One pan mexican quinoa

I made this for dinner tonight.  It's basically quinoa, tomatoes, corn, black beans, and some spices all thrown into a pan and cooked for 20 minutes with some veggie broth (I used water cause I didn't have any veggie broth).  It was super fast and easy and I'm on a quinoa kick.  After it's all done cooking you are supposed to mix in the juice of one lime a chopped avocado and some chopped cilantro.  I mixed in the lime juice, but decided to put the avocado and cilantro on top for the sake of presentation.  It tends to make a difference in terms of how my husband and children think of the food.  The kids were surprised to find they like it.  I was also surprised to find I like it, cause in the end it was just a big pan of mush and didn't look too appetizing.  The avocado and cilantro make a big difference. 

It was yummy, I will put it into my recipe box.  This is Kristian's.  It's still on the table cause he probably won't be home till 9:30ish.  I think it will be fine cold.  I never think to take a picture before I eat it, so his absence is the only reason there is a picture.  I'm trying to remember

Another reason I like this one is that I almost always have the ingredients for it laying around, so it's a good go to if I didn't plan anything. 

I was thinking this could also be a good one to make and freeze in individual portions to be thawed the night before for lunches.  Minus the avocado and cilantro of course.  You'd want to add those fresh.  it may also just turn into a pile of mush.  I don't know.

One Pan Mexican Quinoa

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Yield 4 servings

Wonderfully light, healthy and nutritious. And it's so easy to make - even the quinoa is cooked right in the pan!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapenos, minced
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and jalapeno, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir in quinoa, vegetable broth, beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Stir in avocado, lime juice and cilantro.
• Serve immediately.

lentil and sweet potato shepherds pie

I made this for dinner tonight (the recipe can be found on my healthy habits pinterest board).  It didn't go over well.  It's pretty much what it sounds like.  A shepherds pie made with lentils (I did a combination of red, yellow, French green and regular green lentils, I don't recommend doing that as they all cook at a slightly different rate leaving you with some mushy lentils and some crunchy ones), tomatoes, basil, chopped spinach and topped with mashed sweet potatoes and baked.  I thought it was delicious.  Seriously, I loved it.  I was also starving.  Kristian felt it necessary to make a face with every bite he took, though he ate the whole thing and the kids ate it very reluctantly.  Not even Laila liked it.  A poor endorsement indeed.  I will probably not make this again, though I might consider portioning it and freezing it for lunches for me.  Oooo, I'll put that in the labels.