Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bites

I am a wimp when it comes to spice. Okay, I’m a wimp when it comes to other things, too. I can’t handle scary movies. Or books. I freak out when I see a cockroach. I can’t lift heavy things. But, in this case, my wimpy-ness came up because I can’t handle buffalo chicken.

It took me years to be able to tolerate mild salsa. Yes, I’m serious.  Last year, Daniel, my dear husband who tries to be in the kitchen as little as possible, cooked for me. He made buffalo chicken in the crockpot. He shredded it and made sandwiches with lettuce, ranch dressing, and provolone cheese. They would have been delicious…if my mouth hadn’t been on fire the entire time.

Daniel orders buffalo chicken anything whenever he can – wraps, sandwiches, chicken strips, etc, but I never make it for him at home. Until now.

Since we have both fallen in love with quinoa, I decided to make him his very own quinoa bites – chock full of chicken, cheese, and burn-your(or maybe just my)-mouth-off hot sauce.

The only bite I took of these was the one in the last picture of this post.  It was covered in ranch dressing and it still burned.  I happily left the rest of the batch for Daniel to take up to his men’s retreat.  Daniel just raved about them and I’ll take is word for it.    

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bites
Makes ~24 Bites

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup finely chopped cooked chicken
• 1/4 cup buffalo sauce (we used Frank’s)
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• salt and pepper to taste