One Skillet Spicy Chicken

Got this recipe from Well Plated, but changed it quite a bit.

Ingredients
From the Pantry (or market)

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 mushroom bouillon

Fresh from the market (mostly)

• 1 pound boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 red bell pepper, cored and chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cored and chopped
• 1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
• 2 small tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese
• cilantro

Directions

1. Put quinoa, 1.5 cups of water, and bouillon in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
2. Heat olive oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat.
3. Add chicken and onion.
4. Sauté, stirring often, 2 minutes.
5. Stir in bell peppers, black beans, tomatoes, and quinoa.
6. Bring to boil, then cover.
7. Simmer on low heat, 5 minutes, or until chicken is done.
8. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes, until liquid is absorbed.
9. Serve topped with cheese and cilantro.

One Pot Tandoori Quinoa

We got this recipe from Yup...it's Vegan! mostly because it said "One Pot" and it looked really quick and easy to make. As usual, just a few tweeks to the recipe, but all the measurements remained the same. We were able to have it for lunch Monday through Friday, for two people.

Ingredients
From the pantry (or market if you don't already have these)

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 2 tbsp garam masala
• 1 cube vegetable bouillon
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

From the market

• 1 sweet potato,* diced into small cubes (~ 1cm)
• 1 small onion,* finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 1 cup red quinoa
• 1 15oz can chickpeas, drained
• 2 on the vine tomatoes, diced
• 1 lime
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped

* Note 1: the sweet potatoes in the Vancouver are white - the orange kind on the website are yams

* Note 2: we didn't use the red onions because they were really big and we didn't want to waste food

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat.
2. Add sweet potatoes, cook for about 6-8 minutes (until softened), stirring frequently.
3. Add onions, cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Add garlic, jalepeno, and ginger, cook for another minute (until fragrant).
5. Stir in garam masala, cook for 30 seconds.
6. Add quinoa, vegetable bouillon, 1 and 1/4 cup water, chickpeas, tomatoes, and sugar, and stir to combine.
7. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover.
8. Cook until the quinoa and sweet potatoes are cooked through, about 20 minutes.
9. If there seems to be too much liquid, uncover for a few minutes to evaporate excess.
10. Add salt, pepper, and additional garam masala to taste.
11. Mix in lime juice and chopped cilantro.
12. Serve with Srirarcha.

I must admit splitting it into basically 10 servings was kind of on the smaller side. Next time, we will probably add a yam in and maybe multiply the quinoa by one-and-a-half. Otherwise, it was really easy and quick - tasty too if you're into Indian food.

Quinoa with Leeks and Shiitake Mushrooms

We got this recipe from My Recipes, Cooking Light. Even though it is "cooking light", the 4 serving recipe could probably serve 8.

Ingredients:

- 1.5 cups water

- 1 bouillon chicken stock

- salt

- 3/4 cup quinoa

- 1.5 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

- 1/2 tbsp olive oil

- pepper

- 1 leek

- 2 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms

- 1 bell pepper

- 1/8 cup white wine

- 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Method:

1) bring water, bouillon and dash if salt to a boil

2) add quinoa, cover, reduce heat and let simmer until liquid is absorbed (30 minutes for the red quinoa, less for normal yellow quinoa)

3) prepare the rest of the ingredients while the quinoa is simmering

4) heat half the oil in a pan and add leek

5) once the leek starts to wilt (approx 6 minutes), add mushrooms, bell pepper and wine

6) once vegetables are tender, add dash of salt and pepper

7) the quinoa should be ready by now, add the parsley, half the oil, and dash of pepper to it

8) mix the quinoa into the vegetables

9) plate and serve with or without Sriracha

Beef Stroganoff

Today's recipe was inspired by Kidspot, however, we found it very unhelpful.

Ingredients:

• 400 g blade steak - they're the cheapest kind at Safeway but were sold in a huge pack. We noticed 700 g was too much for us personally, so we just used 1/3 of the package
• 4 mushrooms - it's not on the ingredient list on the recipe but it's in the instructions
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 2 tbsp quinoa (the recipe called for cornflour, which we couldn't find and didn't want to buy a huge packet of anyway)
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 tbsp salsa (we also didn't want to buy a big can of tomato paste for just one dish)
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 cup beef stock (which we made with 1 cup water and 1/2 a beef bouillon)
• 2 tbsp flour (optional)

Steps:

1. Start your rice first, as that will always take the longest.

2. Dice the onion and garlic. Cut the steak into cubes and coat with quinoa and nutmeg.

3. Cook the onion and garlic in as much oil as you prefer on medium heat until they start browning. Then add the beef and wine.

4. When the beef turns brown, add the mushrooms. Cook until soft.

5. Add the salsa, stock, sour cream and cover to cook for about 15 minutes.

6. We found our stroganoff to be very liquid-y, so at about 14 minutes, we added 2 tbsp flour. If you like it more liquid-y, then this step is optional.

7. Serve on rice.

8. It was pretty flavourful already, but I always like a bit of extra kick in my food.

Vegetarian Quinoa Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Today's recipe was inspired by this yummly recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup quinoa
• 1/2 stock (recipe called for vegetable stock, but we had some chicken bouillon left over)
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 4 portobello mushrooms
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup red kidney beans, washed and drained (from can)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• juice from one lemon
• 1 cup spinach
• 2 ounces regular goat cheese

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Remove stems from mushrooms, place stem side down on a pan, brush with olive oil, and heat for 5 minutes. Once removed from oven, flip over.

2. Heat 1/2 cup water. When it starts boiling, add quinoa, bouillon, and rosemary. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and let it cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from heat and let sit, still covered for another 5-10 minutes or until water is absorbed.

3. While the quinoa is cooking, wash and cut the spinach into strips.

4. Drain wash and mash the beans.

5. Add garlic and lemon juice to the beans and mix well.

6. In a medium bowl, add spinach, bean mixture, goat cheese, and quinoa.

7. Divide mixture evenly into the four portobello mushrooms.

8. Bake for 15-20 minutes until filling is lightly brown. Serve.

Quinoa Fried Rice

We really wanted to make something quick and light for dinner tonight since lunch was so filling. Honestly, we were so full we didn't want to eat, but figured we should probably eat since we'd be hungry later.

This recipe was originally from Kidspot, but of course we changed it to suit what we can purchase locally.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup quinoa
• 2 2/3 cup water + 1 bouillon chicken stock
• 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 leek
• 1 small bell pepper
• 200g white mushrooms (approx. 4)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce

Steps:

1. While the water was heating, I grated the ginger. As soon as the water started boiling, I added the ginger, bouillon, and quinoa. Then cover the pot with a lid, lower the heat to low, and let it simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. I set the timer for 15 minutes and just kept checking.

2. While the quinoa is simmering, slice and wash the leek, slice the bell pepper, quarter the mushrooms, and beat the eggs.

3. Let the oil heat a bit in the pan, then add the vegetables.

4. Cook for two minutes then make a hole in the middle of the vegetables.

5. Pour the eggs into the centre. Allow the eggs to cook, breaking it up as you go.

6. Once the egg is cooked, add the quinoa, soy sauce and fish sauce.

7. Cook for a couple minutes, and serve.

8. We recommend enjoying with a light beer and some sriracha sauce.