Quinoa Chili

Recipe by Cynthia Gough

 

 

This was a healthy go to recipe back when I ate meat all the time. So I've modified it with quinoa instead, and it's delicious!

1/2 cup water

3 cups chopped onions

1 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can or 2 cups cooked pinto beans, rinsed and drained (kidney beans shown in picture)

1 can or 2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed and drained

3/4 cups quinoa

4-6 cups vegetable broth or water (depending how much liquid you prefer)

2 T chopped or minced garlic

1-2 T chili powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp mustard powder

Saute onions in 1/2 cup water over medium-high heat until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients, and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

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Hungry Hungry Hippie - Quinoa Granola

This recipe is the motherload when it comes to nuts and seeds!  If you want a powerhouse of nutrients in one dish - this would be ideal.  Eat it as a snack or with milk for cereal - what a start to your day!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole rolled oats (certified gluten free)
• 1 cup buckwheat (either groats or uncooked hot cereal mix is fine)
• 1/3 cup quinoa (I used 1/6 cup each of of red and regular quinoa)
• 2 T chia seeds
• 3/4 cup raw almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup raw walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

Directions:

Directions:

In large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (first 4 listed).

Chop nuts and add to the bowl along with seeds and coconut.

Mix well.

Add liquids (melted coconut oil and maple syrup).

Mix well.

Spread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 60 minutes at 225 degrees.

Let it cool and then break apart (you don’t need to actually break it, it crumbles pretty easily if you just brings the ends of the parchment paper together). 

Original Recipe at the Hungry Hungry Hippie.

Quinoa and Strawberry Salad - Karma Chow

Don't you just love Karma Chow?  I do!  Not just because Tony Horton is a fan, either.  It's National Strawberry month AND National Salad month!  Do you know what that means?  It means my world is happy since I love both!  I found this little beauty and would like to share it.  

Ingredients

• 1 c. quinoa, rinsed, cooked & cooled
• 1 c. strawberries, quartered
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/2 c. jicama, peeled and diced
• 1/2 c. red bell pepper, diced small
• 2 scallions, white parts only, thinly sliced
• 2 tbs freshly chopped mint

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over top and stir to combine.

Citrus Dressing

• ¼ c. olive oil
• 3 tbs lime juice
• juice of one orange
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• sea salt
• 2 tsp agave nectar
• 2 tbs rice vinegar

Mix dressing ingredients together in a blender or shaker bottle

Tex-Mex Quinoa Salad - Cinco de Mayo!

You will need:

1 c. quinoa
1 can black beans, drained
1 medium onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 large tomatoes, diced
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
The juice from 3 small limes
1 Tbs. cumin
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
2 Tbs. cooking oil (I use coconut)

Directions:

1. Bring 2 c. water to boil and add quinoa. Cover with lid and simmer until all water is absorbed (about 15-20 minutes), remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and set aside.
2. Sautée minced garlic and finely chopped onion in oil until translucent, adding spices.
3. Add cooked quinoa to sautéed mixture and stir well. Add can of black beans and combine.
4. Add diced tomatoes and cilantro, then pour lime juice over salad and stir well.
5. I like to serve mine with avocado slices and tortilla chips, but you could eat this by itself, as a side dish, on top of a salad, etc.…the possibilities are endless!

Pineapple Salsa

Pineapple Salsa
   
 Ingredients:
1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
and rinsed
   
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 green chile peppers, chopped
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1.     In a large bowl, toss together pineapple, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, corn, black beans, onions, green chile peppers, orange juice, and cilantro. Season with cumin, salt, and pepper. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Add On:  We subbed garbanzo beans for black beans and it was fantastic!  Also, mix with quinoa for a wonderful quinoa salad!

Quinoa Granola Bars

Ingredients 

1 cup rolled oats

3/4 uncooked quinoa

2/3 cup nuts (almonds, pecans and/or hazelnuts have been tested and approved)

1/3 cup raisins

1/4 cup cranberries

1/3 cup prunes

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

Directions
Yields 12-15
Preheat oven to 160C/325F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine all ingredients except bananas in a food processor. Pulse until ingredients are finely chopped and stick together. Add mashed banana and pulse again until well incorporated.

Use the prepared baking sheet as surface and fill large cookie cutters with the batter. Gently remove the cutter to keep the bars in shape. Repeat until all batter is used up.
Bake 15-20 minutes. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Keysha's Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
chopped green onions
half of a peeled cucumber, chopped up
halved red grapes
3 T olive oil (to taste - could be more or less)
3 T white wine vinegar (to taste - could be more or less)

Directions:

2 cups water with 1 cup quinoa in a pot. bring to boil then cover and simmer on low for about 15 minutes (until water is absorbed). Then mix it with the rest of the ingredients.  Refrigerate until chilled. 

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is actually a seed that cooks up like a grain.  It has a mild, nutty flavor and is high in essential amino acids.

Serves 2 as an entree, or 4 as a side

1 1/2 cups quinoa

3 cups water

1/2 cup cooked organic chickpeas (or half a 15 ounce can of organic chickpeas)

5 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds

1/2 English Cucumber, diced

2 tablespoons capers

3 large spicy olives, pitted and chopped

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

juice of one organic lemon

sea salt

Directions:

1.  To cook the quinoa, rinse well, then cover with the 3 cups of water; bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.

2.  Put the quinoa, chickpeas, tomatoes, hemp seeds, cucumber, capers, olives, and pine nuts into a bowl and mix well.  Drizzle with lemon juice and add salt to taste.  Depending on how juicy your lemon is, you may wish to add more.  You can serve this warm, chilled, or room temp. 

Sweet Potato Quinoa Burgers

My friend Tiffiny sent me this recipe, which she found at The Joy of Eating clean.  I believe they are a MUST TRY.  Especially when summer comes and all of the BYOM invites go out.  

Ingredients:

• 1 can (15 ounces) no salt added black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 cups cubed sweet potatoes, peeled (about 3 regular sized potatoes)
• 3/4 cup sweet corn, frozen or fresh (thawed if frozen, fresh grilled corn would be excellent in this dish)
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 tbsp Garlic Gold Oil or olive oil
• heaping 1/3 cup garbanzo bean flour (you can also use finely ground rolled oats or almond flour)
• 2 tbsp roasted sunflower seeds
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• fresh black pepper to taste
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)
• 1 tbsp hot sauce (optional – Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce works great in these burgers)

Preparation:

1. Fill a large pot 3/4 full of water and bring to a boil on the stove.  Add the sweet potatoes and lower the heat to simmering.  Let the potatoes cook for about 20-30 minutes.  Drain the potatoes and set aside to cool.  (You can also use a steamer bag and cook the potatoes in the microwave.)
2. While your potatoes are cooling preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or non stick foil.
3. Once your potatoes have cooled use a fork to mash them.  You want them mashed but not creamy.
4. In a large mixing bowl add half of the black beans and mash them with a fork.
   

   Add the rest of the beans and the remaining ingredients
5. Add the rest of the beans and the remaining ingredients.  Stir until just combined.
6. Form the mixture into 10 balls.  Each burger should be about 1/2″ thick.
   

   Place each patty on your prepared baking sheet
7. Place each patty on your prepared baking sheet and place in the oven for 30 minutes, flipping the burgers over once halfway through baking.
8. Remove from the oven and serve!

Nutritional Info:

Makes 10 burgers.

Serving size 1 burger.

Nutrients per serving:  Calories: 132.5, Cal. from Fat: 28.5, Total Fat: 3g, Sat. Fat: 0g, Carbs: 21.5g, Fiber: 4.5g, Sugars: 2.5g, Protein: 5g, Sodium: 30.1mg, Chol: 0mg

Notes:

These burgers save really well.  Make sure you let them cool completely before storing.  Place them in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.  You can also store them in freezer safe bags in the freezer for up to 6 months.  To reheat simply place on a baking sheet and cook at 350 degrees until warmed all the way through.

You can pan fry these burgers if you wish.  I think they taste like hash browns this way!  Heat a pan to medium heat and add a tbsp or so of oil.  Cook on each side for about 5 minutes each or until golden brown.

To grill the burgers, bake in the oven for 10 minutes on each side.  Remove the burger from the oven and place on a preheated grill (make sure to grease your grill properly).  Grill each side for about 3 minutes.

Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

3 acorn squash, halved and seeds removed

1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1 medium carrot, scraped, quartered lengthwise and sliced

1 small onion, 1/4-inch diced

1 small red bell pepper, 1/4-inch diced

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced

1 15-oz can petite-diced tomatoes, undrained

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

2-3 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1. Heat your oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Brush the acorn squash halves with olive oil and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste. Roast for 40-45 minutes, or until the squash flesh is tender and lightly browned on the top edges.

2. Put the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer and rinse with water. In a medium sauce pan, bring 1 1/4 cup water and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil. Add the rinsed quinoa, return to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and cook for 12 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender. Let rest, covered, for 5 minutes before fluffing gently with a fork.

3. While the squash is roasting and the quinoa is cooking and resting: Heat a 12-inch, non-stick pan over medium heat.  Add the carrot, onion, bell pepper, and garlic, and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add the zucchini, tomatoes, oregano, and basil. Bring it all to a boil over medium-high heat, cover, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the veggies are tender. Remove from the heat.

4. Add the cooked quinoa to the pan and stir until well combined. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary. Spoon 1 cup quinoa mixture into each roasted squash half (my squashes were a little small so I couldn't quite get a cup into each half; I just spooned the extra onto the plates). Return the stuffed squash to the oven for 5 minutes to heat through.

Makes 6 servings.

Original recipe includes sausage, but Tiffiny is a friend of mine and helped tweak it!  See her recipes at The Bake-off Flunkie.

Red Beans and Quinoa

Ingredients

• 1 bag of Red Beans
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp cajon seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups of dry quinoa, cooked according to package (will make about 5 cups)

Instructions

1. Rinse the beans throughly
2. Place in a large pot add enough water to cover beans by 2 inches. You will not drain the extra water so it is better to start with less and add more as needed while cooking.
3. Bring to rolling boil and let them cook for 1 hour.
4. Then add the onion, garlic, and bay leaves.
5. Reduce to a simmer and cover.
6. If the beans seem too watery remove while cooking.
7. Cook about 2 hours, until beans are soft.
8. Serve the beans with quinoa.

Easy Beans and Quinoa

From The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition

Ingredients:

1 small yellow onion

2 medium garlic cloves, minced or crushed

1/4 cup vegetable broth

1/2 cup dry quinoa

1 can no-salt added pinto or black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup water

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1.  In a medium pot over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in vegetable broth for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent.

2.  Add quinoa, pinto beans, water, cumin, sea salt, and black pepper.  Bring to a boil, lower heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently, or until all liquid is absorbed.

3.  Stir in corn and cilantro until heated through.  Remove from heat and serve.

Serves 4 (1 cup serving)

170 calories, 2g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 180mg sodium, 30g total carbohydrates, 6g dietary fiber, 2g sugars, 8g protein, 64mg calcium, 3mg iron

Pumpkin Quinoa Pancakes

From Quinoa - The Everyday Superfood 365 Cookbook

Makes about 15 pancakes.

1 1/2 cups of quinoa flour (you can run your quinoa through a nutrimill or buy quinoa flour at Whole Foods)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups of "buttermilk" (Add 1 T of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of unsweetened coconut or almond milk)

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 "eggs" (2 T ground flax, 6 T water - mix together and let sit for a minute to use in place of eggs in cooking)

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

maple syrup

Measure the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt into a large bowl.  Mix well.  

Whisk together the milk, pumpkin, "eggs" and oil in a medium bowl.  Add to the flour mixture and stir until just blended.

Grease a large nonstick frying pan or spray with cooking oil and place on medium heat.  When hot, pour 1/4 cup portions of batter into the pan.  Pancakes will be ready to flip when you begin to observe bubbles and the underside is brown.  Flip and cook the pancake for another 20 to 25 seconds, until the center springs back when pressed.  If the pancakes buckle when sliding the spatula under them, lightly oil the pan again for the next pancakes.  Serve with maple syrup and pecans if desired.

Quinoa, Carrot and Lentil Stew

From the Quinoa The Everyday Superfood 365

To make this recipe a soup rather than a stew, reduce the thickness by precooking the quinoa according to the directions and then adding it to the soup.

1/2 cup quinoa

1/2 cup red lentils

4 cups vegetable stock

1 cup water

1 1/2 cups sliced carrots

1 cup diced red onion

2 tsp minced fresh garlic

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup diced red bell pepper

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro

Combine the quinoa, lentils, stock and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Add the carrots, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander and salt and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the red pepper and cook for 5 more minutes.  Add the cilantro and adjust the seasoning if necessary.  Serve immediately.

A very quick meal that serves 4-6 people. 

Southwest Quinoa Soup

Ingredients
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups uncooked organic quinoa

2 1/2 cubes vegan boullion
1 1/2 tbsp all natural taco seasoning
1/2 chopped red onion
1 chopped carrot
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tbsp tumeric
1/2 tbsp cumin
Bay leaf
1/2 can of green enchilada sauce
1/2 can of green chilies
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 cup frozen corn
1 (8 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 lime
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 sliced avocado
1 chopped scallion

Directions

In a large pot combine the first 16 ingredients (through diced tomatoes) and ring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until carrots are tender (about 15-20 minutes).

Ladle into bowls, then dress with fresh cilantro, 2-3 drops of lime oil, avocado slices, and chopped scallions. For a complete dinner serve with a big salad and a slice of whole grain bread.

Taco Salad

About a month ago, my bestie and I bought a bag of sprouted dried beans at Costco.  Since then, we have experimented, putting it into salads and other recipes.  It actually makes a great taco filling!  We used the following recipe tonight for dinner.

Vegan Taco Filling - serves a lot, and can be used as a chili

2 cups TruRoots Organic Bean Trio 

1 cup organic quinoa

1 green bell pepper chopped

1 onion chopped

3 pieces of garlic chopped

1 can of organic diced tomatoes

1/4 cup lawrey's taco seasoning

2 tsp organic coconut oil

Make the Organic Bean Trio and Quinoa according to the instructions.  Sautee the chopped bell pepper and onion in the coconut oil.  Put all of the ingredients into a crockpot and turn on high for one hour, then turn down to low, mix every hour or so, and let simmer.

Serve as tacos with corn tortillas or tortillas of choice.  Or, put on top of a salad of romaine.

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