MUSHROOM QUINOA

The first time I bought quinoa, I cooked it without any seasonings. I tasted it, shrugged my shoulders and then put it back in the pantry. This COULDN'T be the same quinoa that people were raving about could it?

What I found out (much later) was that you have to add veggies, spices, etc. to the quinoa (while cooking) and then something magical happens. Quinoa takes on the attitude of whatever you cook it with......want beefy? cook it in beef broth, want it spicy? cook it with Rotel tomatoes. Some people even eat it for breakfast, but I haven't tried that yet.

So, lately, I've been experimenting with adding different things to quinoa and this beefy quinoa was a hit. I hope you like it too.

 

 

MUSHROOM QUINOA
3/4 cup chopped onion
6 large mushrooms
1 large carrot
1 cup peas
1 cup quinoa (rinsed and drained)
2 cups beef broth (I used Campbell's beef consume)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
pinch of cayenne (optional)

Prep work: Remove stems from mushrooms and put them in the food processor along with the carrot. Pulse them until both vegetables are about the size of a pea. Next hand slice the mushrooms fairly thickly and set aside. Note: add as many of your favorite veggies as you want.

Saute onions then scoot them over to edge of pan. Add the mushrooms and sauté them (in the onion pan) until you get some toasty brown color on the edges.

Put EVERYTHING into a large sauce pot and bring to a boil; reduce heat and put a tight fitting lid on it. Reduce boil to a gentle simmer (like for rice) and cook for 15-20 minutes. You will know that the quinoa is cooked completely when you see that it has swollen to a semi transparent little circle and it has a small white seed shoot on it like this:

 

After the quinoa is cooked, I like to turn the heat off and let it sit (with lid on) for 10 minutes before eating. 

Depending on how many veggies you pack into this recipe (there is no limit), you should get 5 or 6 cups in the final dish. I freeze it in one cup measures. No need to defrost, just microwave uncovered for 2 minutes. It makes a great (and filling) lunch, with no guilt !!

 

ENJOY !!

 

Quinoa is known as a super food for many reasons. The description of most of those reasons are words that I don't use every day, like flavonoids, phylonutrients, antioxidants, etc.

 

For me, my reasons for enjoying quinoa are: it's quick and easy to prepare, it will take on any seasonings you like and most of all, I can eat a big bowl of this and it doesn't effect my blood sugars very much at all, plus it's gluten free!! I hope you try it.

DIABETIC FRIENDLY MEXICAN QUINOA SKILLET

For those of us who have Type II diabetes, you KNOW how hard it is to find something quick, easy and tasty that won't send your glucose meter into a spin. Well, here is a recipe that is very diabetes friendly and it SCREAMS comfort food taste.

This recipe is super quick and easy to make!!  It is definitely going directly into my 5 star recipe box and I will be freezing single portions of it for my busy day quick hot lunch!!

 

This is delicious at room

temperature too !!

SPICY QUINOA

1 cup chopped sweet onion
2 cloves garlic minced
1 seeded and deveined jalapeno pepper chopped (optional)
1 cup quinoa (rinsed well and drained)
15 ounce can rinsed and drained kidney 
1  diced red bell pepper
14.5 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes (un-drained)
1  14.5 ounce can of water
1 cup corn  (I used frozen)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (depending on taste)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (see note below)
4 ounce can diced mild green chile's (un-drained)

I like making this in my electric skillet for better heat control. S

Saute the chopped onion in a tablespoon of vegetable oil until the onions are soft and starting to smell sweet. Add the garlic and saute for almost a minute (but watch so it doesn't burn).

Add everything else (except the avocado); stir well, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a gentle simmer and put the lid on to cook for 15-20 minutes (depending on how hot your pan is).  After 20 minutes, turn heat OFF but leave lid on and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

Just before serving add:
1 peeled and diced avocado
Juice of 1 lime (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

NOTE: I usually add 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to this recipe instead of the jalapeno pepper, but then I don't care for super spicy food. That's the nice thing about this recipe...it is super adaptable.

NOTE: This freezes very well (before you add the avocado). I put it in one cup containers and freeze them.  To eat, put it in the microwave frozen and heat for 2 1/2 minutes. It makes a great lunch.

NOTE: My all time favorite way to eat this (and maybe it is just me), but I love it steaming hot, topped with a scoop of ice cold fat free cottage cheese.  Yum!!!

ENJOY !!!