Ham & Cheese Quinoa Bites

We’ve been attempting to eat our way through everything in our freezer recently, so that we don’t have to move any of it over to the new house and it hasn’t exactly made for the healthiest meals.  One night this week, we ate chicken nuggets, tater tots, and mozzarella bites for dinner.  No joke.

So, it was time for a healthier meal.  Both Daniel and I had been itching for quinoa, so, of course, I decided to work on a new quinoa bite!

I actually didn’t have to do too much working, since I have a running list of flavors I want to make into quinoa bites, which cam very much in handy!  Most of my brain power has been going into packing, appliance shopping, and other moving details, so meal planning has been a much lower priority than normal, so it sure was nice to have an almost-recipe already waiting for me.

I’m so glad I made this one!  Seriously, this is a good one.  Daniel asked me to make a second batch immediately after trying his first bite of these.  It’s the flavors of a pumped up grilled ham and cheese sandwich, in a handy dandy, healthier bite-size!

We can especially use more of the “healthier” part at this time of year.  We started the day off with eggnog coffee cake and have peanut butter/fudge/brownie ice cream in our fridge and lemon cupcakes on our counter top.  We can at least try to have healthier meals (*cough* to make more room for the desserts…).

Happy Monday!

Ham & Cheese Quinoa Bites
Makes ~ 3 dozen bites

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 cup finely diced ham
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 3 Tbs fresh chives, chopped
• 1/2 cup panko
• 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Mix together all ingredients.
3.  Distribute mixture into a greased mini muffin tin, filling each cup to the top (1 heaping Tbs each) and press down gently to compact.
4.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.