Southwestern Quinoa

Adapted from allrecipes.com

I never really knew what quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) was, but had seen recipes using it all the time on a cooking message board I frequent. So I decided I was going to pick some up to try for myself.  Unfortunately my grocery store was out of it when I went to purchase some.  One of my coworkers heard me complaining about this, and brought me some of hers to try.  Turns out, she's mostly vegetarian (she does eat seafood), and uses quinoa all the time!  

I'm so happy she gave me some to try, because it was great!  Better still, my husband loved it too!  I've used it in several different recipes, and will post the rest of my favorites in the future.  This recipe is the first of my favorites so far.

This recipe has three things going for it:  it's simple, it's healthy and it's delicious!  As non-vegetarians, my husband and I didn't even miss having meat in our meal.  And, since quinoa is a complete protein, this meals is filling without having to have meat in it.  If you don't want a meatless meal, you can always add some cooked meat (rotisserie chicken, perhaps?) in at the end.  But truthfully, this meal was so satisfying, I doubt you'll miss it.  Give it a try- we were pleasantly surprise how much we enjoyed our first experience with quinoa.

If you can't find quinoa at your local grocery store, try a health food store, wholesaler (my coworker gets her at Costco) or online (I get mine at Amazon.com).

Ingredients

1-2 teaspoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, plus 2 Tablespoons

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup frozen corn kernels

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

Shredded cheese (optional)

Sour cream (optional)

Cilantro (optional)

Directions

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until lightly browned.

Add the quinoa to the saucepan and cover with 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth. Then add the cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15-18 minutes.

Add 2 tablespoons vegetable broth.  Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and heat 1 minute longer. Top with cheese, sour cream and cilantro, if using.

Yields: 6-8 servings.

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