Cheesy Quinoa

Well guys, I decided to dive right in instead of just testing the waters. My first blogging recipe, Cheesy Quinoa, was just as bold a choice as I expected it to be. I had wanted to try a quinoa recipe for a while now. I didn't know much about quinoa except that it's a healthier grain, a good substitute for heavy starches like potatoes or rice. I saw a board on Pinterest solely dedicated to quinoa, and scrolled through the recipes until this one caught my eye. As an all time lover of mac & cheese, I thought this recipe would be a healthier version and decided to try it.

As promised, this required an individual trip to the grocery store, but mainly because I have little to no food in the house I share with my two roommates. After buying the quinoa, eggs, garlic, milk (embarressing huh?), cheese, and toppings, I was ready to get started. Little did I know, quinoa is cooked a little different than other grains. To cook quinoa, you have to wash it really well to get rid of the bitter taste it normally has. Not knowing this before hand, it was pretty hard to wash because I didn't have a strainer. I did my best by just running water over the grains in a bowl, but ended up losing about a third of the uncooked quinoa down the drain :( Aside from that small failure, the rest went smoothly. Though I decided to not use any veggies, I really wish I had. I think broccoli would be really good in it. I didn't use the Pank Bread crumbs, mainly because I have no idea what those are, and used reduced fat sour cream as a topping. 

The recipe turned out pretty well I must say. My roommates and I finished the whole dish that night, despite the fact that the serving size is 8, and they both said they would want to have it again. 

(note to self- buy a strainer) 

I

http://aroundthetableri.blogspot.com/2012/02/cheesy-quinoa-mac-cheese.html

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
• Veggies of your choice (optional)
• good pinch of salt
• a few grinds of seasoning salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup soy milk or non-fat milk
• 1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese, more for sprinkling
• Optional- Crushed Red Pepper, Panko Bread crumbs for topping
• Toppings (optional)- salsa, hot sauce, sour cream, scallions

Directions 

1. Lightly saute any veggies you would like in this dish. 
2. Cook quinoa to packaged instructions until fully cooked. (About 15 minutes)
3. Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 13x9 inch dish( or 8 individual ramekins) with cooking spray.Whisk together eggs and milk in large bowl. Fold in quinoa mixture and cheese. Stir very well and let some of the cheese melt.  Transfer to prepared baking dish and if using Panko Crumbs or Bread crumbs add now and bake 30-35 mins, until bread crumbs are browned.