141.6…Quinoa and Black Beans

A  couple of nights ago, I whipped up an easy quinoa recipe. The beauty of quinoa, in my opinion, is it takes on whatever flavors you mix it with. 

It's also a great way to get your veggies in! Throw them all in there! This recipe is healthy, easy to make and can be enjoyed hot or cold. Eat it by itself or as a side dish to chicken or fish. I ate it with broiled salmon and even that worked!

Quinoa and Black Beans (8-10 servings)

Recipe slightly adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients:

1 tsp. vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped 

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa

1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (I used more)

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup frozen corn kernels (I used frozen roasted corn)

1 (15oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and sauté until lightly browned.

2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable/chicken broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and the cilantro.

Printable Recipe

Note: the original recipe called for TWO cans of black beans. I accidentally dumped a can of kidney beans into the pot instead of the second can of black beans. Oops! Turned out tasting good but when I make it again, I don't think it needs two cans of black beans. One would be sufficient. It's up to you, though! 

Last night's dinner was some leftover chili mixed with the Quinoa and Black Beans!

They worked well together! So far, this quinoa goes with everything!

There were more scrambled egg beaters with salami and asparagus this morning. This time I left the cheese out to see if I liked it. It was good but everything's always better with cheese.

I took the kids to school, went to a PTO meeting then came home to meet a repair guy. Lunch was…..

More quinoa! This time I added hummus and pita. It was yummy and filling. 

Tonight I'm heading out to dinner with some friends at a restaurant that I've been excited to try!

Have you tried quinoa? Any favorite quinoa recipes?

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