Southwestern Veggie & Cheese Quinoa Cups

_A friend forwarded this recipe from a fun site called Iowa Girl Eats—she said it would be perfect minus the ham the recipe originally called for. And perfect it was for a little Easter picnic brunch with my mom.

I made the quinoa and grated the zucchini the night before, so they were easy to mix up and make in the morning. We packed them up and took them to Chautauqua along with some egg salad, fresh fruit and yummy croissants from a bakery near my mom’s house. They don’t need to be hot to be delicious.

I tweaked a little for ingredients, pan size and preference. I doubled the batch, too, so you’ll have enough leftover to stick in the freezer—just take a few out at night, put them in the fridge and they’re the perfect filling, wholesome breakfast. And don’t be afraid to switch up ingredients! These would do well with a variety of veggies.

Makes about 24 muffin-sized cups

4 cups cooked Quinoa (about 1.5 cups uncooked) 

4 Eggs

4 Egg Whites

2 cups Zucchini, grated (1 large zucchini should do the trick)
2 cups Cheddar Cheese, grated

1 small can Green Chiles 

½ cup Cilantro, chopped

¼ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

4 Green Onions, sliced

Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350*. Liberally spray 2 muffin tins with cooking spray (make sure it’s liberal—they can get a stick-to-the-pan-y if not).

Prepare quinoa according to package directions. Fluff and add to large bowl.
While quinoa is cooking, grate zucchini into a separate bowl and toss with ½ tsp salt together. Let stand 5 minutes, then transfer to sieve/strainer. Press out excess liquid before adding to bowl with quinoa.

Add remaining ingredients, mix thoroughly and spoon into muffin tins, filling to the top of each cup.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Let cool about 5 minutes before removing from the pan.