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Quinoa! (pronounced KEEN-wah, at least primarily)
I've been playing around with whole grains a lot lately. Buckwheat, wheat berries, barley - but especially quinoa. I love it because unlike most whole grains, it doesn't have to simmer for an hour or more: 15 mins and it's done. It's also really good at absorbing flavors if you choose to cook it in such a manner. Hot or cold, as a side or a main dish, it's just a wonderful thing to have around.
I knew I wanted to have it somehow included in dinner tonight, but it being a Friday, I had just spend 3+ hours in the car getting home and knew I wasn't going to be in the mood for anything fancy. So I chose to go with an easy-peasy one skillet meal: Mexican Ground Beef & Quinoa Skillet.
Now, my version is definitely an adaptation of the recipe at the link above.
I throw in some extra onion, tossed in a can of black beans, and used some homemade taco mix for seasoning (mostly because I've apparently run out of chili powder >.>)
Once you've got everything you need, there's just a few steps to follow:
Saute the ground beef and onions until the meat is nicely browned. Drain off any extra fat.
Add in the rest of the ingredients.
Give it a good stir and let simmer for around 25-30 mins.
Seriously. That's it. And you end up with a tasty dinner that's perfect with a medium bodied beer:
Bonus dessert shot:
Mmmmm, mocha cupcakes...
Now, I'm lazy on nights other than Friday, so I tend to get Bob's Red Mill Quinoa since it's pre-rinsed and ready to go. If you're buying quinoa in bulk, make sure you rinse it well! Quinoa grows with an outer coating that can lend a bitter taste to your food if you don't remove it prior to cooking. If you're buying pre-packaged quinoa, make sure the rinsing process the company used didn't remove the protein-packed germ (quinoa's claim to fame!).
Here are some of my other favorite quinoa recipes:
Spinach Quinoa Cakes are basically individual sized quiches - they freeze really well, so I'll make a bunch and then heat them up for breakfast during the week.
Lemon-Scented Quinoa Salad is a delicious cold dish perfect for a light lunch or as a side dish.
Tomato Basil Quinoa Stuffing can be used to stuff zucchini's as shown or any other vegetable of your choosing. Eggplant? Sweet pepper? All far game.
I've been playing around with whole grains a lot lately. Buckwheat, wheat berries, barley - but especially quinoa. I love it because unlike most whole grains, it doesn't have to simmer for an hour or more: 15 mins and it's done. It's also really good at absorbing flavors if you choose to cook it in such a manner. Hot or cold, as a side or a main dish, it's just a wonderful thing to have around.
I knew I wanted to have it somehow included in dinner tonight, but it being a Friday, I had just spend 3+ hours in the car getting home and knew I wasn't going to be in the mood for anything fancy. So I chose to go with an easy-peasy one skillet meal: Mexican Ground Beef & Quinoa Skillet.
Now, my version is definitely an adaptation of the recipe at the link above.
I throw in some extra onion, tossed in a can of black beans, and used some homemade taco mix for seasoning (mostly because I've apparently run out of chili powder >.>)
Once you've got everything you need, there's just a few steps to follow:
Saute the ground beef and onions until the meat is nicely browned. Drain off any extra fat.
Add in the rest of the ingredients.
Give it a good stir and let simmer for around 25-30 mins.
Seriously. That's it. And you end up with a tasty dinner that's perfect with a medium bodied beer:
Bonus dessert shot:
Mmmmm, mocha cupcakes...
Now, I'm lazy on nights other than Friday, so I tend to get Bob's Red Mill Quinoa since it's pre-rinsed and ready to go. If you're buying quinoa in bulk, make sure you rinse it well! Quinoa grows with an outer coating that can lend a bitter taste to your food if you don't remove it prior to cooking. If you're buying pre-packaged quinoa, make sure the rinsing process the company used didn't remove the protein-packed germ (quinoa's claim to fame!).
Here are some of my other favorite quinoa recipes:
Spinach Quinoa Cakes are basically individual sized quiches - they freeze really well, so I'll make a bunch and then heat them up for breakfast during the week.
Lemon-Scented Quinoa Salad is a delicious cold dish perfect for a light lunch or as a side dish.
Tomato Basil Quinoa Stuffing can be used to stuff zucchini's as shown or any other vegetable of your choosing. Eggplant? Sweet pepper? All far game.