Quinoa Mac & Cheese

Since my sister is a vegetarian I have been trying to make more healthy vegetarian food for her. This Quinoa Mac & Cheese is a good recipe for her and something meat-eaters will like too. The orginal pin is from a really great blog Iowa Girl Eats.

I had never made quinoa before so I was surprised at the number of steps the recipe required but it was failry easy. I altered the recipe a little to make a little simpler for my irst time with the recipe. Visit the original recipe for a more flavorful version.

What you need:

2 tsp. Olive Oil
1/2 cup diced green pepper, red pepper or tomato
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained (I unknowingly bought a pre-washed kind which was very convenient)
1 clove garlic
3 cups water
2 large eggs
1 cup milk of choice
1 1/2 cups of grated cheddar cheese ( I will use more next time, it wasn't as cheesy as I thought it would be)


Directions:

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Add vegetables (mine were green peppers). Cover and cook 5 minutes.  Stir in quinoa and garlic, continue cooking uncoverd for 3-4 minutes until the grains turn opaque.

Add 3 cups of water  and cover and reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid has absorbed. Remove from heat and let it stand for 5 minutes.

Now preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then coat a casserole dish with cooking spray.  Whisk the eggs and milk in a large bowl and fod in the quinoa and cheese. Stir very well and let some of the cheese melt. It looks soupy but it will soak up.  Bake for 25- 35 minutes.

I made so much quinoa I needed to mix it up with the leftovers and I really liked it with salsa. I think adding some more veggies would also be really good.