Easy Quinoa with 5 Veggies for Slow Cooker

Easy Quinoa with 5 Veggies for Slow Cooker

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups quinoa, rinsed unless you buy quinoa that has already been rinsed

½ cup brown rice, uncooked

6 cups chicken bouillon or chicken broth - I use Wyler’s Instant Bouillon (Chicken), which comes in cubes or granules

2 cups of “Seasoning Blend” by “Fresh Frozen” – purchased in a bag in frozen section of grocery store (includes chopped onions, green peppers, red peppers, and celery).  Any frozen pepper blend will probably be just fine.

2 cups frozen chopped spinach – purchased in a bag in frozen section of grocery store

1 TBS dried basil

½ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. garlic powder

1 TBS olive oil

Prior to creating this recipe, most of the quinoa dishes I had ever eaten were cold and were of the rabbit food variety.   You know… cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. 

This, on the other hand, is a real stick-to-your-ribs quinoa dish.  It is served hot and reminds me of my mother’s homemade turkey stuffing.  It’s WAY healthier, though.  If you haven’t already heard about the health benefits of this Supergrain of the Future (quinoa) then, well, you just really need to read Pinterest more often.

Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa is the brand of quinoa that I buy.  According to the label, it has already been rinsed and air-dried.  I have never rinsed mine and it is always delicious.  At first I didn’t know that after you buy it, you are supposed to keep the bag of quinoa in your fridge or freezer so it will stay fresh longer!

The 5 veggies are: onion, green pepper, red pepper, celery, and spinach

The other ingredients 

Spray slow cooker with cooking spray.

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil.   Dissolve the chicken bouillon cubes or granules in boiling water according to directions on label.  You can use canned chicken broth if you would like.

Put all ingredients in the slow cooker and stir.  The quinoa will sink to the bottom.

This is what it looks like before you cook it.

Cover and cook on LOW for 3.5 hours.  Stir/fluff.  Makes 10-12 servings.  

On the left: after cooking but before stirring
On the right: after stirring

My nephew Hunter piling it on his plate because it is DELICIOUS!   … and did I say HEALTHY?!

My inspiration for this recipe came from a recipe by Amanda from Moms with Crockpots.  For her recipe, you chop green beans, a carrot, etc.  My recipe needed a lot more liquid and cooks on Low for a shorter time so that the food doesn’t stick to the sides and bottom of the slow cooker.  I used the word “Easy” because by using frozen vegetables, there is no slicing and dicing… less preparation time.

The next time I have leftovers of this dish, I plan to add more chicken broth and turn the leftovers into quinoa/veggie soup!

Enjoy!

PRINTABLE VERSION: Link to printable version of recipe on one page:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7BIf1kqh0WkdXhHeU1kTlZteEk/edit?usp=sharing

...and that's my 2 cents' worth, Cheryl

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Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole

 

Doesn’t this look like comfort food?  It’s so delicious and yet it has 2 POUNDS of vegetables in the 9 x 13!  Yes, I said VEGETABLES.  I got the inspiration for this recipe after eating hash brown casserole leftovers for three days in a row… and I still wasn’t tired of it.  I’ve had the creamed cauliflower at Ruby Tuesday and it’s pretty good.  Last week I had cauliflower au gratin at a restaurant and it was to-die-for.  …and so this recipe was born.  Now I can eat it as often as I darn well please and not feel as guilty.  There are not any potatoes in it at all!

Ingredients:

1 lb. bag of frozen broccoli florets

1 lb. bag of frozen cauliflower

1 can cream of celery soup (98% Fat Free)

1 (8 oz.) container of light sour cream

2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1-2 TBS dehydrated “chopped onion” OR ½ cup fresh chopped onion

            I used 2 TBS dehydrated “chopped onion”

½ cup milk

1 ts salt

½ ts ground black pepper

Topping:

½ stack Ritz crackers, crushed up

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Be sure to buy broccoli florets instead of cut broccoli because the cut broccoli seems to have more stems.

Cook the broccoli and the cauliflower.  I cooked the broccoli in the microwave (COVERED) for 7 minutes. 

I also cooked the cauliflower in the microwave (covered) for 7 minutes.

 Chop up the cooked vegetables so they’re not so chunky.

Mix the next 7 ingredients (soup, sour cream, cheese, onion, milk, salt, and pepper) in a large bowl.

Add the broccoli and the cauliflower to the mixture.  Mix well.  Put in greased 9 x 13” casserole dish.

 Crush ½ stack of Ritz crackers and sprinkle on top.

Bake uncovered for 35 minutes or until heated through.  Enjoy!!

Notes: You can use fresh broccoli and cauliflower, BUT frozen vegetables have at least as many nutrients as fresh vegetables (Google it if you don’t believe me), so more work for you or less work - your choice.  I’m just sayin’.

You can use all broccoli or all cauliflower.  For example, if your family likes high carb comfort food, try using 2 lbs. of cauliflower and no broccoli the first time – that way it will look more appealing to them because it will look more like macaroni and cheese or hash brown casserole – but cauliflower is a VEGETABLE! Yeah!

To cut calories in this dish, I recommend:

Decrease cheese amount to 1 ½ cups

Skip Ritz topping or decrease to ¼ stack

Use fat free sour cream

Use skim milk

 Be sure to stick on label before freezing - of course!

Another great thing about this dish is that it FREEZES well!!  My son and his fiancé tried it after it had been cooked, frozen, thawed, and reheated in the microwave.  They gave it a big thumbs up.

To print out this recipe on one sheet with one photo, click this link:  https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7BIf1kqh0WkYlpwVDhvYXFOM2M

 

… and that’s my 2 cents’ worth, Cheryl

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