Blueberry Quinoa Johnnycakes

Good morning lovers! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Mine was filled with lots and lots of fun happenings. Among them, taking a painting class, a dinner date with some lovely girls, and celebrating at a bachelorette party for my future sister-in-law. LOVE.

Another thing I LOVE, are these quinoa johnnycakes.  T, who I should mention has no appreciation for, and most definitely does NOT love pancakes or any breakfast food for that matter, even gave these a thumbs up. Take it from me. They are very yummy.

Step One: Gather the ingredients.

Step Two: Cook the quinoa. Allow time to cool before mixing with the rest of the ingredients. Quinoa can be cooked ahead of time to cut down on total cook time. While quinoa is cooking, mix together the wet and dry ingredients to make the base batter for the johnnycakes.

Step Three: Mix together cooled quinoa and johnnycake batter. Be careful not to over mix. Allow to rest for 1 hour before cooking.

Step Four: Using a 1/3 C measuring scoop, drop batter onto a lightly oiled skillet or griddle. Drop 8-10 blueberries onto each johnnycake. When batter begins to bubble, flip johnnycakes and cook the other side.

Step Five: Stack the johnnycakes on a plate, and serve with a dollop of vanilla Greek yogurt, fresh blueberries, and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Yum. Yum. Yum. These johnnycakes are not only filling, they are also delicious. Go ahead and freeze or refrigerate any leftovers you have for another time!

Recipe from True Food Cookbook

BLUEBERRY QUINOA JOHNNYCAKES | Yield: 20 pancakes (5-6 servings) | Total Time: 20 min. prep (plus approx. 20 min. to allow quinoa to cool) + 1 hr resting + 10-15 min. cooking = 2 hrs.

INGREDIENTS:

2 C red quinoa*
2 C all-purpose flour
1/4 C evaporated cane sugar
2 Tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 C whole milk
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 C blueberries*
1 C nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt
Maple syrup, for serving

*NOTE: To cut down on total time, you can make the quinoa ahead of time so that you don't have to wait for it to cool. Any type of quinoa will work. Red just looks prettiest :) Also, if blueberries aren't in season, go ahead an try this recipe with bananas, strawberries, raspberries, or any fruit that prefer.

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a saucepan with 4 cups water and 1 tsp salt to a boil. Add the quinoa and stir, lowering heat to a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa is dry and fluffy, about 20 minutes. Let cool.

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the milk, eggs, vanilla, and olive oil, whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and blend until just mixed together. Fold in the cooked quinoa. Let the batter rest for one hour.

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large skillet or griddle. Using a 1/3 C measuring cup, scoop batter onto the hot pan. Drop 8-10 blueberries on top of each pancake. When bubbles form in the batter, flip and cook on the other side until lightly browned. Continue with the remaining batter and blueberries. Serve topped with a dollop of vanilla Greek yogurt and maple syrup.

Have you ever tried incorporating quinoa into your morning meal?