Turkey Quinoa Bites are the perfect way to transform your Thanksgiving leftovers into a tasty and healthy, perfectly poppable protein-packed dish.
Controversial topic of the day – leftovers. Do you love ’em? Hate ’em? Eat ’em? Toss ’em? Re-purpose ’em? Growing up, we always had some kind of leftover in the fridge at all times and my mother was the master of making leftovers into entirely new dishes. I thought that was normal for everybody, but I have met three people recently that refuse to eat leftovers at all! My jaw just about dropped to the floor when they told me. That’s a completely foreign concept to me. And it seems like it would be a lot of work to make new food for every single meal.
But, I’m in the pro leftovers camp.
And Thanksgiving brings the best leftovers of the year!
Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie…it’s the meal that keeps on giving (which is fitting!).
But, the day after a huge meal like that, I’m all about lightening things up a bite, so, of course I had to transform our leftover turkey into a quinoa bite!
They’re super easy to whip up. Cook your quinoa, chop your onions, and toss all of the ingredients into a bowl.
Stir it all together…
and fill your mini muffin tins. The silicone baking cups make them even easier, since they don’t stick a bit and I like using a cookie scoop these days to fill the cups, then pat them down a bit with the rounded side.
Bake ’em up and you have yourself a perfectly poppable, protein-packed meal.
I served them with Trader Joe’s cranberry sauce, which really made them taste like a mini Thanksgiving and they’re good for you, which is always a perk!
And they reheat beautifully, which is another added bonus for this leftover-loving girl!
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Turkey Quinoa Bites
Yield:
36 bites
Prep Time:
5 minutes
Cook Time:
15 minutes
Total Time:
20 minutes
Turkey Quinoa Bites are the perfect way to transform your Thanksgiving leftovers into a tasty and healthy, perfectly poppable protein-packed dish.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked quinoa (1/2 c. dry quinoa cooked in 1 c. chicken broth)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup turkey, chopped
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp poultry seasoning
- 1/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, optional
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 2 Tbs panko
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix together all ingredients.
- Distribute mixture into a greased mini muffin tin, filling each cup to the top (~ 1 Tbs each).
- Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Maryam
Monday 7th of December 2015
We need to make some quinoa bites when you come to visit me in Seattle this month! Maybe some wild salmon bites:)
Addie K. Martin
Friday 4th of December 2015
I am ALL ABOUT the leftovers. I cook in a way that's conducive to having them. I sure hope that those people who "don't eat leftovers" are cooking in a manner that doesn't produce them. If that's the case, I have no problem with people not eating leftovers as long as they aren't producing them and wasting them. The amount of food wasted in this country is staggering and quite shameful, considering how many hungry people there are not only here in our own country but also world-wide. It really bothers me when people treat food with such blatant disrespect. All the while, so few realize how fortunate they are to be so privileged to "not eat leftovers." Lord. :(
Clearly this is a hot button issue for me!!!
Becky
Sunday 6th of December 2015
Ha! Yet another thing we have in common. I was pretty riled up about it myself! My parents are all-parts-of-the-buffalo kind of people, so I try to plan well and use what I have!