I had always been intrigued by the idea of eating quinoa, but I was a little intimidated to cook it myself. I had only had quinoa in two dishes–one in a roasted butternut squash spinach salad at a local restaurant and then in a broth bowl at Panera. That was the extent of my quinoa consumption. But I knew that it had huge health benefits (TONS of protein, fiber, B12, magnesium….that’s just to name a few). And it was a grain. I texted my friend Sarah last week while I was in Walmart telling her I was taking a leap of faith and buying a box and that I needed her favorite recipe. Luckily, she was headed into Walmart and met up with me to talk about her favorite recipe. She emailed it to me and I tried it a few days later!
(Note: I accidentally messed up on the recipe and had to alter the recipe super fast–like, in the middle of cooking because I misread the directions. So this is my version. But I really like Sarah’s as a dip–which is how she served it Friday night.)
Sarah’s Southwest Quinoa
I cup cooked quinoa
1 can drained black beans
1 bag frozen corn kernels
1/2 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, minced (I used 1 tsp minced garlic)
1. Cook the quinoa and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
2. Combine the black beans, corn, onion, and red bell pepper and sauté on the stove until onions are transparent (and corn is cooked thorough).
3. Combine all of the sautéed vegetables and cooked quinoa in a bowl.
4. Mix together olive oil, lime juice, salt, cumin, and garlic and pour over the quinoa and vegetables. Mix together well.
This will be served hot. This can be a side dish or even your whole meal. You can also add in grilled chicken! I first ate it as a side in our meal one night and then ate it for lunch by itself the next day. It was filling just by itself!
This is such an easy introduction dish to quinoa and will be on rotation in our house!
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