Mexican Quinoa

My friend Rachel made this quinoa dish for our Book Club last month.  It was a huge hit!  

We read Kelly Minter's new book, Wherever the River Runs.  I highly recommend the book - favorite I've read this year - and I've read a lot of good books!  

enjoy both-

leanne

ONE PAN MEXICAN QUINOA

Prep Time  10 minutes

Cook Time  25 minutes

Total Time  35 minutes

Yield  4 servings

INGREDIENTS

·         1 tablespoon olive oil

·         2 cloves garlic, minced

·         1 jalapenos, minced

·         1 cup quinoa

·         1 cup vegetable broth

·         1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

·         1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes

·         1 cup corn kernels

·         1 teaspoon chili powder

·         1/2 teaspoon cumin

·         Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

·         1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced

·         Juice of 1 lime

·         2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

·         Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and jalapeno, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

·         Stir in quinoa, vegetable broth, beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Stir in avocado, lime juice and cilantro.

·         Serve immediately.

Quinoa Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing

I know, it's another quinoa salad.  I hope you are not bored with quinoa yet.  It is such a nutritious complete protein, that I find myself using it often.  With our busy lives and the need for quick, healthy lunches for my husband and I, I have taken to fixing a large batch of a cold bean, quinoa, or orzo salad on the weekends, that we are able to use all week.  This is a new favorite.  Sorry...no picture.  

5 Lessons I learned in 3 Hours...

My kids are 7 & 5, so most nights we eat dinner around our kitchen table.  I know - who actually does this? - but I am savoring these moments as I know the older they get the more full our nights will become.  We try to each go around and talk about our day, and tonight our girls were EXTRA chatty so I didn't get a word in edge wise.  BUT at bedtime devotion tonight, I finally got a word in.  During prayers Eliza usually prays that tomorrow Daddy has a good day at work, she & Lydia have a good day at school, and mom has "whatever she does all day with PTF, MomsTogether, volunteering, cooking, or whatever she does all day we pray that it's good."  Yea babe it's a MIX - and I love it!  Today I volunteered at Dorcas Ministries in the food pantry.  I got to share with my girls & Bentley five things I learned today (I learned more, but I want you to finish reading this post so I am going to be concise.)  In my 33 years of living, God never ceases to amaze me at what I can learn if I will only be open to His teaching.

Farmer's Market Quinoa Skillet

I found a fun, new Quinoa recipe.  You can use whatever fresh veggies you like, which allows you to have different variations of this recipe.  I can already think of a few combinations I'd like to try.