Quinoa Pizza Bites

Quinoa is one of my favorite foods.  It cooks like and can be used in place of rice, but is much more healthful and protein-packed.  Fun fact: quinoa is actually in the same family as beets and tumbleweeds (according to the super-factual Wikipedia), even though many people assume it's a grain.  The ethical eater in me has been questioning quinoa consumption, however.  I read an article talking about how quinoa has been eaten by the Andean people, found in Peru and surrounding areas, for many years.  As quinoa becomes more popular in the US and other first world countries, the market value has risen dramatically and made this staple food much less accessible to the Peruvians and others.  Look it up.  Be informed.  But I digress.

Back to focusing on the uses of this healthy, if not morally ambiguous, grain impostor.  It makes one heck of a faux pizza bite.  I found the original recipe here and then tweaked it a bit.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa 
• Veggie broth or veggie bullion 
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/2 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
• 1/8 cup (or a handful?) parmesan cheese
• 1 heaping teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 1 heaping tablespoon whole wheat flour (not in the original recipe, but I added it as a binder)
• (optional) sprinkling of ground flax seed.  Who can turn down an Omega-3 boost?

Directions:

1. Cook the quinoa in about 1 cup of veggie broth (or 1 cup water with a bullion cube) until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl.
3. Once the quinoa is cooked, let it cool (so it doesn't cook the egg with its heat when you add it to the mixture).  While the quinoa is cooling, pre-heat the oven to 350.
4. Mix the cooled quinoa with the rest of the ingredients.
5. Oil mini (or regular) muffin tins.  I filled the mini ones all the way and the regular size ones halfway.
6. Cook for 15- 20 minutes.
7. Serve warm with marinara sauce.

Super easy, and really delicious!  Also a great way to use up the inevitable left over quinoa that frequents my refrigerator.