I had never heard of quinoa until a friend of mine told me it has taken the place of all her rice (which is a staple food in south Louisiana) and lost weight just through this change. It is full of fiber and protein, and very healthy! YAY!
Here's her favorite recipe using veggies and another staple here, crawfish. She has also used shrimp, scallops, chicken, and just plain veggies. Very adaptable. Quick hint-- if you use crawfish, you can usually find it in your frozen seafood section. I advise not getting chinese crawfish because it's harvesting techniques are not as good as locally harvested. Of course, fresh are best, but if you can't find it, next best thing will work.
Crawfish Quinoa
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups stock or water (try chicken or shrimp stock)
olive oil
1/4 onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 tbs garlic, minced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 pack Louisiana crawfish tails
1/4 cup sliced green onions
pat of butter or heart-healthy spread
cajun seasoning
Rinse quinoa until water runs clear. Put it in a rice pot or medium saucepan with the stock or water. If using plain water, add a little salt. Cook like rice (bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low heat until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy and tender). Cooking takes about 20 minutes. Keep warm.
While quinoa is cooking, saute onion and bell pepper in a skillet over medium heat with a little olive oil. When the onions and peppers are wilted, reduce to medium-low and toss in the garlic, cooking for a minute or so. Then toss in the mushrooms and stir. When the mushrooms start cooking down a little, add the crawfish and green onions and toss, cooking for just a minute or two. Add butter or spread and stir gently into the crawfish/mushroom liquid to make a nice little sauce. Serve over fluffy quinoa. (I also like to toss the quinoa in the skillet with the crawfish for a minute before serving. You only need 2 cups cooked quinoa if you're doing that and this recipe will yield about 4 cups cooked quinoa.)
Here's her favorite recipe using veggies and another staple here, crawfish. She has also used shrimp, scallops, chicken, and just plain veggies. Very adaptable. Quick hint-- if you use crawfish, you can usually find it in your frozen seafood section. I advise not getting chinese crawfish because it's harvesting techniques are not as good as locally harvested. Of course, fresh are best, but if you can't find it, next best thing will work.
Crawfish Quinoa
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups stock or water (try chicken or shrimp stock)
olive oil
1/4 onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 tbs garlic, minced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 pack Louisiana crawfish tails
1/4 cup sliced green onions
pat of butter or heart-healthy spread
cajun seasoning
Rinse quinoa until water runs clear. Put it in a rice pot or medium saucepan with the stock or water. If using plain water, add a little salt. Cook like rice (bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low heat until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy and tender). Cooking takes about 20 minutes. Keep warm.
While quinoa is cooking, saute onion and bell pepper in a skillet over medium heat with a little olive oil. When the onions and peppers are wilted, reduce to medium-low and toss in the garlic, cooking for a minute or so. Then toss in the mushrooms and stir. When the mushrooms start cooking down a little, add the crawfish and green onions and toss, cooking for just a minute or two. Add butter or spread and stir gently into the crawfish/mushroom liquid to make a nice little sauce. Serve over fluffy quinoa. (I also like to toss the quinoa in the skillet with the crawfish for a minute before serving. You only need 2 cups cooked quinoa if you're doing that and this recipe will yield about 4 cups cooked quinoa.)
