Thursday, February 4, 2016

Quinoa Enchiladas

I found THIS recipe on Pinterest and have wanted to try it for quite a long time. I finally did!
First, I had to find out how to make quinoa, lol! it really is just about the same as making rice, but THIS is the recipe/instructions I used. Also, you have to rinse quinoa, apparently...until the rinsing water comes clear. My rinse water was clear from the beginning and it stayed that way, sooo maybe my package was safer?? haha...

So on that note, I found these two links very interesting and informative. HERE and HERE.

I adjusted this recipe...
And this is what my family ate:

olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
14 oz can chicken
15 oz can black beans
4 oz can green chiles
3/4 tbsp chili powder
2 cups enchilada sauce
1/3 cup pepperjack cheese
2 handfuls cheddar

I decreased the chili powder and I switched the amounts of pepperjack vs cheddar because I always have at least one child complain that flavorful food is "too hot", haha.

I started by cooking the quinoa like rice. I rinsed for a long time, haha, then I put them into a dry pot to roast-ish. That makes rice really tasty, so I figured it would work the same. Then I just added twice the amount of water, and let it cook 10 mins. Then I let it sit for 15 before "fluffing with a fork".

I chopped up the onion and put just enough olive oil to just cover the skillet, and then cooked it for 6 or 7 minutes. I added the chicken, the black beans, chiles and chili powder, and heated them all thru. I alternated dumping that mixture and the cooked quinoa into a big mixing bowl. I added the pepperjack cheese to the mixture, then the two cups of enchilada sauce.
I put all of that into a greased 9x13 baking dish, and topped it all with cheddar. I baked it for 15 minutes, and broiled it for about 2.
Then we served it!

I really liked it. I had two servings, which is not super common for me. My husband liked it, tho he did say it reminded him of the texture of tamales. Both kids preferred to eat it like a dip, with tortilla chips, and I think they both added sour cream.

However, if I make it again, I'll half the recipe. The leftovers stuck around for what felt like forever, and we all had some as left overs. So apparently that makes too much food for my family of four.