Mexican Quinoa

Aug 7, 2010 by lanashabit

I just got back from the race track. Horse racing, that is.

I go big or go home bet $7 total and won $2. A 71% loss for the day…eeek. (you just witnessed the geek in me, lol)

We set up camp and enjoyed a picnic lunch. I munched on a Glorious Granola Bar and apple.

Do you spy my new Camelbak bottle!! I was jumping for joy when I got it in the mail earlier this week. The anticipation was killing me, but we are now reunited.

The star of the show was leftover Mexican Quinoa. I made a huge batch last night partly because I needed to use up a ton of veggies, but also because I knew I would need a few grab-n-go meals for the weekend. It is good both warm and cold; a great take-along meal. The spices are heavenly and even better after marinating in the fridge over night.

Without further ado, my Mexican Quinoa recipe…

Mexican Quinoa

Yield: 4 servings

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 16oz. can of black beans
1 large carrot, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T. EVOO
1 t. cumin
1 t. coriander
2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. cayenne
1.2 t. chili powder

Follow package instructions to cook the quinoa.
Heat the EVOO on medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Sauté for ~4 minutes.
Add the bell peppers and carrots. Sauté for ~4 minutes.
Add the beans, tomatoes, celery and spices. Stir and cook until heated.
Combine the veggies and quinoa in large bowl. Enjoy!

In pictures:

Start cooking the quinoa (follow package instructions)

Chop

Sauté garlic, onion, bell peppers and carrots

Add beans, celery, tomatoes and spices

Transfer quinoa and veggies into bowl and mix

Viola!!

The leftover Mexican Quinoa needs to watch out…it’s fate lies in the hands of the food processor. I see veggie burgers in the near future!!

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Now I’m going to go in reverse:

Breakfast, after finally rolling out of bed at 10am, was 1/2 C. Grapenuts, flaxseed, almonds, blueberries and vanilla soy milk. I also had a cup of coffee. I had to scarf this down quick before heading out to the track.

I’m trying to use up the bags of flaxseed and almonds I have before I make the trip back to Texas. ONE WEEK and counting!!! Don’t be surprised if you see repetitious food pictures lurking around the blog. Do you throw away food or try to eat it all up before a big move?

I also had a few hand fulls of raisins and almonds on the car ride home from the track.

Last night I saw The Kids are Alright. Julianne Moore and Annette Bening provided a wonderful performance in a light and refreshing movie. It is a sophisticated and funny drama about a lesbian couple raising two teenagers who find their anonymous sperm donor. The sperm donor, of course, brings drama to the table when all but one mother get drawn into his easygoing style. On a side note, he was a restaurant owner and had a fabulous garden…so I was hooked

After getting over the initial shock of the unconventional family, I realized that It was just a movie about human behavior. It showed how a nontraditional family still deals with the emotional themes of any loving family; it touched on betrayal, disappointment, anger, regret and reconciliation which are true of any relationship. It was funny without being over-the-top, tugged at your emotions without being too melodramatic and centered around a good sense of family. In the end, through communication and love, everyone was alright. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

What good movies have you seen recently?