Quinoa con Queso

Holy time-suck, Batman!  I have fallen in love, and you might just reap the benefits of it.  My new obsession love?  Pinterest!  Pinterest itself is not a new idea, it's just taking the bookmarks I have in my favorites and putting them on a visual board for me (and my friends) to enjoy.  However, it has re-sparked my love of reading different blogs to look for new ideas for crafts, recipes, and inspirations in life.  It's also fun to peek into the heads of others to see what their bookmarked favorites may be.  Sure, Pinterest is getting to be old news now that almost everyone is there, but the more that join and play with it, the more fun it is becoming.

To keep this story short (too late!), one of my fabulous friends posted a recipe for Quinoa con Queso, and since we love to buy the 5lb bags at Costco, I figured this might be the perfect recipe!

 First of all, I only kind of followed the recipe.  I mean, I did, but if you look at the picture on the recipe link above, you'll see that my final picture looks nothing like it, so here was my recipe (and this was doubled for left overs).

Quinoa con Queso Ingredients
2 C of Quinoa
4 C Water
1 T Olive Oil
2 T Butter
1 Large Chopped Onion
2 tsp Pressed Garlic
4 Diced Bell Peppers
4 Diced White Chili Peppers
4 C Chopped Zucchini
4 T Tomato Paste (mine is far more red than the original recipe's photo!)
4 Roma Tomatoes (seeded and diced)
Kosher Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
1/2 tsp Italian Herb mix (I was out of Oregano)
10 oz of Queso Fresco diced
1 1/2 C milk



Directions:  This was SO SIMPLE, I'm definitely making it again!
1. Make the Quinoa according to the package (boil water, simmer, set - same as rice)
2. Take your big pan/pot and melt the olive oil/butter.  Add in your onion and cook until about halfway to clear.  Add garlic (for about a minute), then add your peppers and work them all until close to tender.  Then, add your zucchini, tomato paste, and tomatoes, and let the mixture cook down a bit.
3.  Next up, add your seasonings.  Once everything is tender and ready to go, add your cheese.  Our chicken wasn't quite ready, so the cheese was more melty than cubed, but I dug it that way.
4. Before serving, warm the milk and add it to your quinoa.  This finishes it off with a slightly creamy texture that compliments the cheesy warmth of the "con queso."

Sorry it's a bit blurry, but it was incredible just the same!

Chicken Sausage and Butternut Squash "Risotto"

The joy of running a workout facility as part of my daily tasks is that we get a lot of magazines for our gym, and I'm always up on Hollywood gossip, health and fitness articles, and Time magazine.

Fitness Magazine, last month, ran a recipe for Pumpkin and Chicken Sausage "Risotto."  While we don't necessarily do "healthy" around our house, I'm always up for trying a really good new recipe, especially if it looks filling and relatively cheap.

Luckily, the local Fresh and Easy keeps butternut squash in already cubed packages.  I bought 2, 16oz packs because I love extra veg.  Same amount of oil and sage, though, as I mixed it up all together in the bowl.

I couldn't find a "dried sage," but I did get a powdered sage in the spice aisle.  I figure it's still sage, and I still used a heaping amount, as called for in the recipe.  It's mostly for fragrance, right?  I don't know that sage is really great for anything, other than keeping the harmful spirits away.

I piled everything onto a raised edge cookie sheet (lined with foil since I hate cleaning).  I bought two of the apple chicken sausage packages (5 pre-cooked sausages a piece), sliced them into chunks, and loaded them on the bottom and on top of my squash.

Then, we roasted at 375 for 15 minutes.

As the squash and chicken roasted, I started my three cups of broth, 1/4 cup white wine, and 3 cups of quinoa to simmer.  I'm sure I could have used farro, like the recipe called for, but quinoa was at Costco last month, so we'll have enough to last us through January.

I flipped everything in the pan after 15 minutes, and roasted for another 15.  I didn't separate it or anything, just turned it the once and then added in some chopped, flat leaf parsley.  Super simple, no worries.

Once the quinoa had absorbed the liquid (about 15 minutes or so), I mixed in one 5 oz pkg of Parmesano Reggiano cheese shards. This really congealed everything, so I added a bit more white wine so it wasn't so...pasty like.

I put the rest of my flat leaf parsley in here.  I probably only used a third of a cup total, but I split it between my roasted items and the quinoa.  I did this because I skipped the last part of the recipe where it says to mix the grains, veg, and meat together. 

I kept them separate because I liked the look.  They are definitely amazing served together, though, so definitely make them both for the same meal!

Sorry I didn't clean the plate pre-photo.  I was more interested in eating than picturing!!