Hello Kirsti: quinoa

Did my Quinoa Protein Mac N’ Cheese convince you to try quinoa yet?

How about my Taco Quinoa as seen on the Shredded Chicken Wonton Taco Post?

Quinoa Stuffed peppers anyone? These have been a staple for 2 years now!

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And my switched up stuffed peppers?

That’s my quinoa repertoire, but my Skinny Recipe’s to try Pin Board is full of things I definitely need to try!

Source: twopeasandtheirpod.com via Hello Kirsti on Pinterest

Have I inspired you to try it yet?

Ever since their first appearance on Hello Kirsti back in August of 2010 my Quinoa Stuffed Peppers have been a staple at our house, we’ve made them at least every two months for nearly 2 years, now that’s a keeper recipe!
This past week I for the first time switched it up a little bit, and LOVED the result.
What I did differently.
I skipped boiling the peppers: I just washed them really well, and misted them with olive oil before putting in the oven. This saved a ton of time (a lot of water to wait on boiling) , and washing a big pot.
The Result: Less mushy peppers, they still had crunch, one downside is that the quinoa didn’t seem to ‘hold on’ to peppers as much, but I can live with that.

I used Vidalia onion vs. red. It’s what I had on hand
The Result: Slightly different flavor, one less pretty color on the plate. Still tasted Great.
I added some frozen corn. I threw some kernels of frozen corn in the pan at the same time as the carrots.
The Result: Yum and crunch. Corn is my favorite veggie, and it worked well in this dish. I will definitely be trying to rotate the random throw in veggies for this dish now.
We also now love topping these off with reduced fat sour cream for added creaminess.
Don’t you just love favorite recipes you can switch up?

I discovered Moni’s Quinoa Mac N’ Cheese via Around the Table via Pinterest, and couldn’t wait to make it. This is actually the second time I’ve made it but with a different twist, the great thing is that you can twist this recipe so many ways based on what sorta cheeses and veggies you use. If you haven’t jumped on the quinoa band wagon, this is a great recipe to start from, I’ll also give you my top quinoa tip make it in fat free broth rather than water for richer flavor.
The first time I followed Around the Table’s version of the recipe more or less, the second time I followed Moni’s more or less. The best part is that if you have a oven proof sauté pan you can make this all in ONE pan!

Printable Recipe

Quinoa Protein Mac & Cheese (modified from Moni’s Quinoa Mac N’ Cheese)

Ingredients:

2 tsp. olive oil
Veggie Swappable Items

1 Medium Onion Diced
1 can diced Rotel style tomatoes with chilies drained with tomato juice reserved.
Other Veggie Ideas

Broccoli
Cauliflower
Bell Peppers
Corn
Chopped Asparagus
Frozen Artichoke hearts

1 1/2 cups quinoa prepped per package directions (Quinoa is MUCH cheaper at Costco than grocery stores).
good pinch of salt
a few grinds of seasoning salt (I used Lawry's)
2 cloves garlic pressed
3 cups MINUS the amount of tomato juice you drained of fat free chicken or vegetable broth. For a total of 3 cups of liquid.
2 large eggs or Egg Substitute Equivalent
1 cup soy milk, non-fat milk, or milk of choice (I used 2%)
2 cups of 2% Shredded Cheddar.
Panko Bread crumbs for topping

Steps:

1. Heat a oven proof big sauté pan over medium heat with your 2 Tsp. of Olive Oil. Add your uncooked veggies: the tomatoes and onion, sauté for about 5 minutes, then add your garlic and cook it for 2 minutes. (If you’re adding microwave steamed broccoli etc., you’ll add that later).

2. Add your 1 1/2 cups of quinoa and 3 cups of broth and tomato juice mixture. Then cook according to your quinoa package. It should be something along the lines of bring it to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until water is absorbed.

3. Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine your 2 eggs and 1 cup of milk in a measuring cup. Also if you’re adding any steamed veggies to this before baking, now’s the time to nuke them.
4. Once your quinoa is done, pull it off heat and uncover, let it cool for a few minutes (so the egg in the milk doesn’t instantly cook.)

5. Fold in your 2 cups of cheese, frozen vegetables, and milk and egg mixture. Spread level. Top with panko if you choose.
6. Bake at 350 for 25 to 35 minutes, or until you get a good crispy edge.

Printable Recipe

This post is partying here.

Shredded Chicken Wonton Tacos with Taco Quinoa

Ingredients (Serves 2)

6 oz of leftover chicken from Skinny Chicken Taquitos
1 cup uncooked Quinoa (Yields 4 cups, 2 cups leftover great for on top of salad).
1 packet taco seasoning.
12 Wonton Wrappers
1/2 cup of 2% Cheese
Shredded Lettuce

Steps

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees to make the taco shells.

2. Start your quinoa, follow the directions per the brand but add your packet of taco seasoning to the water. (Makes awesome flavorful quinoa, soo yummy!)

3. Spray a Pyrex, drape wonton wrappers on the rim, spray again, pop in the oven for 3-5 minutes until golden and crispy. (Rather than getting a bunch of pans dirty I did three cycles of this while the quinoa was cooking.

4. Heat up your left over chicken, dole out your servings into ramekins for easy portioning. (1/2 cheese, 3 oz shredded chicken, 1 cup cooked taco quinoa)

My Nutrition estimate per MyFitnessPal

Ingredients	Cal	Fat	Carbs	Protein	Fiber
3 oz Chicken	55	1	1	11	0
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa	155	3	29	6	3
Aldi 2% Mild Cheddar Shredded cheese	80	6	1	7	0
All Natural Nasoya- Won Ton Wrappers	120	0	23	0	0
Total	410	10	54	24	3

This recipe which I found in Shape Magazine has become one of our staples and favorites, we stay pretty true to the actual recipe. We recommend cutting in half and sprinkling each half with some more cheese or some reduced fat sour cream, it needs something like that to get that creamy-ness.

I've tweaked this recipe some to be a little different, both versions are great, check out the Stuffed Pepper Redux

Quinoa-Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

Ingredients

2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained (before I found this stuff at Trader Joe's we used cous cous which worked well, this was our first time making it with quinoa)
6 red bell peppers (We used green and only 4 of them, same amount of inside stuff this time around, I think in the past we have reduced it a little)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup diced carrots
1/2 red onion, diced
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 15-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup grated part-skim mozzarella

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Boil 1 1/3 cups water in a saucepan; add quinoa. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Keep covered; set aside. Remove pepper tops, stems, and seeds. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add peppers, boil for 5 minutes, and drain. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add carrots; cook for 3 minutes. Add onion; cook for 5 minutes more. Stir in spinach and beans. Remove from heat and mix in quinoa and chili powder. Fill peppers with quinoa mixture and place upright in a baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Add just enough water to form a very thin layer in the bottom of the dish. Bake for 20 minutes or until tops are lightly browned. Serve immediately.