Red Lentil Quinoa Cutlets with easy Mushroom Soup

What are you all fixing for Valentine's Day?  I think this duo may make it to our table.  I haven't decided yet.

I made this dish back in December and I'm just now getting around to posting it -- sorry, but life is...well...life.  It keeps going at its very busy pace and I'm left trying to catch up.

Anyway.  Both these dishes are easy and simple, and they taste amazing.  They taste spectacular together.  I made the soup (next time I'll double it!) and used it as a stand-in gravy.  It worked really well, but we loved the combination so much, that we took the leftovers and made a "stack" out of it.  Cutlet with a generous portion of the soup on top, with another cutlet and more soup on top of that.  Can I say ahhhh-maaa---zing!  Wow.

You may think this is an adult-only meal, but my boys both asked for seconds.  They especially loved the soup, which, I will admit, is potentially one of my new favorite soups.  It's simple and easy and would be perfect to dress up a dinner, or as a lunch with a piece of toasted hearty bread.  Yum.

Anyway, I think if I make this in two weeks for Valentine's Day, I'll serve it with roasted balsamic green beans or asparagus.

Original cutlet recipe can be found here.  And the original mushroom soup recipe is here.

Since I followed the cutlet recipe to the letter, I'll let you get the recipe over there instead of re-writing it. The soup, on the other hand, I tweaked a little, and so I'll give you my version here.

Mushroom Soup

serves 4 (double it!!)

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 8oz pk of mushrooms, baby bellas work well
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp dry sage
• 2-3 cups vegetable broth 
• 1 15oz can black beans, rinse and drain

-- Saute onion and mushroom 7-9 minutes, until soft and mushrooms have released their liquid

-- Add garlic and sage.  Saute 1 minute

-- Add broth and beans and simmer, covered, 20 minutes.  Puree and add salt and pepper to taste. 

Crockpot Black Bean Quinoa Stew

This was an easy-peasy meal for me.  There's something so satisfying about throwing a ton of ingredients into a large crockpot, turning the thing on high, and leaving for the afternoon knowing dinner will be ready when you return.  Ahh...if only it worked like that every single time.  The only trick with this dish was the timing on the beans -- I think my beans were older, so instead of taking 4-5 hours on high, it was a full 7!!  I was thankful we had leftovers in the fridge that night.  But we were all very pleased with our dinner the next night, let me tall ya what!

I got the recipe over here and tweaked it a bit.  We're not huge green pepper fans, so next time I'll tweak it even more and sub those out for a yellow or orange pepper.  Lime wedges are a must, and I would highly recommend using at least half broth.  I tasted the stew when it was done (after we had finished our leftover dinner) and it tasted good -- but it was amazing the night after.  So this is a definite make ahead dinner!

Crockpot Black Bean Quinoa Stew
serves 6

• 1 lb dry black beans, picked over and rinsed well
• 3/4 cup quinoa, picked over and rinsed
• 2 cans diced tomatoes, with juice.  Recommended: have 1 of the cans be fire roasted
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 TBLS minced garlic
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow or orange (or green) bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 - 1 tsp liquid smoke (less if you used a fire roasted can of tomatoes)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 TBLS fresh chopped cilantro
• 2 TBLS brown sugar
• 1/2 -1 tsp salt, to taste
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 3 cups water
• lime wedges, or lime juice

-- Combine everything, minus the lime juice, in a large crockpot, and cook on high for 5-7 hours (checking doneness after the 5 hour mark)

-- Sprinkle lime juice on each individual bowl at serving

Pumpkin, Black Bean & Quinoa Chili

I really like this sweet potato quinoa chili.  There's something so comforting about it.  So when I saw this recipe for a very similar looking chili, I hopped on board that train and set out to make it.  I thought to myself that if it were better than the sweet potato version, I would toss that recipe out and keep the new one -- but I couldn't make a call on which one was better -- so I kept both and just tweaked the sweet potato one to be a little more like stew if I wanted.

This is an easy meal to throw together.  Everything is in one pot and it's hearty and filling.  It is warmth and comfort in a bowl, and who can argue the wonderfulness of that?!

Pumpkin, Black Bean & Quinoa Chili
serves 4-6

• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 15oz cans diced tomatoes, with juice
• 2 15oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15oz can pure pumpkin
• 1/2 tsp cinamon
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup dry quinoa
• Green onions, sliced for garnish (opt)

-- Saute onion in large soup pot or dutch oven until soft -- 7-10 minutes.

-- Add everything else, minus quinoa and stir until combined well and pumpkin is incorporated

-- Add quinoa, bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer uncovered 20 minutes until quinoa is fully cooked.  Stir occasionally.

-- Serve with green onions as garnish, if desired 

Autumn Quinoa

This is one of my favorite fall quinoa dishes.  It's simple.  It's slightly sweet.  It's perfect paired with the cauliflower soup I posted a few weeks ago.  It makes a bit, so you can either serve it to a ton of people as a side dish, in a bowl as a main dish, or, you can bake some acorn squash and stuff this inside!  (And I've done it and love it that way!)  There's just something killer about the combination of pumpkin, orange, and cinnamon that I love.

This does not take very long to make.  For me, it's trickier than most of my quinoa dishes because I don't use the rice cooker for it and actually have to pull a pot out to cook it on the stove top, but as long as you stir it occasionally, it will come out perfectly.  Creamy and full of flavor!

Autumn Quinoa
serves 6 main

• 1 cup diced red onion
• 1 cup pure pumpkin pure (canned)
• 1 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 cups broth/water
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp powdered ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cup dry quinoa, rinsed well
• 1 cup craisins or raisins

--  Saute onion until soft and translucent

-- Add liquid and pumpkin and stir until combined

-- Add spices and quinoa.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 20-30 minutes until quinoa is done and liquid is absorbed. (Stir occasionally!!)

-- Stir in raisins and season with s&p to taste

Apple Quinoa Salad

This "salad" takes a while from start to finish, but it's really quite simple. Most of the time is consumed by cooking and chilling, so you just need to plan a little.  It keeps well and is an easy salad to make up to a day ahead of serve time.  This is great at any picnic or potluck and is paired really well with a creamy vegetable soup in these colder months!

I love this salad for it's freshness that is paired with such a fall-inspired comforting spice. The apples in the picture are chopped larger than is preferable, so take that into consideration. Also, feel free to play with this and switch the raisins out for craisins or currents!

Apple Quinoa Salad

Serves: 12 (feel free to half)

Active time: 20 minutes

Cook/Chill time: 30 minutes and 1 hour

Total time: 2 hrs (including the hour of chill time)

Serving suggestions:  For a light but filling dinner, serve this with Carrot Apple soup along with a green salad.

What you’ll need:

• 2 cups apple juice
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups dry quinoa – rinsed
• 1 TBLS cinnamon
• 4 Granny Smith apples - diced
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 1 cup raisins
• 2 TBLS olive oil
• ½ tsp salt
• 6 TBLS apple cider vinegar OR lemon juice OR mixed half and half
• 1 cup of chopped/slivered almonds

What you’ll do:

• In a large pot, heat juice, water, quinoa and cinnamon until boiling.  Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes (until the liquid is absorbed). You can also do this step in a large rice cooker.
• Once quinoa is done, place it in a large serving bowl, let cool a little bit, and put in the fridge for about 30 minutes to cool completely.
• Once quinoa is cool, stir in the apples, celery, raisins, oil and salt. Sprinkle the apple cider vinegar over the top and stir.
• Return to the fridge to chill at least one hour.  
• Sprinkle the almonds on before serving.

Time Saving Tips:

Chop apples and celery while quinoa is cooling

Moroccan Spiced "Peas"

We have a lot of family favorites in our house. And for the last 2 and half years I've been on the journey to find and create new meals to ensure we were eating healthy and tasty meals. This meant, though that I have rarely remade even our family favorites.

After so long I'm starting to slow down on the new recipes and rotate in some of our most loved dinners. This is one of them -- it's actually one of Scot absolute favorites. The dish is sweet, savory, and full of mellow spices.  It is easy to prepare, but looks nice when served!

I created this dish, actually, from a meat version that is probably buried somewhere on this blog. And buried it should stay -- the non-meat version is even better than the original in our opinion. If you need a little extra umph for the dinner, or want to make sure you're getting tons of protein in at dinner, serve this with quinoa instead of couscous.

Moroccan Spiced Peas

Serves 4-8 (depending on whether it is served alone or as a side dish) 6 cups

Serving Suggestions: Eat this with Curried Butternut Squash soup and a small side salad.

What you'll need:

• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 2 cups chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 TBSP paprika
• 1 tsp allspice
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• ½ cup finely chopped dried apricots
• ½ cup raisins
• 1 cup loosely packed chopped fresh parsley leaves OR ¼ cup dried
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup plain dry couscous OR 3 cups cooked quinoa or millet
• salt and pepper to taste

What you'll do:

• Heat 1 TBLS oil in a large skillet.  Once hot, sauté carrots, onion and spices until carrots are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in the remaining 1 TBSP oil, beans, fruit, parsley, and 3/4 cup broth (reserve remaining broth for next step).  Simmer uncovered for about 5-10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare couscous as directed, substituting remaining broth for the water. Fluff when done.  If you are using quinoa, make it first.
• Scoop couscous onto plates and top with chickpea mixture. Alternatively, mix everything together and serve in a bowl!

Note:  This is meal is most flavorful when served shortly after it is prepared.  If you plan to reheat leftovers, we suggest storing the chickpea mixture and couscous in separate bowls to prevent the couscous from absorbing too much of the moisture.

Green Goodness Soup with Quinoa

This soup was a bowl-full of creamy green goodness.  It had a wonderful flavor combination and was not at all bitter or too spinach-y.  It was incredibly easy to make and a fabulous way to get more greens into our meal, and/or use spinach that was on the brink.  The original recipe called for quinoa, and I would have used that except I had some leftover quinoa salad I was using as a side, so I used barley instead and we all really liked it.

Adapted from this recipe.

Green Goodness Soup with Quinoa
serves 4-6

• Olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• rounded 1/4 tsp powdered ginger OR 1 TBLS fresh grated
• 2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 4 cups packed baby spinach
• 2 cups packed kale/collard green/mustard greens (broccoli even?)
• 2 cups cooked quinoa or barley
• salt and pepper to taste

--  Begin by cooking your grain

-- Saute onion 10 minutes until golden brown, add garlic and ginger and saute an additional minute

--  Add broth and potatoes and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10-15 minutes until potatoes are soft.

-- Add greens and stir until wilted and completely cooked (3-4 minutes).

-- Puree until smooth

-- Add grain and stir until incorporated.

-- Season to taste.

Quinoa with Roasted Eggplant and Beans

I trust everyone had a glorious Labor Day weekend filled with family and friends and picnics and enjoyment. We did!

This was such a simple meal and it was surprisingly satisfying.  It always amazes me that I can combine half a dozen different spices in a dish, add some extra time, and have it come out just so-so -- and then I turn around and prepare what I think of as an overly simple, low spice-enhanced dish, and it's fabulous.  And everyone loves it.  Kinda says something powerful, don't you think?

When I originally saw this recipe, I thought there were green beans in it.  I would have sworn it.  So when I went to buy the ingredients at the store, into the cart went fresh green beans.  When I actually got around to making the dish, I was trying to figure out where the green beans went.  Seeing as they didn't actually go anywhere, I added them in and loved the addition.

You'll notice in the picture that the vegetables are chopped and roasted in their long and pretty fashion.  The next I make this, I'm making it easy on myself and on those eating the dish and making the green beans an inch in length and also chopping the carrots in narrow 1 inch "wedges" -- still will look pretty but, my goodness, it'll be much easier for the littles to eat!

The clincher in this dish is the balsamic glaze/reduction -- very easy to make, but time consuming.  So, if you have about 5 dollars to spare, you can buy a bottle at your local market and thank me later.  Seriously, time in money and when it comes to reductions...I'm buying.  So don't skip this ingredient -- it's what "makes" this dish amazing.

In the fall, this dish will be fantastic along side a creamy pureed vegetable (read: Butternut or Sweet Potato) soup.

Quinoa with Roasted Eggplant and Beans
serves 4-6

• 1 1/2 cups dry quinoa, rinsed well
• 3 cups water/broth mixture (I used 2 cups broth, 1 cup water)
• 1 medium eggplant cut into 1 inch chunks, skins on (6 cups)
• 1 cup sliced/chunked red onion
• 2 1/2 cups 1 inch pieces of fresh green beans
• 2 1/2 cups 1/2 inch chopped carrots
• 2 cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• balsamic glaze, 3-4 TBLS to start

-- Cook the quinoa in the broth/water in a rice cooker or on the stovetop according to directions until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is fully cooked

-- Using 2 trays that are covered with parchment paper or a Silpat and a light spray of cooking oil spray, evenly lay out the veggies between the two trays

-- Roast veggies for 30 minutes @400 degrees.  Take out, toss, and evenly distribute the beans between the two trays

-- Return trays to the oven and roast for another 20 minutes.  The vegetables should be golden brown and great northern beans should be amazingly split open

-- In a large serving bowl, combine the quinoa with veggies and gently stir to combine.  Drizzle the glaze/reduction and stir.  

-- Season with salt and pepper and add more glaze if desired.

Zucchini Quinoa Casserole [re-vamped]

Sometimes I really like a dish.  Like, really like it and make it a few times, but then I find other dishes I like more.  Or, really, that are less time consuming.

Such is the case with this Zucchini Quinoa "Casserole" -- I made it a few times, we always loved it when I did, but I soon realized that it just took too long for such a simple dish.  Simply delicious dish, I might add, but an hour between start and finish is not a quick weeknight dinner in my book and it wasn't fancy enough, or unique enough, to warrant more time on a weekend.

In the past year, I've probably made this dish once.  Maybe.  I've looked at it, thought it would be nice to try again.  That it might be nice to slowly slice those zucchini, and let them weep, and gently dry their tears.  Might me nice to then (after sitting and waiting for the quinoa to cook) layer everything and wait yet again for it to all cook some more...but then, time after time, I passed the recipe over.

I had the privileged of having my grandmother stay with us for a week earlier this month.  She has a sensitive stomach and I thought to myself: Now is the perfect time to make that Zucchini Quinoa Casserole again!   I knew I would have the time, and it was simple enough, and not spicy, that it would suite her tastes and what we needed.

Well, life happens, and we were out in the afternoon later than planned and me, being one to not deviate from a set schedule like a meal plan, knew I had over an hours worth of work ahead of me and two tired and hungry boys.  So I re-vamped the recipe, which cut the time in half, and will never make the original again.  As in, I threw the old recipe card away and wrote out a new one.

Oh, and the end product: still tastes just. as. good.

Zucchini Quinoa Casserole [re-vamped]
serves 4-6

• 2 large zucchini, cut in half length-wise and then sliced into thin half-moons (4 cups)  quartered if they are especially rotund zucchinis. 
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup of your favorite spaghetti sauce -- we use the 365 brand's Roasted Vegetable
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed well
• 1 TBLS dry basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp onion powder
• s & p to taste

-- Combine everything in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, cover and simmer 20-30 minutes until the quinoa is cooked fully and the liquid has been absorbed -- stir occasionally.

-- To make this stretch to ensure 6 people are fed, add in a can of black beans (rinsed and drained) 

-- Feel free to sprinkle cheese on each individual serving

Corn Chowder Quinoa Casserole

This dinner was a cinch to throw together.  Seriously, it was easier than I thought it would be, and the directions made it look super easy.  Dreena Burton is amazing with pretty much everything she puts out -- if you haven't gone and scoped her blog out, you should.  I got Let The Eat Vegan a couple months ago and let's just say, the recipes I tweak slightly will be on this blog (fully giving DB credit, of course) -- the other recipes of hers you'll have to find in the cookbook itself.  I'm loving the cookbook and highly recommend it.

This recipe, though, was one I had wanted to try and was so happy when I did.  It's comfort food at its finest and with fall right around the corner (I know, I said it!), you should file this recipe away for the first cold snap.

I changed a few things around, but not much to alter the taste.  If you like corn chowder, you'll love this dish.  It needs the salt and generous amount of fresh cracked pepper, but no chowder is complete without it, so this should come as no surprise.

I realize I don't re-make enough of my meals.  My sons, in the middle of finishing off his bowl, looked me strait in the eye and said "Mom, this is really good.  Can you make it again -- but soon?"   Yes, son, I'll make it again, and soon, it's too easy not to!

I served this with some steamed broccoli and a green garden salad.

Corn Chowder Quinoa Casserole

Serves 4-6

• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 1 1/2 cups sweet corn (2 cups frozen and thawed) OR 2 cup finely diced red/new potatoes 
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed well
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 3/4 cup finely chopped red or yellow onion
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 15 oz can white kidney, or any white, bean, rinsed and drained
• 1 tsp dry basil
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 TBLS fresh cilantro, chopped fine
• salt and pepper to taste

-- Preheat your oven to 400

-- Puree 1 cup of the milk with 3/4 cup of the corn

-- In a 2 QT oven-safe baking dish (8x11 or 9x9) combine the puree with all other ingredients (except the cilantro).  Stir well.

-- Cover with foil and bake for 50-60 minutes, mixing halfway through. Remove when quinoa is all cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

-- Remove bay leaf, add cilantro, and stir well. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

-- You can add 1-2 TBLS of fresh lime juice if desired.

Lemon and Mint Quinoa Salad

This is a wonderfully light and refreshing quinoa salad that would pair beautifully with almost any items off the grill!  We had some black bean burgers with ours, and it were very happy.  I loved the combination of the lemon and mint -- something about it is just so summery to me.  The bright yellow from the corn is pretty to look at, too. :D

I haven't tried it, but I'm sure you could throw some chickpeas in this salad to make it more of a main dish if you wanted.  The salad makes a lot, so I feel like it's better suited to a BBQ or picnic than or dinner party.  But hey, if you serve it to your family at dinner, just enjoy the leftovers the next day -- they're fabulous!

I hope you've enjoyed the little quinoa-salad-run we've have on here!  I know I enjoyed eating all these salads!

Slightly adapted from this recipe.

Lemon and Mint Quinoa Salad
makes 8 cups

• 1 1/4 cup dry quinoa + 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 lb corn, thawed if frozen
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1 TBLS lemon zest
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (or more to taste)
• 2 TBLS olive oil
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt

-- Cook quinoa in water until done.  Turn out into large bowl and let cool off a little bit.

-- Once cooled, add the corn, onions, mint and zest to bowl and mix well.

-- Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and pour over salad, mixing well.

-- Chill or serve right away (chilling is best to let the flavors mingle!)
-- For leftovers -- squeeze some extra lemon juice in, to taste, to freshen it up.  Feel free to use some from the bottle. 

Avocado Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas

This is another favorite quinoa dish in our house, especially during the summer months.  If you like guacamole, then you are sure to love this hearty salad.  It's like guac, on steroids, with quinoa thrown in the mix.  You'll want to scoop it with chips, or with with spoon from the serving bowl.  Be careful to not give out taster bites before you're ready to eat or you may be taking an empty bowl to the table!

This is a perfect dish for a summer night with a bowl of gazpacho on the side, or just one of many "hearty sides" that make up a dinner.  Take it to a picnic and enjoy all the mmmms as people relish the goodness.  We haven't tried it, but I think it would be fabulous in a pita for a summer picnic dinner!

Adapted from this recipe.

Avocado Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas
serves 4-6 (8 cups)

• 3/4 cup dry quinoa _ 2 cups broth
• 2 cups packed spinach
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained **
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 avocados, diced (about 2 cups)

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• zest of one lemon
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 2 tsp crushed garlic
• 2 tsp olive oil, OR **chickpea liquid
• 1 tsp agave or honey
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• salt and pepper to taste

-- Make quinoa in the broth, once done, turn out into a large bowl to let cool

-- Pulse spinach and cinatro in a food processor unti small bits.  Add to quinoa bowl.

-- Add onion and chickpeas to bowl and stir.  

-- Mix dressing ingredients together and pour over quinoa, stirring well

-- Gently stir in tomatoes and avocados until everything is combined

-- Let sit/chill at least 15 minutes before serving

Pesto Quinoa with Corn and Tomatoes

This was such a great quinoa salad.  For people new to quinoa, this is a great starter.  It's simple and easy, and if the usually nutty flavor of quinoa turns you off, you can't taste it in this dish.  The pesto flavor balanced out the other sweetness of the corn and tomatoes so well.  With the added bonus of the chickpeas, it was a protein-packed main dish.

You could easily serve this as a side, or bring it to a picnic or potluck.  Omit the chickpeas if you'd like, too. My husband said it worked as a main dish, but it would work better as a hearty side.  From my perspective, it was a great, light, refreshing main dish on a hot summer night.  So, take note.  It's chick-food.  If you serve it to your man, have sweet potato fries and gazpacho and a chocked-full-of-veggies salad to go with it.

Got the idea over here and tweaked it.

Pesto Quinoa with Corn and Tomatoes
serves 4 main, 6-8 sides

• 1 14/ c dry quinoa + 2 1/2 c water
• 3/4 c pre-made pesto
• 1 1/2 c corn
• 1 1/2 c cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (for main dish)
• salt and pepper to taste

-- Cook quinoa in water and turn out into a large bowl to cool.  

-- Once cooled slightly, stir in pesto

-- Add all remaining ingredient and gently stir

-- Eat immediately, or chill until ready to serve

Nutrition: Quinoa

[Source]

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is a grain-like crop, surprisingly related to a common weed that I find growing in my garden. It is abundant in South America, particularly the Andean region, was held as sacred by the Incas, and has been regarded as the “mother grain.”

Quinoa has a relatively high protein content and contains a great balance of essential amino acids, classifying it as a “complete protein.”  The amino acid profile contains significant amounts of both lysine AND methionine--which are rarely both found in decent amounts within the same source of plant-based protein (this is the reason we typically must “complement” one type of plant-based protein with another, throughout the course of a day, to achieve a good balance--such as rice and beans).  

This pseudo-grain cooks like rice, is versatile, gluten-free, easily digestible, and a good way to naturally increase dietary consumption of protein, fiber, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, potassium, and folate.  Quinoa is also naturally pest-resistant, due to a saponin coating on the seed.  This saponin coating deters birds and other pests from tampering with the seed during growth and harvest, and is typically washed off during the post-harvest processing to make it edible.  

Much attention has been brought to quinoa lately, and you may have seen it crop up in recipes or supermarket finds here & there.  The United Nations recently dubbed 2013 as the “International Year of Quinoa,” due to its potential to contribute to the eradication of hunger, malnutrition, and poverty.

I’ve typically purchased quinoa in bulk or in a large bag at Costco--both ways help reduce the cost and allow my family to include it as more of a staple in our diet.  However, it is also available in the grain section (near the rice) at most supermarkets, you may just end up paying more of a premium purchasing it this way.  

On this site, you will find several quinoa recipes to experiment with (and the next three recipes will all feature this wonderful super-food!).  

-Brittany

Crunchy Thai Quinoa Salad

Do you know what you're bringing to that Memorial Day picnic this weekend?  Here's an idea for you!

This is our new favorite quinoa salad.  Don't get me wrong, I love quinoa in other salads -- and in soups -- but this is hands-down one of the best tasting, freshest quinoa salads I've ever had, and definitely the favorite that has come from my kitchen.

And what better way to kick off summer? (Even though it doesn't officially start for another 3 weeks!)  This was easy to make.  It may not look it, but once the quinoa is cooked and cooled, it took about 15 minutes to put it all together.

This will be a summer favorite for sure -- I hope it's one of yours, too.

Original recipe is here.

Crunchy Thai Quinoa Salad

Serves 6 (more if using as a side dish)

• 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed well for a couple minutes, cooked with 2 cups water
• 1/4 c peanut butter
• 3 TBLS soy sauce or tamari
• 1-2 TBLS lime juice
• 1 TBLS honey or agave
• 1 TBLS red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp powdered ginger
• 2 cups shelled edamame or 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups shredded red cabbage
• 1 1/2 cups chopped/sliced carrots (can do this in the food processor to speed things up!)
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced small
• 1/2 cup cashew halves or peanuts
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions

-- Cook the quinoa.  For an easy dinner, make sure this step is done earlier in the day!  When done, turn the quinoa out into a large bowl, fluff with a fork, and let cool.

-- Whisk the dressing ingredients together (peanut butter through ginger), warming in the microwave if necessary to allow ingredients to combine smoothly.  Pour onto the quinoa and mix in well.

-- Chop and shred the appropriate ingredients and add to the bowl when done.  Mix everything together and serve, OR, save back the green onions and cashews and use them as garnish!

-- Serve at room temperature or chilled!

Southwest Quinoa Bake

When Cinco de Mayo is around the corner, our food gets colorful!  Bell peppers, beans, corn.  Red, green, and yellow.  Flavors to pay homage to the "holiday".

If you don't have a recipe for Cinco de Mayo, consider this one.  It's easy to throw together, would be a great side at a potluck, or for the party I know you're having.  I got the recipe here, but, like always, made it according to our tastes and what I had on hand.  Like more zucchini than was called for.  (Can you really have too much zucchini?)

We all really liked this meal.  I didn't use cheese, so baking it to get it "crispy" wasn't really necessary, but the mixture's flavors really melded during the baking process, so I'm glad I went ahead with it.  You wouldn't have to, though, if you were short on time. (As a side note, if you're into vegan cheese, or regular cheese for that matter, this dish would be amazing with it!)

Southwest Quinoa Bake

serves 6 main dishes

• 1 cup dry quinoa + 2 cups broth
• 1-2 TBLS olive oil, if desired
• 1 lg onion, diced well
• 1 red, orange, or green pepper, diced
• 1 TBLS minced garlic
• 4 cups chopped zucchini
• 2 cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes, 1 can drained
• 1 can black beans, rinse and drain
• 1 1/2 cup corn
• 4 oz can chopped green chiles
• 1 tsp each: cumin, chili powder, oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

-- Cook quinoa.  When done, transfer to a large mixing bowl.

-- Saute onion, pepper, garlic and zucchini 15 minutes until the zucchini is soft

-- Stir spices, tomatoes, beans, corn, green chiles into the quinoa.

-- Add the sauteed mixture into the quinoa as well and mix well.

-- Transfer mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes at 375

OR -- transfer to a crockpot instead of the baking dish, and keep on warm for up to 4 hours

Minestrone Soup with Quinoa

It was a little amazing to me, but I didn't have a classic minestrone soup in my recipe box.  I had seen this recipe in my Clean Eating magazine awhile ago and saved it.  There's also a fairly decent looking recipe in the Forks Over Knives cookbook, but neither of them on their own looked fabulous.  So I meshed them together and came up with this!

After sitting down and eating a bowl-full, I realized I did actually make something similar to this.  The White Bean and Kale soup is extremely similar, but I like this better.  It made more and the flavors melded better, and there weren't any potatoes to deal with.  Oh, and the quinoa.

I loved the quinoa in this soup.  I don't know what it is about it, but it just adds another dimension to any soups it's in -- thickening it and packing a protein punch to boot.

We ate this with some delicious bread and a green salad.

Minestrone Soup with Quinoa
Serves 6-8

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 lg onion, chopped well
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 T minced garlic
• 7-8 cups broth and water (I used 4 cups broth and 3 cups water, but we like our soups on the thicker side)
• 1 t each: thyme, oregano, and basil
• 1/2 cup dry quinoa, rinsed well
• 2 cans diced tomatoes, with juice
• 2 cans white beans (cannellini or great northern), rinsed and drained
• 1-2 cups frozen spinach or kale (I used 2 and it was almost too much, but it's a great way to get your greens!) OR 3-4 cups chopped, fresh
• salt and pepper to taste

-- Saute onion, carrots, celery, and garlic about 10 minutes until onions are translucent and vegetables are softening

-- add broth/water, spices, quinoa, and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes until quinoa is done (little "tails" are fully showing)

-- Add beans and spinach and cook an additional 4-5 minutes until greens are wilted/heated and entire soup is heated through

-- Season as desired with salt and pepper

Creamy Tomato Soup. With options.

A simple tomato soup is a recipe that should be in everyone's recipe box.  When we ate lots more cheese and had grilled cheeses sandwiches weekly, tomato soup was also a weekly occurrence   Since our switch, though, we've been consuming a lot less tomato soup.  In reality, why make a soup that doesn't have a protein component unless it's a side soup?  There are some dishes, though, that just beg for a small bowl of tomato soup.

In steps this recipe.

Originally an Ina Garten recipe, I tweaked it to fit our family.   In fact, I made extra because I wanted to experiment with it.  Thankfully the base recipe was great, so I was able to experiment away!

After doubling the soup (a total risk since it made a ton and I had never made it before!) I reserved half for one experiment   We enjoyed the soup that night as a side to some de.lish. chickpea salad wraps that will be on here later.  With the leftovers, though, we spooned it over some cooked quinoa as an easy lunch.  Can we say fabulous?  We also tried it with cooked barley -- I'm not sure which we liked better!

The other experiment was to try the whole rice&lentils with tomato soup route again.  Thankfully, things turned out this time.  I simply cooked 1 1/2 cups dry brown rice&lentils (3/4 cup each) in 3 cups of broth and added it to the 7 cups of soup.  It thickened it up and with a side of roasted balsamic green beans, it was a complete meal.

Now that you now all the things you can do with this base soup, go and have fun with it!

Creamy Tomato Soup
serves 4-6 (7 cups total)

• 1 TBLS olive oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1 TBLS minced garlic
• 1 TBLS dry oregano or basil
• 1, 28oz can crushed tomatoes, with juice (fire roasted is optional, but recommended)
• 4 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• salt to taste

-- Heat oil in a large dutch oven.  Once hot, add onions and saute 15 minutes until golden brown.

-- Add garlic and saute another minute

-- Add tomatoes, broth and pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

-- Add milk and continue to simmer 10 minutes until thick

-- Optional: puree with an immersion blender.