Roasted Vegetable Quinoa

I apologize for my absence over the last two days. I have not been feeling well and to be honest, blogging was the absolute last thing on my mind :(

This dish was an experiment. I had never made quinoa before and wanted to see what I could come up with off the top of my head. Quinoa is really like a cross between rice and couscous, in my opinion. I thought it was really good!!! You can use this in place of rice or pasta in any dish for a healthy twist.

I usually have a funny story to accompany my recipes. If you had any idea the kind of insanity that is happening in my house while I'm cooking, you would be shocked that I even blog. I can look back and laugh at this now, but when it happened it wasn't all that funny. The package of quinoa said that you need to rinse it under cold water before cooking. I knew that the quinoa was really small and I couldn't use my regular colander to strain it, so I grabbed a smaller strainer and was convinced that it was perfect to rinse the quinoa in. FAIL! The quinoa went right through the holes and all over the counter top making a giant mess. Don't make that same mistake! Put it in a bowl and then cover with water to rinse. You'll be sorry if you don't ;)

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
  
• 1 yellow squash, chopped
  
• 1/2 of a red onion, roughly chopped
• brussell sprouts, washed, trimmed and cut in half
• 1 red bell pepper, cut in a large dice
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• 1 14oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
• 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Rinse the quinoa in cold water and drain. Place the quinoa in a saucepan with the chicken stock and garlic, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until it has absorbed all of the liquid.

FYI - I was not aware it was pronounced keen-wa. I had always called it QUIN-OA. I felt super ridiculous when I realized how wrong I was...carry on.

Cut up all of the veggies and place them on a baking sheet. Toss with the olive oil. Sprinkle generously with kosher salt, pepper, and the Italian seasoning. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the veggies are tender.

In a large skillet, add the can of diced tomatoes and the roasted veggies. Stir in the quinoa. Cook just until everything is warmed thoroughly. Add the parsley and Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!!!