for my next batch. Yes, I'm already planning the next batch even though I still have two servings of this turkey club version in the freezer.

I definitely recommend serving these to your real friends at your next potluck gathering. Add Gloria Steinem and Staceyann Chin to the cast of "For All of Womankind" and you'll have the guest list to my ultimate imaginary brunch. Who would be on your imaginary brunch or dinner party guest list? 

 

Turkey Club Quinoa Cups 

Servings: 12  Serving Size: 1 muffin  Points Plus*: 2 pts each, 5 pts for 2 muffins
(Adapted from Iowa Girls Eats)

Ingredients 

Cooking spray
4 slices Bacon, chopped
1 cup Shredded zucchini
2 tbsp Chopped onions
1 tsp Minced garlic
2 cups Cooked quinoa
2 Eggs
2 Egg whites
1 cup Shredded, low fat, sharp cheddar cheese
1 wedge Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss
1/2 cup Cherry tomatoes, chopped
2 oz Diced turkey
2 tbsp Mustard
1 dash Salt
2 dashes Pepper

Directions

Gather your ingredients and preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare you muffin tin with cooking spray, spray liberally. 

Preheat a frying pan, and then cook your bacon until crispy. 

Remove the bacon from the pan, spray pan with a little cooking spray and then add your shredded zucchini and onions. Saute for a couple of minutes over medium heat, then add your minced garlic. Continue to cook until onions soften, about five minutes. Remove from heat, drain off any access liquid, and allow zucchini mixture to cool for a few minutes while you chop your tomatoes and turkey.

In a large bowl add your cooked quinoa, eggs, egg whites, shredded cheese, Laughing Cow cheese, tomatoes, turkey, mustard, bacon and zucchini. Add a dash or two of salt and pepper. Mix well.

Spoon the mixture into your muffin cups, filling each cup to the top (these aren't going to rise, so you don't have to worry about them spilling over while cooking). Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. 

Remove from the oven, and allow to cool completely before attempting to remove the muffins from the tin. 

Serving Suggestion: These would be delicious at just about any time of day. They were a perfect brunch-time treat with a side of fruit salad and a large cup of coffee. They'd also be great for lunch or a light dinner when paired with a salad or some steamed vegetables.

Make sure to thoroughly rinse your quinoa before cooking, unfortunately I encountered a couple of off-putting pieces of grit in a few muffins. 

*PointsPlus values calculated using the Recipe Builder on the Weight Watchers website