If your New Year's resolutions include eating more healthfully, you have to try quinoa. This tiny grain is packed with protein as well as essential amino acids. This is an easy recipe which you can make without a lot of fussing. Start by sauteing a large onion and a couple cloves of garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan that you might use later in your meal for something else. (I hate getting something dirty for only one thing!)
While that is on the stove, rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh sieve for a minute or two. Quinoa has a bitter outer coating which will dissolve once rinsed, so don't skip this step. It is fine if the quiona is a little damp when you get ready to cook it. I used about a cup and a half of quinoa, and once rinsed, spread it over the bottom of the dish which has been drizzled with a little bit of oil.
The onions should be done at this point, so spread those over the top of the quinoa.
Top with vegetables of your choice, a favorite of mine includes zucchini and tomatoes, but since those are not loved by my husband, I went for crimini mushrooms. Feel free to improvise here! You can leave this in the fridge until you are ready to bake if you'd like. Once you are ready, add 3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock and cook, covered, for 30 minutes.
After cooking covered for 30 minutes, top with cheese of your choice and bake for a remaining 15 minutes uncovered until the cheese is browned.
I used mozzarella and Parmesan. Goat cheese, feta, or Gruyere would be good options too.
I served the quinoa with one of my new favorite recipes found here:
http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2009/01/melissa-clarks-roasted-broccoli-with-shrimp.html
Roasted broccoli is one of my favorite preparations, and adding the shrimp couldn't be easier. This was one of those "A ha!" recipes for me. All the ingredients were in my fridge and cupboards, but I never thought to combine them in just this way. Sprinkle the broccoli with olive oil, ground cumin, coriander, salt and pepper and roast for 10 minutes. In the meantime toss raw shrimp in olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper and add them for the last 8-10 minutes of baking until just cooked and firm.
Everything was fantastic, and together with the quinoa, it was a perfect healthy weekend meal.
Top with vegetables of your choice, a favorite of mine includes zucchini and tomatoes, but since those are not loved by my husband, I went for crimini mushrooms. Feel free to improvise here! You can leave this in the fridge until you are ready to bake if you'd like. Once you are ready, add 3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock and cook, covered, for 30 minutes.
2 comments:
This really looks yummy. Maybe this weekend!
You might want to halve this recipe. This made enough for a lot of leftovers, probably 6 servings total.
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