Quinoa

Mpalamar
Mpalamar Posts: 33 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Today, for the first time ever, I decided to finally make some quinoa with my dinner.

To rinse it, I didn't have a strainer small enough, so I used a coffee filter instead (hey, it worked!). I cooked it up in a pot, added some spices and voila! With it I had salmon and fresh asparagus.

... I'm really not sure how I feel about quinoa. It was meh, but not terrible. I see it better mixed into a salad, but on it's own, I'm not too crazy about it. I've decided to give it another shot - maybe I just need a good recipe. So, if anyone has a quinoa recipe that they really love, please feel free to share. I want to enjoy this seed, so I am looking for a recipe that will make this seed worthy of a second chance :)

And I have a question for storing left overs, I have a small tupperware full of left over quinoa. How long can it be stored in the fridge for? I also see a lot of recipes saying to eat it warm or at room temperature, is there a reason? It can be eaten cold, if desired?

Thanks in advance for all replies.

Have a good evening,
Mel

Replies

  • Showcase_Brodown
    Showcase_Brodown Posts: 919 Member
    I tried it for the first time a couple nights ago. It had some feta cheese and tomatoes, etc in with it and was fairly tasty, however I don't have a recipe.
  • Mpalamar
    Mpalamar Posts: 33 Member
    I tried it for the first time a couple nights ago. It had some feta cheese and tomatoes, etc in with it and was fairly tasty, however I don't have a recipe.

    Ooooh, feta and tomatoes sound good! Thank you for that, maybe I will add that in next time.
  • rf1583
    rf1583 Posts: 65
    This is a recipe for quinoa fried rice. It's delicious and serves two people at 554 calories each, 3.3g of fat, 23g of protein. Of course you can always divide it into more smaller portions too.

    Ingredients
    1 cup quinoa
    1 ½ cups water
    ¼ small onion, chopped
    2 carrots, peeled and chopped
    3 scallions, chopped and divided
    3 garlic cloves, minced
    1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
    2 eggs, lightly scrambled (still raw)
    ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
    Sauce:
    1 ½ tablespoons teriyaki sauce
    2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
    ¾ teaspoon sesame oil
    Instructions

    Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a medium saucepan, and then reduce to a simmer. Season with salt.
    Simmer for 15-20 minutes until quinoa is fluffy and cooked through. Remove from heat and let set for five minutes or so. Fluff with a fork.
    Mix teriyaki, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Set aside.
    Heat ½ tablespoon olive oil in a large sauté pan over a high heat. Add onion and carrot, cook about two minutes. Add 2 scallions, garlic to the pan. Cook another two minutes. Add in the rest of the olive oil and the quinoa. Stir-fry about two minutes. Add sauce and stir-fry until incorporated, about two minutes. Make a well in the center of the quinoa pour eggs in, scramble. Throw in peas, then toss everything together until the peas are warmed through, add remaining scallion and serve.
  • bluehenjen
    bluehenjen Posts: 29 Member
    The best quinoa recipe I've found thus far is: (1) Boil some water. (2) Cook the quinoa according to the directions. (3) Throw away the quinoa because...meh. ;-) But seriously, I've only had one dish that I thought was really great. It was a cool quinoa, cucumber, sugar snap pea, and pickled carrot (?) salad with a jalapeno vinaigrette. It was at a culinary school and I was never able to get the actual recipe.

    I do hope someone posts a good quinoa recipe because I *want* to like it.
  • liftingandlipstick
    liftingandlipstick Posts: 1,857 Member
    I pretty much treat it like rice- that is, I eat it warm/hot as a carb, alongside my meat and veg. I actually even cook it in my rice cooker. I've found it's way tastier cooked in broth than plain water though! If I have chicken or beef broth on hand, I'll use that. If not, I throw a few boullion cubes in with it. It should be fine in the fridge as long as leftover rice or pasta, 3-5 days or so?
  • aledba
    aledba Posts: 564 Member
    I like to flavour it with some S&P and fried garlic and then stuff it into pepper halves and roast in the oven. Sometimes, I top it with cheese. Also, I love using it in soups. Edit to say: I cook it first before using it in the above mentioned methods.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,988 Member
    I normally use it like rice.

    A quinoa salad I like combines quinoa, cooked shelled edamame. blanched snow peas, halved cherry tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, finely sliced red onion and vinaigrette.
  • JennafurC
    JennafurC Posts: 65 Member
    I love it in soup in place of pasta.
    Its good as a quinoa salad with balsamic vinegar, avocado, roasted peppers, edamame, asparagus

    I've made it as a dessert too...make quinoa with cinnamon in the water. When its cool, add whipped cream or cool whip. bananas, peaches, blueberries, etc and honey. So good.
  • healthyfoxx
    healthyfoxx Posts: 104 Member
    I love quinoa, and I eat it often. I just make it in a rice cooker and add a bit of vegetable bullion to the water for some extra flavor.

    If you want to try something different, instead of just straight-up quinoa, this recipe for "sloppy joes" is very very yummy: http://www.vegkitchen.com/recipes/pinto-bean-and-quinoa-sloppy-joes-2/
  • aledba
    aledba Posts: 564 Member
    I love it in soup in place of pasta.
    Its good as a quinoa salad with balsamic vinegar, avocado, roasted peppers, edamame, asparagus

    I've made it as a dessert too...make quinoa with cinnamon in the water. When its cool, add whipped cream or cool whip. bananas, peaches, blueberries, etc and honey. So good.
    YUS! How did I forget quinoa pancakes!!!!
  • Mpalamar
    Mpalamar Posts: 33 Member
    I've made it as a dessert too...make quinoa with cinnamon in the water. When its cool, add whipped cream or cool whip. bananas, peaches, blueberries, etc and honey. So good.

    I love this idea, although I wouldn't use whipped cream. However, it got me thinking... Quinoa and cinnamon, add some raisins and skim milk cook it in the oven... and maybe (just maybe) it'll turn out to be a half decent quinoa version of rice pudding...?
  • cardbucfan
    cardbucfan Posts: 10,571 Member
    I cook it in broth and while it's cooking, I sauté a bunch of chopped veggies-usually carrots, celery, sweet peppers, mushroom, and onion in some EVOO then in the last five minutes add in some chopped almonds and craisins. Once everything is cooked, combine the veggie mixture with the quinoa. It's yummy and tastes great as a hot side dish alongside some kind of meat or fish and it's great cold the next day.
  • healthyfoxx
    healthyfoxx Posts: 104 Member
    Oh! It can totally be stored and eaten cold. In fact, I make a batch of this quinoa tabbouleh and eat it for the rest of the week for dinner when it gets really hot outside. I eat it straight from the fridge, and it means no heating up my house by cooking.

    http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-quinoa-tabbouleh-90136
  • wallelf1
    wallelf1 Posts: 36 Member
    Quinoa & Turkey Meatballs

    Ingredients
    • 1/2 cup washed quinoa
    • 1 pound ground turkey (94% lean)
    • 1 cup chicken broth
    • 1/2 cup diced shallot
    • 4 garlic cloves, smashed
    • 2 egg equivalent -- Eggmates
    • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
    • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
    • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
    • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

    Preparation

    Preheat the oven to 450°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

    Put the quinoa and 1 cup chicken broth into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once you have strong bubble action, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the water is absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes. Check occasionally and stir to make sure no quinoa is burning at the bottom of the pan. Take the saucepan off the heat, transfer the quinoa to a medium mixing bowl, and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.

    After the quinoa has cooled, add all of the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix until all the ingredients are evenly distributed and well combined.

    Shape the meat mixture into balls that are a little smaller than a golf ball. Place them in even rows on the lined baking sheet. Place the sheet in the oven and bake the meatballs until they're slightly browned and crispy on top, 12 to 15 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, the safe internal temperature is 165°.

    Makes 25 (1.25 oz each) meatballs @ 43 calories each…3 meatballs is a serving.
    129 Calories per serving .

    I put this through the recipe builder to get the nutritional numbers. These are really good, btw. After they had cooled, I bagged and froze them. Then you can pull out what you need.
  • rhtexasgal
    rhtexasgal Posts: 572 Member
    I "beef" up taco meat with quinoa. As I have two growing boys, I cooked one pound of ground beef and once it is cooked but before adding the taco seasoning and water, I add at least a cup to cup and a half of plain cooked quinoa. Then I add the seasonings and water as normal. I wanted to make the beef go farther without cooking a second pound of beef and this fit the bill. My boys didn't really notice plus they got extra nutrients from the quinoa.
  • LoneWolfRunner
    LoneWolfRunner Posts: 1,160 Member
    I mix mine with mangoes, bananas, shredded coconut, pecans, vanilla and agave nectar... great for breakfast
  • Mangopickle
    Mangopickle Posts: 1,509 Member
    http://www.cherylstyle.com/showcase/healthy-kale-quinoa-patties-recipe/?gclid=CKaO_tmH7L8CFVQV7AodiQUAXg

    Super yummy. I use shredded 4 cheese Italian blend for the cheese. I form them into 12 patties and put them on a greased baking sheet , spray with olive oil and cook on the top rack of the oven at 400F for about 20-30 min til they are golden. Also make sure you really finely julienne the kale and finely chop the onions. I only use 2 cups of kale 'cause I like a tight patty and I don't bother with the scallions unless I have them on hand. I also only use 3 eggs. Ignore the video, hers were falling apart in the skillet. Mine also do well in the skillet but I can't be bothered to babysit that many patties so I just pop them in the oven, leftovers good for a week in fridge

    If you have a mini whoopee pie pan you can make these into great tots.
  • Amestris
    Amestris Posts: 152 Member
    I make a quinoa "risotto". I start by sauting onions, mushrooms or whatever veggies I am feeling. Deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine and then add chicken broth and quinoa. Once the quinoa is almost cooked I stir in some parmesan cheese.
  • thenolanz
    thenolanz Posts: 43 Member
    I make this one a lot, subbing Italian parsley for the cilantro:

    http://www.melskitchencafe.com/black-bean-and-sweet-corn-quinoa-salad/


    Made these once and they were tasty, too:

    http://www.melskitchencafe.com/cheesy-ham-and-broccoli-quinoa-bites/


    Going to try this once the weather is a bit cooler:


    http://www.melskitchencafe.com/chicken-and-butternut-squash-quinoa-stew/
  • CodeMonkey78
    CodeMonkey78 Posts: 320 Member
    It can definitely be eaten cold :).

    Personally, I never cook it in water. I'll use either a homemade chicken stock (if you want to watch sodium) or use chicken broth if you're in a time pinch and just don't really care.

    My favorite so far is to make a stir-fry with any fresh veggies, onions, and peppers I feel like using that day. Stir-fry the veggies first, add the cooked quinoa, and season however you wish. I could eat this dish on its own, but it goes well with any meat, fish, or tofu.
  • sfisher07
    sfisher07 Posts: 30 Member
    I eat it cold all the time. I cook the quinoa and cool it, then cut up sweet peppers, cucumbers, carrots and craisins. I mix a little olive oil with apple cider vinegar and just a tad of dijon mustard. I mix it all together and eat off it for a few days. One of my favorites!
  • rmdaly
    rmdaly Posts: 250 Member
    The Whole Foods website has a recipe for Quinoa Pilaf with dried cherries and nuts. I use cranberries and pecans. Its fast and good.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    One of the things I really like about working with quinoa is that you can throw other things in it from the very beginning and it won't hurt the cook time. So, when I'm in a pinch, I will do something like this:

    Quinoa
    Broccoli chopped fine
    Red pepper chopped fine
    Scallions chopped fine
    Squash chopped fine

    Add in spices you like, salt and pepper.

    Then cook it all together in chicken broth for more flavor.

    When it's done, I cut a loosely cooked poached egg on the top and maybe some leftover meat and...BOOM...Quinoa fried rice!

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