Wow life has been manic, work is crazy busy, I finally had my new car delivered, I am off to Las Vegas on a work trip with Hubby in 3 weeks time and I have so many recipes to get typed up an onto the blog. I am watching my diet even more so than ever, trying to get bikini ready means losing an extra few pounds, so I am doing lots of research and cooking lots of new healthy recipes. Trouble is, they are all so good that I just want to share them with you, but finding the time is not easy!
(We have been waiting for a year for this car, its been a nightmare and then they delivered the wrong colour, but we got there in the end!)
So I am going to start with these amazing Crispy Buffalo Quinoa Bites, even though they do come in over 600 calories and have lots of yummy blue cheese, they are worth being a little naughty for. You do have the health benefits from the quinoa and served with a healthy salad its not to bad.
They are just so much fun, the kids loved them, they are moreish and addictive with their crunchy bite and dipped into the blue cheese sauce, which is to die for, they are heavenly. Serve with the salad below or any salad that you fancy freshens the whole dish up and cuts through the richness of the bites and cheese sauce. Its one of those recipes that I know I will come back to time and time again.
So, as I said I have so many recipes to get onto the blog, so I am going to keep this short, but I hope you try these as they are amazing.
Buon appetito
Serves 4
Buffalo Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup hot sauce (I use Franks)
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup cannellini beans, mashed
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon peper
3 tablespoons olive oil
Dressing:
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2 cup butter milk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons dried chives
1 clove garlic, grated
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2oz/about 65 grams blue cheese
Salad:
8 cups of butter lettuce, chopped
2 carrots, sliced or chopped
4 green onions, sliced
Gorgonzola or blue cheese, crumbled
To make the dressing:
Combine all ingredients except the blue cheese in a bowl and mix well. Stir in the blue cheese and place in the fridge while you make the salads.
To make the buffalo sauce:
Combine the melted butter, olive oil, hot sauce and seasoned salt in a medium size bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside
In another bowl combine the quinoa, mashed cannellini beans, bread crumbs, egg, salt, pepper and 4 tablespoons of the buffalo sauce. Mix well to moisten the ingredients and then form into 30-35 equal size balls (about 1/2 tablespoon to 1 tablespoon of the quinoa mixture). Squeeze the balls together tightly with your hands, being careful.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Add half the balls to skillet and cook until golden and crisp on all sides, about five minutes. Gently toss about 10 balls at a time with the buffalo sauce or you can dip each ball in the sauce as well if you are afraid the balls will crumble.
To assemble the salad:
Combine lettuce and carrots in bowls or on plates. Season lightly with salt and pepper, then toss. Top with an equal amount of green onions, then add the buffalo quinoa bites on top. Cover in blue cheese, then drizzle with the dressing and add any remaining buffalo sauce.
Note : If you don’t like blue cheese why not try them with another cheesy sauce or even a chilli dip.
Comments (0)