Quinoa patties

I had quinoa cooked and ready to make some quinoa patties.    I combined the quinoa patty recipe with a falafel recipe and the outcome was terrible.  :( I think the problem was that I pureed the quinoa (as I would have done with the chickpeas for the falafel recipe) and it turned into mush.  Regardless, I hate throwing away food so I scooped it onto parchment paper and baked them.

The verdict: Juliana didn't like them, Nolan ate them with ketchup and said they were good, Dean wouldn't try them, Veggie Monster ate them but didn't care for them, and Steve didn't have a comment (I know what that means).

The following day I was at Trader Joe's and they were sampling Chicken-less Orange Chicken and some fried rice.  The kids absolutely loved them and begged me to get them.  It was late and I agreed and bought them.  There wasn't very many in the bag so I thought I would just eat the leftover quinoa patties.  But then I had a fabulous idea, I pan fried the patties with the "chicken" pieces and then drizzled the orange sauce over them.  Woohoo!! They were yummy this time.  Below is the recipe for the quinoa patties.  My recommendations are to not puree the quinoa and definitely fry them.

• 2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, room temperature
• 4T ground flax seeds, mixed with 9T water
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• handful of parsley
• handful cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup whole-grain bread crumbs, plus more if needed
• 1 cup panko Japanese bread crumbs

1. Mix all ingredients together. This is where I pureed my ingredients. 

2. Form into balls and fry in 1-2 T oil (I used coconut and loved the taste but any oil would work)

3. Cook until crispy and flip them.  Pour orange sauce over them.  I used the kind that came in the chicken less orange chicken from Trader Joes. I am sure you can just make your own.

The green beans were cooked in a tiny bit of coconut oil too and they were mmmm delicious!

The whole family liked them this time.  No leftovers :)