Southwest Quinoa Cakes

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/southwest_quinoa_cakes.html

From EatingWell:  March/April 2014

This healthy quinoa cake recipe is packed with protein from the black beans, eggs, cottage cheese and quinoa. We like to serve the quinoa cakes with a mouthwatering and incredibly easy blender salsa; if you don’t like the heat, leave out the chipotle pepper. We like the look of red quinoa, but any color quinoa will work just as well.

6 servings | Active Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup quinoa, preferably red quinoa
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed
• 3/4 cup reduced-fat cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup sliced scallions
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus a pinch, divided
• 1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
• 1 14-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 small chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (see Tip)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 avocado, chopped

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in quinoa. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the grains are tender and reveal their spiraled germ, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for about 10 minutes.
3. Add eggs, beans, cottage cheese, scallions, flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt to the quinoa and stir until well combined. Divide the mixture among the muffin cups (about 1/4 cup each). Top each quinoa cake with about 1 tablespoon cheese.
4. Bake the cakes until puffed and a little brown on top, about 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Gently loosen and remove with a paring knife.
5. Meanwhile, place tomatoes, garlic, chipotle pepper and a pinch of salt in a blender and puree until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in cilantro.
6. Serve the cakes with the salsa and avocado.

Nutrition

Per serving : 365 Calories; 17 g Fat; 6 g Sat; 5 g Mono; 140 mg Cholesterol; 35 g Carbohydrates; 19 g Protein; 7 g Fiber; 662 mg Sodium; 515 mg Potassium

2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 2 starch, 1/2 vegetable, 1 lean meat, 1 medium-fat meat, 1 fat

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate the salsa (Step 5) for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before serving.

• Chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce are smoked jalapeños packed in a flavorful, spicy sauce. Look for the small cans with Mexican foods at large supermarkets. Once opened, they’ll keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.