week of quinoa: the wrap up

I had to end the week of quinoa a little earlier than planned. The quinoa was making everyone a little gassy. Which, actually, isn't a problem all that much. We eat a lot of beans and broccoli and other gassy legumes & vegetables. The problem is that I am breast feeding and the gassiness was starting to affect Gemma. I am sad since I loved everything I had made so far and still had many recipes that I wanted to try. I will wait and try again in a few months. In the meantime, here are all the recipes I had on my list to make- there is way more than a weeks worth! Some are from you, dear readers, a few are from my mom and others I found online.

oven chimichangas (use quinoa in place of the brown rice)
chicken with quinoa and veggies
zucchini with quinoa stuffing
quiona stuffed peppers
sweet potato and lentil packets (serve with quinoa)
creamy quinoa primavera
italian broccoli and quinoa pilaf
quinoa pudding
walnut rosemary quinoa
quinoa with apricots and pecans
toasted quinoa salad with scallops and snow peas (I would substitute shrimp for the scallops)
warm quinoa salad with toasted almonds

So, go cook and eat some delicious and healthy quinoa! If there is a recipe that you particularly enjoy please let me know.

week of quinoa: quinoa burgers

Recipe for quinoa burgers can be found here.

I realized as I was typing the post that I messed these burgers up a little. The recipe says to "pulse mushrooms in a food processor until finely chopped" I totally missed this step and left the mushrooms in small chunks. I think that is why my burgers were a little crumby. They still tasted great though!

I would definitely make these again. They require a little more work than just making patties out of ground beef but they are yummy and much healthier! I wouldn't serve them to the kids again though, they hated it. Liam was the only one that eat any and that was only after he picked out all the visible pieces of mushroom.

Served with the best ever oven fries. Recipe here.

week of quinoa: turkey and quinoa meatloaf

turkey and quinoa meatloaf
1/4 cup quinoa

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 large clove garlic, chopped

1 (10 ounce) package ground turkey
1 (10 ounce) package ground pork

1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon barbecue sauce

1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon water

Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute; remove from heat to cool.

Stir the turkey, pork, cooked quinoa, onions, tomato paste, barbecue, hot sauce, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire, egg, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well combined. The mixture will be very moist. Shape into a loaf on a foil lined baking sheet. Combine the brown sugar, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire, and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Rub the paste over the top of the meatloaf.

Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Let the meatloaf cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

I am not usually a meatloaf fan... even the name, meat loaf, grosses me out but I wanted to try a quinoa recipe that was completely different than the last two. It was definitely different and I really really liked it. The meatloaf had great flavor and texture. Michael, who is also not a meatloaf lover, pronounced it "phenomenal" but is was a HUGE fail with the kids. They all hated it. I think Liam ate a couple of bites but the other two ate none.

I found the recipe here and made just a few modifications.

week of quinoa: quinoa and black beans

You guys are the best! I can't wait to try all these great recipes you've suggested!

quinoa and black beans

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves minced garlic

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon ground cumin

dash of cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 avocado, peeled, seeded and diced

1 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 small chicken breasts, grilled and diced. I seasoned the chicken with a little garlic powder, cumin and S&P.

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned add quinoa and brown slightly. Add broth and seasonings. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Stir in the tomatoes, avocado, black beans, chicken and cilantro.

My husband and I loved this recipe! It was filling without being heavy and it tasted great. It actually reminded us of eating a burrito bowl from Chipotle. The kids weren't excited about it but once they had picked out the ingredients they refuse to eat (tomato and avocado for Liam, black beans and tomatoes for Sutton) they ate everything on their plates.

This is a one pot meal, which I love. It was also quick to make. I served it as the main dish so there wasn't much leftover. Next time I will double it so the husband and I can eat it for lunch the day after.

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com (but is really similar to recipes Erin Jackson and Courtnay mentioned in the comments section of the quinoa post) but I made a few changes. Mainly adding tomatoes, avocado and chicken. With the beans and the quinoa the chicken is not needed to make a full meal but like the quinoa and orzo from yesterday I was trying to ease the kids into this new food. Next time I think I will leave the chicken out to make a vegetarian meal.

week of quinoa: speckled quinoa and orzo

speckled quinoa and orzo
1/3 cup olive oil
3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/4 cups orzo
2 small cloves garlic, minced
10 sun-dried tomatoes, packed in olive oil finely chopped
3 cups chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and cut into fine dice
1/4 cup chiffonade of basil

Heat olive oil in a medium size saucepan. Add quinoa and orzo and cook, stirring constantly, until quinoa turns golden, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and continue to saute for 20 seconds until you smell their aroma. Add chicken broth, bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 12 minutes or until barely done. There should be a little liquid that has been absorbed by the grains and pasta and which will help the cheese turn creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper, stir in basil and remove from heat.

I purposely chose this recipe for our first time eating quinoa. I thought having the little pieces of pasta would help hide the quinoa since I didn't know how the kids would react to it. When I saw the finished dish, I honestly expected the kids to refuse to eat it but they surprised me and happily ate all that was on their plate. We ate this as a side dish (I served it with grilled chicken and peas) so there was lots left over and I look forward to eating it as lunch tomorrow.

Recipe found here.

a week of quinoa

I heard of quinoa (keen-wah) several years ago but I had never had an opportunity to try it. I noticed recently that Costco started carrying a four pound bag of organic quinoa for $10 so I finally decided to take the quinoa plunge!

I have been told repeatedly how versatile quinoa is so I thought it would be fun to prove (or disprove?) that by using a different quinoa recipe for dinner every night for a whole week. I will post the recipes and our opinion of them daily.

In case you haven't heard much about quinoa here is some info from my package of Earthly Choice Organic Quinoa.

Quinoa is a highly nutritious seed, originally from the Andean region of South America. It delivers all of the nutritional benefits of animal protein without the fat and calories. The grain has a lovely nutty flavor that is richer in flavor than couscous and it cooks quickly in roughly 15 minutes.

Quinoa contains all 8 amino acids, the protein building blocks that our bodies can’t make but must get from our food. Quinoa has on average 13 % protein compared to rice at 9%. Quinoa is an excellent source of fiber, containing both soluble and non-soluble fiber. It is high in a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, like iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus. It is also gluten free.

My children can sometimes be picky eaters, especially Sutton. I am hoping that they will love (or at least tolerate) quinoa.

What about you? Have you tried quinoa? Did you love it? Hate it? Do you have a favorite quinoa recipe? Do share!