Cheesy Quinoa Patties with avocado dip

I happened across this recipe for cheesy quinoa patties on Spoon Fork Bacon. I gave them a try yesterday, and they were a HIT with the Bucko, he ate almost the whole batch! If you use a gf flour, and a dairy free cheese, it's a perfect, quick meal or side dish. I tweaked it a little, using a dash of hickory salt, fresh cracked lemon pepper, and a few tablespoons (probably 1-2) of diced bacon. I also made a different "dip" for them, avocado yogurt. Ingredients: 2 cups cooked quinoa 2/3 cup grated fontina cheese (or cheese of your choice) 3 tablespoons all purpose flour (gluten free) 2 green onions, thinly sliced 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 2 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil salt to taste aioli: ½ cup light mayonnaise 1 head of garlic, roasted 1 lemon, zested and juiced ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. For the cakes: Place all ingredients, except for the oil, into a mixing bowl and stir together until well combined. Season with salt and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. 2. Pour oil into a large sauté pan and place over medium heat. 3. Form ¼ cup patties with the quinoa mixture and place in the heated sauté pan. (this will have to be done in batches) 4. Cook quinoa cakes for about 5 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining patties until all of the cakes have been cooked. Set aside. 5. For the aioli: Place all ingredients into a food processor, season with salt and pepper and blend until smooth. Pour into a small bowl and serve alongside the warm quinoa cakes. For the alternate avocado yogurt dip- One ripe avocado 1/4-1/3c Greek (or non-dairy) yogurt, PLAIN One lime Mash avocado with freshly squeezed lime juice, mix in yogurt. Season to taste with a pinch of salt and some fresh cracked pepper.

Easy brown "Mexican" Rice

I'm back!! And I have a quick, simple side dish to go with skillet fajitas (or any Mexican dinner) 1c organic brown rice (long or short, whatever your preference) 1 1/4c chicken stock 1 can Rotel (Mexican diced tomatoes, I used cilantro and lime to cut the heat, if you like it hot, use regular or hot Rotel) Dump everything in a 2.5qt pot with lid. Cook according to these directions (thanks to Steve Pavlina's blog). When rice is done, before you fluff it, squeeze the juice of one lime over it, sprinkle in cumin to taste (I probably used about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon, and stir in. TADA! Simple version of Mexican rice that is quick and easy for when you need something in a pinch.