Cranberry Quinoa Squares

Call me a princess but I don't like to eat the same thing for dinner two nights in a row.  Leftovers for lunch the following day are totally cool though.  I know some people who have a severe aversion to leftovers. They cannot fathom eating something that has to be re-heated.  Not me.  I would prefer leftovers in my lunch sac (I sound like I am in grade 3:) over a salad or sandwich any day.

The other day I made a double batch of quinoa thinking I would use it the next night in a different way...didn't happen.  The following day I realized this quinoa was going to get tossed if I didn't use it up.  I came across a recipe for dark chocolate quinoa bars and decided to use that as a starting point.  This recipe turned out really well.  Not only are these bars Kevin approved (have the icon ready but need to figure out how to post it) they are also endorsed by his bike team.  The majority of this batch got sent along with the team on a road trip to a race. 





Cranberry Quinoa Squares

Adapted from Fannetastic Food 
 Makes 20 squares 

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cups spelt flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup milk
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix quinoa, flour, sugar, flaxseed, and cinnamon.

In a smaller bowl, mix milk, egg, and vanilla.

Add wet to dry, stirring gently until mixed. Add in cranberries and mix.

Poor batter into a baking pan – I used an 8 x 8 pan, but you can use whatever size you have.

Bake for about 35 minutes or until fork inserted comes out clean.