New to Quinoa--what is your fav. recipe using it?

Some quinoa you can buy is pre-soaked, and some isn't - so if you make some and it ends up with a bitter flavor, it needs to be soaked for several hours (a lot of people just do it overnight). Usually the stuff you buy in bulk at the health food store needs to be soaked. If you cook it in a rice cooker, you won't need to pre-soak it in my experience.

Otherwise, really, I just use it as a rice substitute. I make a standard fried "rice" like you normally would - just add your cooked quinoa, chicken, pork, shrimp, vegetables, soy sauce, whatever to a pan. Only difference is to cook the egg separately from the quinoa instead of breaking it in the pan, it binds up strangely for some reason.

^^Totally going to try that southwestern quinoa, sounds yummy!

Google "Skinnytaste Mediterannean Quinoa", its really light and fresh tasting while still being satisfying. I make it all the time!

For something more substantial I make 1 cup of quinoa (turns into 3 cups), dress the quinoa in a dressing of honey, lemon, and olive oil (1 tbsp olive oil, equal parts honey and lemon, I use 2 tbs each, until desired flavor), salt and pepper, then add 1/3 cup dried cranberries, 1 apple cut into cubes, 1/4 cup slivered almonds, 1/4 cup cilantro.
- I will alter this one sometimes by replacing the lemon with balsamic vinegar and adding jarred sun dried tomatoes

ETA: My sister makes an AMAZING quinoa by using chicken broth (vegetable broth also works) instead of water to cook it. Then add whatever you feel like. Super flavorful and delicious

This one is yummy: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quinoa-and-black-beans/ .

bump

I came into this thread to recommend the skinny taste Mediterranean recipe, and someone beat me to it! So, I'll second it. I make it several times a week as lunches!

My favorite is a Mexican Quinoa:

http://kitchensimplicity.com/mexican-quinoa-with-lazy-guacamole/

It is so easy to make and so good! We started making it instead of our normal "Taco Tuesday". :bigsmile:

I cook quinoa in our rice cooker. SO easy! Prices vary by a lot. We try to buy at Costco. I agree with tons of recipes on Pinterest and agree with chicken stock/broth/bouillon.

Would you guys say it is similar to couscous or bulgar wheat?

I usually cook a bunch on the weekend and then we use it to make "fried rice"

We cook chicken strips with a pile of veggies and add the quinoa and some soy sauce and cook until it's hot. Super yum!

My best friend also eats quinoa instead of oatmeal because she's vegan and it's higher in protein than oatmeal! so you can have it for breakfast too!

I eat it plain or mix in some veggies sometimes, but my favourite is when I mix in some Diana Chipotle marinating sauce. It's so good! My husband loves it too!

I LOVE quinoa! I make variations on a quinoa veggie salad about once or twice a week. Usually I cut up cucumber, bell peppers, tomatoes, celery, and asparagus (or whatever floats your boat veggie wise - I like crunch lol) while my quinoa is cooking. Once it is cooked, I add all the veggies and use some sort of dressing to bind the quinoa and veggies. Lately I've been using either Annie's Tuscany Italian or Red Wine Vinaigrette and Olive Oil. Stir it all together and put in a storage container. Sprinkle grated parm and romano cheese over the top. Cover and chill for a few hours in the fridge. Then voila! Ready to eat. Yummy stuff! :-)

ETA: I don't really have a recipe per say - it's kinda a fly by the seat of my pants thing I make and it turns out differently every time. I usually use a whole cucumber, whole bell pepper, a couple of roma tomatoes, few stalks of celery, a bunch of asparagus. I only use a couple of tablespoons of dressing - doesn't take too much to bind it all together. And anywhere from 2-6 tablespoons of the parm/romano - just depends on my mood. It generally ends up that there are more veggies than quinoa lol. But it cuts down on the calories and I still get that wonderful quinoa in my life! :-) I think that one serving is usually about 150 calories - that's for 1 to 1.5 cups.

I forgot, try this! (it's amazing, too!) Toss some in your "scrambled eggs". Here's what I do:

cook quinoa in my little rice cooker (like $12 at WalMart), portion into baggies, put in freezer (point being, have it cooked & ready to toss into something for a quick meal or boost to a meal....I do remember to put one in the fridge so that it's thawed & ready to use)

In microwave safe dish:
whip up 2 eggs with fork
toss in some quinoa (I use 1/4 cup cooked)
toss in 1/4 cup shredded cheese

Microwave 2 minutes, stir to mix up uncooked ingredients, microwave another minute (maybe) & let sit to finish cooking itself.

Eat it! It's amazing how the quinoa changes the texture and makes the eggs more filling and more amazing (and even more nutritious).

I am a chia seed freak, so I would also sprinkle a tablespoon on chia seeds on the top before eating (adds 5g of fiber, 5g of fat & Omega 3's). Plus, I can go 4-6 hours without feeling any hunger. Happy, happy, happy!

i buy the presoaked quinoa at Cosco and cook it in my slow cooker (can use a rice cooker) then you have hot fluffy quinoa you can make sweet or savoury, make it into a breakfast porridge with raisins, apples, milk, cinnamon and brown sugar, I've baked it into mini muffins that have oats, shredded apple and cooked quinoa, i also like making a greek salad (fat free kraft Italian dressing, black olive, English cuke, tomato and feta mix it all up) it's versatile and yummy

This is a quinoa recipe that I love love love. It is so good you'll be scarfing it down!

Lemon Quinoa Cilantro Chickpea Salad


1/2 C. dry quinoa

2 C. vegetable broth (or chicken broth)

1 can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

1 c. cherry tomatoes cut in half (or grape tomatoes)

2 avocados diced

2 C. spinach

1 bunch cilantro

1/4 C. onion

2 small cloves garlic


For the dressing:

Juice of 2 lemons

zest of 1 lemon

2 tsp. dijon mustard

2 tsp. olive oil

1 tsp. agave nectar

1/2 tsp. cumin

dash of salt and pepper


1. Cook quinoa and broth according to package directions and let cool. Put garbanzo beans, chopped tomatoes and diced avocados in a serving bowl and set aside. Process spinach, cilantro, onion and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add to chopped veggies.

2. Stir together dressing ingredients and pour over veggies. Stir in cooled quinoa and let sit in refrigerator for 10 minutes or up to 1 hour before serving so the flavors can marinate. Serve cold.

From www.thediva-dish.com