Good Eats :: Mexican Quinoa

My friend found this recipe on pinterest and makes it all the time.
Now I see why. It's super easy and delicious. I made mine without meat but I'm sure it would be just as delicious with ground turkey, chicken, steak or even with a piece of fish. Enjoy!

Mexican Quinoa

• 1 Cup Rinsed Quinoa (I was low on ingredients so I actually used the remaining quinoa and brown rice I had on hand. About a half cup of each give or take. It worked just as well.)

• 1 Can (15.5 oz) Black Beans. Rinsed and Drained.
• 1 Can (15.5 oz) Unsweetened Corn. Rinsed and Drained.
• 1 Can (15.5 oz) of Chicken Stock
• 1/2 Cup of Water
• 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil

•  2 Gloves of garlic. If you like more garlic, feel free to add more. I think fresh garlic is delicious but pungent and I don't like to smell like it the next day.

• Small Spanish Onion. A white onion would work too.
• *1 Tbsp of Cumin
• *1 Tbsp of Chili Powder (I like heat so please use less or omit if you don't like a kick!)
• *1 Tbsp of Adobe Seasoning 
• *1/2 Tbsp of Cayenne Pepper (Again, I like my food to bite back)
• Canned or oven roasted tomatoes.  I had leftover vine ripened tomatoes that I roasted earlier in the week so I threw them in.

I started by heating up the olive oil in my pan and adding the quinoa. I bought pre-rinsed quinoa since apparently rinsing quinoa is a thing. I don't know who has time or patience to rinse their grains but check the box before buying it to save yourself the extra effort.
I lightly toasted the quinoa over a low heat for a few minutes before adding the garlic and onion.

I then added a little bit of the chicken stock so the onions had some liquid to cook in. I threw my seasonings in, making sure to coat the onions and garlic. Once the onions were translucent, I added in the remaining stock, water and quinoa (quinoa/rice combo).

I stirred up the onion, garlic, quinoa in the liquid and brought the heat to high then I added in the beans, corn and tomatoes before I covered the pot to bring it all to a boil.

Once the mixture boiled for about 3 mins, I reduced the heat and let it simmer, stirring occasionally until the quinoa was cooked through.  All in all, it cooked for roughly 35 to 40 mins while I cleaned my kitchen and watched HGTV.

It was a one pot, super simple meal that I topped with fresh scallions and some greek yogurt!

I will definitely be adding this to my meal rotation.

Recipe adapted from A Teaspoon of Happiness