Quinoa Pizza Patties

I have been trying to write a post about these quinoa pizza patties for the last two weeks and having no luck. So I decided to stop trying to be clever and just tell you how much I really like this recipe. I really like this recipe.

I found this recipe in one of my first forays onto Pintrest. I just knew I was going to love it because it incorporates two of my favorite things quinoa and pepperoni. The original recipe was baked in a mini muffin pans and served as a snack. I made them into patties and served them as an entrée with pizza sauce and a salad.

• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients

3/4 cup cooked quinoa

1/2 cup pepperoni minis

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 TBS grated parmesan cheese

4 TBS lightly beaten egg

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp onion powde

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Preheat a medium frying pan over medium high heat. Spray pan with non stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well. Use a 1/4 cup measure, form 6 balls and place in the pan.Gently smash to form a patty. Cook, 3-4 minutes, on each side.  Be careful when turning the patties so they don’t break apart.  When the patties are done they should be golden brown and the cheese should hot and melted.

made

Writing Prompt #5

Here is my response to this weeks writing prompt, what is the best part about
Blogging?

When I started A Solitary Feast, I thought blogging would be a solitary pursuit, just me and my tablet sitting on the couch. I never expected the connections I would make with people, literally, all over the world. Some connections were just a comment or two. Other connections were more enduring, stretching over several social media platforms.

I followed Lili from Lili’s Cakes, because I was a cake decorator by profession and am absolutely floored by her stunning cakes. Her continued presence on my blog and Instagram account have encouraged me to branch out and expand my basic baking skills. Inverted puff pastry anyone? Although I haven’t posted my small batch adaptions of Lili’s recipes yet,  she is one of my favorite bloggers and a constant inspiration.

If you hang around my blog long enough you are going to see my small batch adaptions of recipes from Lady Melady My Castle, My Food. I get a lot of the recipes I adapt from her blog. That’s not surprising really. One of the things that made me stop and look through her blog is Audrey cooks the kind of food I likes to eat. I was in the position, at the time, were a person I trusted was being very nasty about the kind of foods I was posting. Seeing Audrey’s blog, her likes and kind comments on my food, both in my comment section and on her blog was an affirmation of my recipe choices and that people really do eat like I do.

In January, I got to meet Audrey in person and found that she is just as lovely in person as she is on her blog. It was amazing to put a face with I had been talking to for so long.

Writing Prompt #5 How do you cheer someone up? Describe a time when you did so.

 

Jerk Fried Chicken

My friend, Debby, is one of the most incredible people I know. No matter what life throws at her, and it has thrown a lot at her, she keeps her kind nature and faith in God. She is one of the kindest people I know, she is always doing for others and never asks for anything in return. Having Debby in my life has made me a better person. So yesterday, it was my pleasure to be able to do something for her.

Last year my friend, Steph and I went to a convention for the TV show, Supernatural. Steph and I had so much fun but something was missing. Almost from the very first minute of the convention Steph and I kept saying “Debby should be here.” “Debby would love this.” “Debby would be having so much fun.” By the end of the convention, Steph and I decided next year Debby would be coming to the convention on us.

Yesterday Steph and I were finally able to give Debby her tickets for the convention and tell her she was going with us. It was such a good feeling to surprise her and give her something good to look forward to. The three of us are going to have so much fun. Minneapolis is never going to be the same.

• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients

2 chicken drumsticks or thighs

1/2  cup all purpose flour

Salt and pepper, to taste

Good frying oil or lard

Jerk Seasoning

1 1/2 tsp ground allspice

a pinch of ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 1/2 tsp paprika

1  1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp garlic powered

1 tsp ground ginger

Mix all the seasoning  together, set aside. Heat 1/2 inch oil over medium high heat in a large, deep skillet saucepan with a lid. Sprinkle the chicken with salt,  pepper and the Jerk seasoning, using as much seasoning as you want.

When the fat reaches 350 degrees, or a pinch of flour sizzles when dropped in the fat,  raise the  heat to high.  Add the chicken, skin side down, one piece at a time.  When all the pieces are in the pan, reduce the heat to medium high and cover with a lid. Cook the chicken for 7 minutes. After 7 minutes, uncover the chicken and turn the chicken skin side up with tongs. Cook, uncovered for 7 more minutes. If the chicken appears to be scorching, reduce the heat or move the pieces around.   Turn skin side down and cook for about 5 minutes, moving the chicken around so it gets golden on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and drain on paper towels. Serve.

 

Banana Split Bread

My friends at work were treated to a week full of treats from my kitchen. Audrey over Lady Melady, My Castle, My Food, made this quick bread week and I am a quick bread/muffin freak. So that, coupled with the fact I haven’t really baked anything since my leave of absence in December, sent me into a baking frenzy. When a baking frenzy occurs, I take the results to work to share with my friends because even small batch baking is too much for one person when you are trying 3 or 4 small batch recipes at a time. Anyway my friends appreciated it and I got to bake until my heart’s content without consuming all the calories myself. It was a win-win situation.

This banana bread recipe came at a perfect time because I can get all the bananas I want for free. Apparently, my friends’ dad knows a truck driver who failed to store the bananas properly in his truck so the store refused delivery. Now the company has 36,0000 pounds of bananas to get rid of. I thought that was wrong too but it isn’t, they really have 36,000 pounds of bananas. It boggles the mind. Anyway, the initial recipe came from Audrey’s blog then I tarted it up with chocolate chips and pineapple because, well, everything is better with chocolate and you cant have a banana split without pineapple. Enjoy.

• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients
7 TBS Flour
6 TBS sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup mashed banana
3 TBS lightly beaten egg
2 TBS oil
2 TBS buttermilk
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 TBS marschino cherries
1/4 cup chocolate chips
2 TBS crushed pineapple
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 5 x 2 inch bread pan with non stick cooking spray, set aside. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt; mix well. In knife around another bowl, combine the mashed banana, egg, oil, buttermilk and vanilla; mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Add cherries, chocolate chips and pineapple, gently fold in. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a thin bladed around the outside of the pan. Turn out on to the wire rack cool completely.

Writing Prompt # 4

This week’s writing prompt, how spontaneous are you, really spoke to me because I am not spontaneous at all. I plan everything. If I go on a trip I have to know where we are going, what time we are leaving, when we will get there, when we are going to stop, how long each stop is going to be and the exact time I will be home. I have to know all these things, preferably, 3 days or more before the trip. Needless to say, this can make things difficult because most people don’t plan trips this way.

I don’t shop unless I have a list. I know exactly what I am going to get and where I am going to get it. I am not impulsive. I can leave something I think I want on the shelves for a long time while I decide if I really want it. Once I decide I really do I want it, it quickly comes home with me. I don’t bargain shop. I don’t use coupons. I don’t shop sales. I never, ever have buyer’s remorse. Have I missed out on things I have ended up really wanting with this approach? Sometimes, when I do I usually find something that suits me or my needs better than the thing I wanted in the first place.

Now, before you think I live a boring, non-spontaneous life, I would like to introduce you to my dear friend, Steph. Steph is the most adventurous and spontaneous person I have ever met. Whether she knows it or not, she is largely responsible for any sense of adventure and spontaneity I have. While I will never be the free spirit she is being Steph’s friend has taught me to let go and just enjoy the moment.

Writing Prompt #4 What is the best part of being a blogger?