Quinoa Crusted Quiche

Quinoa Crusted Quiche
Inspired by a Lynn's Kitchen Adventures recipe
Makes 6 Servings


1.5 cups quinoa cooked in chicken stock
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 pound (5 links) Italian Turkey Sausage, cooked
3 oz. 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese
1 tbsp Frank’s cayenne pepper sauce
3 eggs
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1 tsp minced garlic

Cook quinoa in chicken broth per package instructions. Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Remove sausage from casings and cook until no longer pink, 7-8 minutes. Once quinoa is cooked, press quinoa into the bottom of a rectangular pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Drizzle with melted butter. Combine sausage, cheeses, and hot pepper sauce and spread over quinoa. Beat eggs, milk, garlic powder,
onion powder and garlic. Pour over sausage over mixture. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information: 405 calories, 32 carbs, 18 fat grams and 28 protein grams.

Review: I loved it. Austin said, "it's good, but it's weird to eat quinoa for breakfast." hehe I personally like a grain at breakfast time, it kind of reminded me of the breakfast risotto. Anyway, I thought the spicy sausage added a lot of flavor, and as usual the Cabot cheese melted well and tasted great without adding too many calories and fat grams. I couldn't really taste the egg, but it did help keep it all together and made the quinoa a bit more crispy than usual. All in all, i'd make it again, but maybe next time in a rectangular dish so it would be easier to eat then the deep oval dish!

One serving!

Mexican Quinoa Skillet

Mexican Quinoa Skillet
Inspired by a $5 Dinners Recipe
Makes 4 Servings

2 tsp minced garlic, jarred
1 pound 96/4 ground beef
½ cup onion, diced
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large tomato, diced
2 small summer squash, diced
hot sauce, to taste
1 cup quinoa, dry
1 1/2 cup water
Optional: 2 green onions and fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

Add large pan to medium heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add beef and onion and stir until beef is mostly browned, about 5 minutes. Add taco seasonings and stir for 1 minute. Add black beans, tomato and squash. Drop in a bit of hot sauce. Stir, and then add quinoa and water. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 20 minutes. Remove lid, stir, then add lid and cook for another 5 minutes until quinoa is done and most of the liquid is gone. Remove from heat, divide into four servings, and top with green onions and cilantro.

Nutritional Information: 450 calories, 59 carbs, 8 fat grams and 36 protein grams.

Review: Awesome, healthy, filling, rainbow recipe! I was really happy with this one, especially since it's a one-pot (or skillet!) recipe - I love when you don't have to cook the carb in a separate pot! I especially enjoyed all of the colors and flavors from the tomatoes, squash, black beans and green onions. And of course - finding another quinoa recipe we love  makes me very happy. This one is a winner and will be made again, and again.

Warm Quinoa and Chickpea Salad

Warm Quinoa and Chickpea Salad

Adapted from Fitness Magazine
Makes 4 Servings

1.25 cups dry quinoa
1 ¼ cup water
1 ¼ cup chicken broth
2 tsp minced garlic, jarred
¾ tsp salt
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ tsp black pepper
2 ½ tbsp olive oil
1 15.5-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
20 grams slivered almonds, finely diced
1/2 large red bell pepper (100 grams), diced
2 cups wild arugula (60 grams), divided into 4 (use more if desired)

Add quinoa to pot, along with water and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 12-15 minutes, until water is absorbed and quinoa can be fluffed with a fork. Meanwhile, add garlic, salt, lemon juice, black pepper and olive oil to a large bowl. Stir, then add chickpeas, almonds and bell pepper. Mix well. Once quinoa is done, add to bowl and stir. Divide mixture into four servings (each 228 grams) and serve each over 15 grams arugula.

Nutritional Information: 422 calories, 57 carbs, 16 fat grams and 12 protein grams.

Review: Wow. I was nervous about this. I love quinoa, but didn't know how I felt about a "warm salad." Well, I'm a fan! The quinoa and beans made a soft, almost creamy mix, but the nuts added a nice crunch, along with the arugula and peppers. It was a blend I would have NEVER put together on my own, but it tasted AMAZING. The original recipe called for 1/3 black olives too... I'm glad I left those out. I feel like they would have overpowered the dish. There is nothing else I would change about this - VERY happy with this rainbow, meatless dish! I will say, and I noted above, that more arugula would have been welcome (and clearly wouldn't have added calories!). And speaking of calories (and fat) I don't think I would have missed it if say 1/2-1 tbsp of oil wasn't in here - just saying!

Curried Chicken with Quinoa

Curried Chicken with Quinoa
Adapted from a Fitness magazine recipe
Makes 4 Servings

4 servings quinoa (1 cup)
2 cups chicken broth
1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp lime juice, divided
¼ cup cilantro, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp red curry paste
2 tsp canola oil
1 tbsp plus ½ tsp minced garlic, divided
1 pound chicken, raw and diced
1 6-oz. container 0% Greek yogurt (Fage)
1 tsp minced ginger

Cook quinoa according to package with chicken broth. Combine with jalapeno, 1 tsp of lime juice and half of cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, whisk together paste, oil, 1 tbsp garlic and 1 tbsp lime juice. Add chicken; toss to coat. Mix together yogurt, ginger, remaining cilantro and 1 tsp garlic in a small bowl. Heat a pan to medium. Cook chicken until no longer pink, about 5 minutes per side. Separate quinoa mixture into four bowls. Divide chicken and sauce and pour over quinoa. Divide yogurt mixture into four servings and spoon over chicken.

Nutritional Information: 420 calories, 52 carbs, 8 fat grams and 35 protein grams.

Review: We really like this. It tastes good hot and cold, which is fun. And the yogurt sauce definitely added a nice, tangy topping. The chicken had a great flavor too it, and don't be scared of the jalapeno - it didn't add too much heat. The red curry paste added the most heat but it was very bearable. I'm all for a quinoa and really liked this easy-to-make recipe. It did take a bit of prep with the cilantro and jalpeno, but mostly it was just opening jars and measuring out yumminess. We will DEFINITELY have this one again!

Greek Style Shrimp with Christmas Quinoa

Greek Style Shrimp with Christmas Quinoa
Inspired by an April 2010 Fitness Magazine recipe
Makes 4 Servings

1 pound shrimp, raw and defrosted
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice of one lemon
1 ½ tsp minced garlic
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup parsley, coarsely chopped
3 oz. fat-free feta
4 servings quinoa, cooked per package instructions with chicken broth
2 cups chicken broth (for quinoa)

Place shrimp, 1 tablespoon of oil, half of lemon juice, 1 tsp garlic, ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper in a large ziplock bag. Let it sit. In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, parsley, feta and remaining olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Add cooked quinoa and mix well. Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Place shrimp in pan in a single layer and cook for 2 minutes. Flip and cook for 2 more minutes. Serve with quinoa.

Nutritional Information: 392 calories, 36 carbs, 12 fat grams and 34 protein grams.

Review: Awesome! I really liked the flavors and it blended well (and quickly). I liked how the warm quinoa softened the tomatoes and parsley and almost melted the feta. I'm not sure how well this would reheat (i'm not a huge fan of reheating shrimp), but I think you could easily cook the shrimp for 2 and then reheat the quinoa the next day and cook shrimp for 2 again. It's just heating it up since the shrimp are already cooked. Just a thought - it's a great one though!

Quinoa with Garlic Chicken & Veggies.

Quinoa with Garlic Chicken & Veggies

Makes 2 Servings

Chicken Breast, 8 oz.
Quinoa (dry) ½ cup
1 Can Fat-Free Swanson Chicken Broth, divided
56 grams Green bell peppers, diced
60 grams Tomatoes, diced
60 grams Red bell peppers, diced
60 grams Mushrooms, diced
1.5 oz. Fat-Free Feta Cheese
3 tsp Olive Oil, divided
2 tsp minced garlic

Fill pot with quinoa and 1 cup chicken broth. Once it boils, reduce to simmer, cover, and set timer for 12 minutes. Then get out two pans – one medium sized and one large. Spray both with nonstick olive oil spray, and add 1.5 tsp of olive oil to each pan. Set them both over medium. Add chicken seasoned with salt and pepper to the medium sized pan. Stir, adding ½ cup chicken broth. Cook until chicken is no longer pink, about 5-6 minutes. For the other pan, add garlic, then add all veggies. Stir until veggies are soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add chicken/broth mixture to veggie pan, add quinoa to veggie pan and pour the last of the chicken broth in. Sprinkle with feta and salt, and stir for 1-2 minutes. Then serve.

Nutritional Information: 412 calories, 38 carbs, 12 fat grams and 39 protein grams.

Review: It was so good and SO filling. I was super stuffed (in a good way) and am so glad my first attempt at Quinoa worked out thanks to Mon’s great tips about using chicken broth instead of water and tons of veggies with feta – YUM!