Easy Southwest Quinoa

This is a delicious vegan recipe using quinoa, a protein-rich grain.  It's a quick and easy one-dish meal!  I adapted this from the recipe on the back of my Archer Farms quinoa.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 bag frozen steam-in-bag southwest corn & black bean mix*
• 3 Tbsp. lime juice
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. ground cumin

After rinsing, combine the quinoa and water in a rice cooker and cook using the white rice setting.  When quinoa is ready, follow package directions to steam the frozen veggie mix in the microwave.  Meanwhile, combine lime juice, olive oil, and cumin in a small bowl.

Add vegetables and dressing to quinoa and mix together.

Makes 4 servings.

*Note: If you don't have the frozen veggie mix, the recipe is still pretty easy. In place of the mix, use

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can sweet corn, drained
1 red bell peper, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

I'm Back!!

For the past couple of years, Mr. Vegetarian has been doing most of the cooking while I drowned in work. Now he's working and I'm back in the kitchen. It's fun (so far)!

Yesterday I was shopping and found a bag of quinoa at Target. I've been hearing a lot about it, so I picked it up to look at it. It had a WONDERFUL looking recipe on the back, so I decided to get some and try it out.

The recipe called for black beans, corn, and a red bell pepper, along with some seasonings. Imagine my delight when I found a blend of just those things, already prepared, in the freezer section just a couple of aisles away!

I'm lazy, of course, so I immediately snatched it up. And at home, I googled directions for how to cook quinoa in a rice cooker. Gluten Free Goddess has very helpful instructions along with more quinoa recipes.

I plan to play with this recipe today, and if it's good, I'll post the whole thing!