I needed some veggies today. It could be because I’ve been eating pizza every night since making an enormous batch on Sunday. And while I did put a few veggies on that pizza (I can call broccoli a topping when Eric’s gone), I wanted something different. I had a sweet potato, kale, and a few lonely carrots in the fridge, along with some leftover quinoa from this morning’s apples and cinnamon breakfast quinoa. And there’s nothing quite as satisfying as making something from leftovers, right? I saw this recipe for kale and quinoa nuggets a few weeks ago, which served as my inspiration for today.
I attempted to make these while watching Gilmore Girls (I’m somewhat ashamed to admit I’ve made it through an entire season in the past 2 days, but I’m thrilled to say we’ve entered the Jess years!). You can’t see the tv from our kitchen (the major downfall of this particular apartment), so I brought the cutting board and grater into the living room. Unfortunately, our grater tends to send the grated food flying across the room (I refuse to believe it’s operator error), making me really wish I had one of those fancy graters with the little container attached to solve this problem. Needless to say, I’ll be picking carrot out of the carpet for the next week. Life lesson: cooking and carpet don’t mix. Also, grating carrots is the worst.
If you’re a fan of good ol’ ketchup, definitely serve these with a healthy side of the stuff. I’ve never been a ketchup girl, but some of Eric’s MBA classmates started this incredible ketchup company that has rocked my world. I couldn’t decide whether the Spicy or Curry flavor complemented these bad boys more. With every bite, there was a “Oh, definitely spicy; oh, no, definitely curry,” battle going on in my head. But if you want to test them out yourself, you can pre-order your own Red Duck Ketchup here. (Or, if you are lucky enough to live in Eugene, you can buy it at Market of Choice!)
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- ⅔ cup grated carrots
- ½ cup finely chopped kale
- 1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato (about 1 medium potato)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup shredded cheese
- salt and pepper
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir together the quinoa, carrots, kale, sweet potato, and garlic. Once combined, stir in the egg, breadcrumbs, shredded cheese, and a dash of salt and pepper. It should be a big, ugly mess. Stick your hands in there and form 1-inch (tater tot-shaped) pieces. Arrange on the baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes, turning halfway through.
These are best served warm (read: they are absolutely disgusting cold), so get ’em while they’re hot!
-Ally
Evelyn says
Great photography and styling! Love it 🙂
ericandally says
Thanks so much, Evelyn! I was gifted with some natural light today!
katie near chicago says
These look so yummy! And I already have some Red Duck, so . . .