Tag Archives: quinoa

Spicy Quinoa Stuffed Avocados

. From Scratch Cooking, gluten free . , , , ,

Today’s post is courtesy of Kell Dos. She felt so strongly about these avacados that she typed up a post, sent it to me, and then sent me a text to inform me of this (apparently) incredible delicacy. If she felt this convicted about avocados, I felt it was my duty to post it for her.

So folks, I give you Kell Dos:

This week our neighbor was running down the stairs to catch one of her kids, in the process her foot landed in a plastic makeup bin that had been strategically placed by her 2.5yr old  to slow her down. (Because aren’t all toys strategically placed by kids as getaway tactics?)  As she fell, her foot stayed in the bin and she ended up with 2 broken bones in her foot.
As you know doing anything with kids let alone a 2.5 and 4 yr old, you need all of your body parts in working order.
And, as neighbors often do, a few of us signed up to bring meals to this (gluten and dairy free!) family. Knowing this, and how much they like quinoa, I signed up for the first day and went to my trusty Pinterest quinoa board.

Recently I pinned this amazingness. A recipe for Spicy Quinoa Stuffed Avocado:

spicy stuffed avacados

I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make it, but once I looked at the recipe I realized it was a bit more complicated than I felt it needed to be so I improvised.

Original recipe found here at Bullfrogs & Bulldogs
Improvised Recipe here:
(I fed my family too so keep in mind this is enough for about 4-6 adults and 4 kids)
8 -10 Ripe Avocados
1 1/2 cups of cooked quinoa
1 Can of Black beans, rinsed and drained
1 – 1 1/4 of steamed sweet corn
half of a red onion, chopped
cilantro, chopped (to taste)
1 large red pepper, chopped
sea salt to taste
pinch of sugar
Chipolte seasoning, to taste (here is a pin for homemade chipolte seasoning from food.com)
Cumin, to taste
Directions:

Cook quinoa and let cool (or you can rinse it under cold water to speed up the process)
Cut avocados in half, hallow out a bit of the center to make more room to stuff. Set aside.
Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl.
Combine cooled quinoa with the bean and corn mixture.
Fill the center of avocados with mixture
Top with cheese, sour cream (we use Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream) if desired.
Chow down!

A big thanks to Kell Dos for taking the initiative and getting this delicious recipe out there! I think I may have to try it tonight.

Quinoa, Who Loves Quinoa?!

. From Scratch Cooking, yum . ,

About seven years ago before this quinoa craze took off, I discovered it while going through my complete diet and lifestyle overhaul. I was looking for something that I could actually eat (because at that point in time, even a glass of water threw my stomach into a downward spiral of stabby-death pains.) I needed something gentle that packed a big punch. I could pretty much only eat yogurt and knew I needed to get some protein in me to keep me healthy….enter into my life, our beloved quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah). The delightful, kind-of-grain from the Incas.

A single serving size (1 cup) offers:

  • 220 calories (70 percent carbs, 15 percent fat, 15 percent protein)
  • 40 grams of carbohydrates (13 percent daily value)
  • 8 grams of protein (16 percent of daily value)
  • 3.5 grams of fat (5 percent daily value with no saturated fat)
  • 5 grams of fiber (20 percent of daily value)
  • A glycemic load (blood sugar spike) of only 18 out of 250
  • 20 percent of daily value of folate (I ate it a lot when I was pregnant with Grant!)

Quinoa also contains all eight essential amino acids, the building block for protein!

(source: mother nature network – mnn.com)

So, there is your daily lesson on quinoa. Another good tidbit to know if you have never cooked with it, without flavor, it tastes kind of boring. Like nothing really, maybe a little nutty or slightly earthy-ish, but not really like anything. So it takes on the flavor of whatever you are cooking with very well.

Well, I have had my eye on this little doozy for a while. Quinoa Mac and Cheese with Broccoli! (from AroundTheTableRI) So. GOOD. and EASY!

Here are some tips and recipe adjustments I made:

  • The original recipe called for almond milk, but I don’t like cooking with almond milk (as I have stated before, too nutty of flavor for my liking) and so I substituted with rice milk.  Still kept the fat content way down if that is something concerning to you. And since quinoa is so absorbent, I didn’t have to worry about this dish being runny (like I do my mac and cheese). It just soaked up all of the extra milk/cheese goodness and made it amazingly flavorful. It was really cheesy and creamy and the eggs helped make it a nice consistency (and not nearly as messy as eating regular quinoa!)
  • I used sharp cheddar, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. The mozzarella gave it a nice gooey-ness, the cheddar and parm gave it a sharp cheese flavor.
  • I would double the amount of broccoli only because I love anything broccoli
  • Panko. ‘Nuff said
  • I doubled the recipe and we ate it as a main dish. Later on in the week I reheated it with additional cheese on top and served it as a side
  • Guessing by the level of enthusiasm as this was literally shoved in mouths (some with hands, some with forks), it was a hit with both boys
  • I also mixed it in with some marinara later, later in the week only for Brody to shovel in his mouth…with equal gusto as day one (good way to get even more vegetables in his little belly)

Another keeper!