Cooking Challenge: Quinoa

inskydiamonds · April 2011

Welcome to the twenty-seventh round of the cooking challenge! This week's ingredient comes to us from TurboJenn who was the winner of the cottage cheese challenge.

This week's challenge is QUINOA.

These are the rules for the challenge:

1. You don't need to have created the recipe from scratch, but you DO need to make it.
2. Voting will be put up for the challenge and the winner of the challenge will pick the next ingredient to be used.
3. Pictures are encouraged but not required. If you want to post a picture upload it on a website like photobucket.com or tinypic.com . If there's any questions about how to do that, don't be shy to ask me.
4. You do need to post the recipe you used so other people can try it too, if they so please.
5. If you used a recipe from another source give credit to the original creator!
6. Your recipe can be a breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, or dessert! Anything!

Fill out the following form to play:

NAME OF RECIPE:
INGREDIENTS:
DIRECTIONS:
CALORIES PER SERVING:
HOW MANY IT SERVES:
OPINIONS ON HOW IT TASTED, ETC:
PICTURE (optional):

Voting for this challenge will begin next Saturday April 23rd at 5PM Pacific Standard Time.

1113cw · April 2011

*bump*
Just bought this but not quite sure what to do with it. Thought I could use in place of my regular couscous. Looking forward to seeing ideas!

friske · April 2011

quinoa is great to replace rice or noodles in almost any recipe, also good instead of porridge in the morning with soy milk and raisins. I just made a vegetable/ lentil soup and tadded quinoa instead of noodles!

NAME OF RECIPE: Lisa's Lentil/ Quinoa Veggie soup
INGREDIENTS: 1 container PC organics chicken broth
1 container PC organics vegetable broth
1 can PC cream of tomato soup
1 tblspoon butter (optional)
3-4 organic carrots
1 sweet potato
1 1/2 cup COOKED quinoa
1 cup french style lentils (or brown, green, red lentils will work or mix them up)
2 brocoli stems
1 can peaches and cream corn niblets
3 cloves minced garlic
parsley
sea salt
pepper
chili powder
onion powder
garlic salt
dill
DIRECTIONS: in a large pot, add all ingredients and simmer for an hour or 2 on low heat, this recipe is not an exact science, all seasonings to taste and just use whatever veggies you have around. The quinoa should be cooked in seperate pot before hand (1 cup rinsed quinoa with 1 1/2 cup water simmer about 20 mins)
CALORIES PER SERVING: unsure
HOW MANY IT SERVES:
OPINIONS ON HOW IT TASTED, ETC: my 5 yr old daughter and husband loved it and it smells amazing! it was a great rainy afternoon lunch. I always like to make my soups at night so they sit overnight and the flavours are better the next day!
PICTURE (optional):

nomex · April 2011

bump... I am interested to see what people come up with....
I have been tempted to buy Quinoa, but have no idea what to do with it!

scarletleavy · April 2011

This is a recipe for a breakfast quinoa, adapted from a 101cookbooks.com recipe.

NAME OF RECIPE: Nutty Cinnamon and Mixed Berry Quinoa

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 cup light soy milk (any type of milk will work)
2 cups frozen or fresh mixed berries (I used a mix of blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (can use more if you like more cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or powdered vanilla aroma
1/3 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts, but almonds or pecans would also work)
4 teaspoons honey or agave nectar

DIRECTIONS:
Combine milk, water and quinoa in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 15 or so minutes (until most of the liquid is absorbed). Turn off heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes. Stir in berries, cinnamon and vanilla. Serve in bowls, top with chopped nuts and drizzle a teaspoon of honey or agave nectar on top.

Also, you can make this with leftover quinoa, just skip the cooking part, heat up the quinoa and add the other ingredients.

CALORIES PER SERVING: Under 300, depending on how many nuts and how much honey you use.

HOW MANY IT SERVES: Serves 4, but can be reduced or increased.

OPINIONS ON HOW IT TASTED: This was unbelievably delicious, surprisingly beautiful and very filling.

PICTURE (optional)

meagalayne · April 2011

Sorry folks, I'm out for this one... Not a big quinoa fan at all!

crystaldegreef · April 2011

I got this from allrecipes.com and adapted it to our tastes... we change it up almost every time we make it, but it is a classic DELICIOUS quinoa recipe that is GREAT for starters and a nice base for the seasoned quinoa eaters!

Ingredients

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

Some changes I've made to the recipe are:
Olive oil instead of Veg oil
We preferred one can of beans instead of two, but either way is fine
I love garlic, so we add loads of that
I like to throw in whatever extra veggies we have on hand as well... so long as it feels right. lol

jcjc1331 · April 2011

I am going to try this tonight, thank you!

ej223 · April 2011

bump

vanb0052 · April 2011

bump

dhurford · April 2011

bump

1113cw · April 2011

I got this from allrecipes.com and adapted it to our tastes... we change it up almost every time we make it, but it is a classic DELICIOUS quinoa recipe that is GREAT for starters and a nice base for the seasoned quinoa eaters!

Ingredients

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

Some changes I've made to the recipe are:
Olive oil instead of Veg oil
We preferred one can of beans instead of two, but either way is fine
I love garlic, so we add loads of that
I like to throw in whatever extra veggies we have on hand as well... so long as it feels right. lol

Love black beans... think I'm going to try this for dinner tonight!

Delicate · April 2011

Thai Red Curry

(instead of having a portion of rice with it, i halfed it and added quinoa) I have this on my list on mfp so copied off here taking out the nutritional info

Services 5 depending on portion sizes

1 Bell Pepper
1 Onion
Chickpea 400g
Quinoa, 0.5 cup (185g)
Tesco - Red Thai Curry Paste, 3 tbsp (change depending on taste)
Asda - Chicken Breast Fillets, 2 fillet (add more if require, i'm not a big chicken eater)
Merchant Gourmet - Mixed Mushrooms (****ake, Oyster and Porcini), 0.5 container (25 gs ea.)
Amoy - Rich & Creamy Coconut Milk, 1 container (400 mls ea.)
Uncle Ben's - Express - Basmati Rice, 62.5 g
Spinach (fresh any amount)

I get lazy with my bad rice so use uncle bens micro rice

Chop pepper, onion and chicken

Prepare mixed mushrooms as per packet suggests before cooking (place in boiling water to rehydrate, or use fresh mushrooms if you can)

Cook quinoa as per packet suggests but keep in warm water until ready to drain and use.

Put paste into pan, heat up for 1-2 mins, add chicken fillets (sliced), allow to cook then add onion (you dont need to brown them), add coconut milk, pepper, chic peas and drained quinoa into pan. Leave to simmer until chic peas are cooked and peppers/onion is soft (about 30mins). Add in spinach at the very end, and let it wilt. micro the rice (or cook normal stuff while waiting on the curry) and serve.

Its about 300 cals but thats cause i use the full fat coconut milk, alot of substitiuous can be made, you can use reduced fat coconut milk (i use normal cause my portion size is smallish)

Vtrembacki · April 2011

Bump

shiggity · April 2011

OMG I have the best recipe for quinoa. It's super easy to make and it tastes like the insides of a Chipotle burrito.

NAME OF RECIPE: Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa

INGREDIENTS:
* 2 teaspoons grated lime zest
* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon sugar (I leave this out or use a packet of Splenda)
* 1 cup quinoa
* 1 (14- to 15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
* 2 medium tomatoes, diced
* 4 scallions, chopped
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS: Whisk together lime zest and juice, butter, oil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.

Cook quinoa per instructions on the package.

Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

CALORIES PER SERVING: I calculated this out to

Calories 243
Sodium 45 mg
Total Fat 8 g
Potassium 1 mg
Saturated 3 g
Total Carbs 35 g
Polyunsaturated 0 g
Dietary Fiber 5 g
Monounsaturated 3 g
Sugars 5 g
Trans 0 g
Protein 8 g
Cholesterol 10 mg

HOW MANY IT SERVES: 4

OPINIONS ON HOW IT TASTED, ETC: See above. I make this religiously now and it's one of my favorite dishes. Even my boyfriend is hooked. We throw roasted chicken, cheese, light sour cream, salsa, avocado slices, etc. on top and it's a full meal. Very filling!

PICTURE (optional): I have one but I have no idea how to post a picture. Doh!