Cheesy Quinoa Bowl

This is one of the easiest meals ever! And so uberly delicious. I am totally enamored with roasting veggies right now... because, well, almost anything tastes good when it's roasted. I guess the same concept that applies to frying food applies to roasting food, because it's worked for me! Seriously, any veggie roasted equals happy stomach for me, plus, I don't get why brussels sprouts get such a bad rap? They're so friggin' delicious, and they're so cute - like mini cabbages, which, basically they are!

Anyways, the quinoa is just a great base to any meal you'd want to cook. It's incredibly simple. All you do is cook the quinoa in your rice cooker, and it does all the work for you! No simmering over a pesky stove or stirring and all that jazz. After it's all cooked, just quickly sauté it up with some garlic and Parmesan and by gosh, it's so tasty. 

I top it with whatever I have at the moment, like above, I had some roasted brussels sprouts, I wilted down some spinach, and topped it with feta and pine nuts and it was so satisfying and so healthy! One of my favorite quick meals, honestly. But the possibilities are endless. As a side to some grilled salmon, or the base of a salad - use your imagination :)

Cheesy Quinoa Bowl
Yields: about 6 servings


For the quinoa:
2 cups cooked quinoa (I used 1/2 regular and 1/2 red quinoa)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup crumbled French feta cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsn. olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste


Optional toppings:
roasted veggies of any kind
sautéed spinach with garlic
poached egg
seared salmon
... the options are endless


In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the quinoa and heat until warmed and the garlic flavor is fragrant throughout. Once warmed through, add the Parmesan and heat until it starts to melt, about 1 - 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, then stir in the feta cheese and pine nuts. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve under anything you'd like!

Quinoa-Farro Salad with Grilled Lemon Chicken

This quinoa salad has been my lifeline for the past month... and this just in: I'm still not sick of it!

It's love.

Inspired by a salad from a restaurant, I was determined to make it myself at home. Simply determined. So the next day I went to my local market to get my hands on some farro, which I must say is quite expensive compared to other grains! But on the upside, it's delicious and has this amazing toothy quality that adds to the quinoa's soft almost rice-like texture. If you want to keep it low budget - I suggest trying barley instead (I plan on trying it myself soon).

Anyways, with all the fresh herbs and veggies, it's simply perfect. I had never tried farro before and was stunned at how much I loved it. The combination might not sound so appetizing to non-health freaks but I swear, everyone who has tried has loved it! The lemon-y dressing and French feta make it so irresistible  and all of the textures keeps your taste buds guessing at each bite. This salad is equally amazing with some grilled shrimp on top!

Quinoa-Farro Salad with Grilled Lemon Chicken
Yields: 10 servings


For the chicken:
10 chicken tenders
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, zested and juiced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt


For the salad:
1 cup quinoa
1 cup farro
2 large red bell peppers, seeds removed, sliced, cut into 1" pieces
5 Persian cucumbers, seeds removed, sliced into 1 cm pieces
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup golden raisins, rehydrated in warm water
1 cup French feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped


For the dressing:

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. crushed dried mint

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. seasoned salt

To make the dressing, whisk together everything in a small bowl to blend and set aside in the refrigerator until needed. For the chicken, add the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, salt and pepper into a large bowl. Mix together and add the chicken. Stir well to coat, then cover the bowl in plastic wrap. Allow the chicken to marinate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Before grilling, allow the chicken to come to room temperature. Grill over a medium-high flame until cooked through, about 5 minutes on each side.


To cook the quinoa, add the quinoa and 1 1/4 cups of water into a rice cooker. Cook using the 'white rice' setting. Once done, remove the quinoa and allow to cool to room temperature. While the quinoa is cooking, heat a large sauce pot over high heat. Add the farro and 2 1/2 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low to a simmer. Cook for 20 - 30 minutes until tender. If there is excess water remaining, drain the farro and set aside to cool.


In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled grains, all of the vegetables and drained, re-hydrated raisins. Mix to combine. If not serving immediately at this point, you can refrigerate this mixture until ready to eat, it usually keeps in my refrigerator for up to a week. When ready to serve, toss in the feta cheese and enough dressing to lightly coat. Eat cold or at room temperature and serve with the warm chicken.

Double Broccoli Quinoa

I've been a bit lazy to write much lately; must still be in that holiday relaxation mode. But... I made this the other day and found myself itching to share it with you guys because it really is just that delicious. 

You know I love things that involve decadence and pure, utter gluttony. Example: the brown sugar-bacon waffles I made for a New Years Eve brunch. Sometimes though, I just love trying healthy recipes, but as always, they must taste good. When I want to try something new, healthy and delicious, I always turn to Heidi's recipes on 101 Cookbooks. She is seriously the supernatural food goddess! 

Anyways, on to this quinoa salad! It's simple, delicious and super satisfying. I absolutely loved, loved, loved it! If you've never tried quinoa, it's actually not a grain but rather a seed. It cooks up just like rice, heck, I even cooked mine in my rice cooker and it came out fantastically! It has this nice little crunch to it and has all kinds of good things packed into its little shell. 

My favorite part about this dish was the broccoli pesto. Wow, broccoli pesto, you've got something going on there! Combined with the toasty almond slivers, brine-y feta and smooth-as-butter avocado, you've got a great meal. If you still find yourself craving some protein, a grilled chicken breast would be fabulous on top.

Mise en place:

Double Broccoli Quinoa

Yields: 4 - 6 servings

Original recipe here.

3 cups cooked quinoa
     (soak the quinoa for 15 minutes, then strain through a fine sieve, and cook with double the 
     amount of water in a large sauce pot or in a rice cooker)

5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems

3 medium garlic cloves

2/3 cups slivered almonds, toasted until golden

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

2 big pinches of salt

2 tbsn. fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup heavy cream

optional toppings: slivered basil, fire oil, sliced avocado, crumbled feta or goat cheese

Heat the quinoa and set aside. Now barely cook the broccoli by pouring 3/4 cup water into a large pot and bring it to a simmer. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for a minute, just long enough to take the raw edge off. Transfer to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking, set aside. To make the broccoli pesto puree, combine 2 cups of the cooked broccoli, garlic, 1/2 cup of almonds, parmesan, salt and lemon juice into a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth. Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with about 1/2 of the pesto. Taste and adjust as needed. Top with the remaining almonds and whatever toppings you desire.