Quinoa Turkey Nuggets

The last couple months have been travel, virus, cut a tooth, rinse, repeat.  This has turned my little Miss Piggy into Miss Picky.  Mealtime is a struggle these days, and if your toddler doesn't eat, sleeping schedules are askew and patience is thin.

Last night I stuffed some peppers with a quinoa, turkey conglomeration, something that my girl used to devour.  She spit it out (at least on her plate this time).  I had a whole lot of the stuffing left over, so I threw together some nuggets from it that passed the toddler test.

Forgive me.  I hate math and measuring, which is why I hardly ever post my own recipes.  I love to just eyeball and throw things together for the fun of it.  Here is a rough recipe of the ...

Quinoa (prounounced "Keen-waah") 

Turkey Nuggets

Mix

Cooked Quinoa

Cooked Ground Turkey

Spinach (cooked or not)

Cheese (I tore up a slice of Havarti, but Parmesan would be great)

1 egg 

Garlic Salt

Pepper

Coconut Flour

All Purpose Flour

Set Aside

Coconut Oil

Dipping Sauce(s)

Made 1 dozen, enough to share

*Please note that all the ingredients are pure, organic, and unprocessed.*

Coat your pans (I had 2 going) with a standing layer coconut oil or other oil you like.  

Medium Heat.

Roll your Nugget mix into balls and flatten.

---- If your mix is feeling a little dry and/or falling apart, add more of your quinoa/turkey, maybe even another egg if you have a big batch.  If it's sticking to your hands, coat your hands with flour and/or add more to your mixture. ----

Place them in the heated pans.  Cook on both sides till golden.  I turned mine after about 6 minutes, but your burners may cook differently.  Check them after a few mins and see if they are to the level of crispiness you like.

Done.

Transfer to a plate with paper towels to soak up (not much) oil.  Or not.  Coconut Oil is GREAT for every system of your body.  My daughter takes a spoonful straight out of the jar every morning with breakfast.  It's a powerful probiotic.

Don't forget your dipping sauces.  I wanted to have greek yogurt with some lemon juice, but it wasn't thawed.  I opted for homemade honey mustard and ranch, which was a hit with the girly.

Full tummies.

Nice nap.

Good Day.

Squashed Tomato

Here's what I made today for Father's Day get-together.  Everyone enjoyed it so much, it may be a mainstay in my culinary repertoire.  I doubled this recipe and made two batches for our big feast.

We had a wide array of grilled meats along with lots of veggies from the family garden.  Oh and homemade peach ice cream by Uncle Don.  I'm not a father, but it all made me happy.

I stewed 6-7 big juicy red tomatoes the day before I made this dish.
3-4 small to medium organic summer squash and/or zuchhini, sliced
   about 1/4" thick

Onion flakes (or if you don't come dangerously close to blindness chopping onions like me, 1 sweet onion)
2-3 organic tomatoes, previously stewed - or not

5...ish organic yellow and red cherry tomatoes cut in halfsies (cause they're cute)
Garlic powder
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2 cups of organic shredded cheddar or cheese of your liking
Panko bread crumbs (I didn't use Panko, but it would have been better if I had)
Olive oil, to drizzle

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
You'll be doing two layers, so be sure to divide veggies and cheese for each layer.  Butter a 9 x 9 inch baking pan, spread a layer of half of the sliced squash across the bottom of the pan and sprinkle lightly with garlic powder.  Scatter half of the chopped onion/onion flakes on top of the squash and half of tomatoes on top of the onion. Salt and pepper to taste, and add half of the shredded cheese.  Repeat with another layer of squash, a light sprinkle of garlic powder, onion, tomatoes, salt and pepper, and all of the remaining cheese. Sprinkle top generously with a layer of panko bread crumbs and drizzle all over with olive oil.

Bake uncovered, at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, or until tender. Sprinkle top with basil if desired, and use a slotted spoon to serve.

Sorry, no photo.  Maybe after the next time, I will come back and add.