Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa

Can we talk about my painfully obvious quinoa kick lately? It might be up there with avocados and anything salted caramel as one of my top food obsessions. Quinoa is often touted a "superfood" because it's high in protein and it's a good source of dietary fiber, iron, and even a little calcium. Because it packs such a nutritional punch, I don't mind throwing cheese on top and calling it a deliciously rounded-out side dish. 

I never used to be very good at side dishes. I spent so much time menu planning for the week for just the main course, that sometimes I forgot that something actually needs to be on the plate with it. I've gotten much better at making creative sides now (goodbye lazily steaming veggies every single day), though I still prefer the quick & easy variety that have some nutrients are are easy to throw together while the main dish is finishing up. I served this with a chicken dish and it was delicious!  I don't even think my husband knew he was eating something healthy.   Mwahaha... trickery.

 

Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa:
Adapted from Closet Cooking
Serves 4

1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
1 3/4 cup vegetable broth, chicken broth or water
2 cups fresh broccoli, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar
salt and pepper to taste

Add the quinoa, broth/water and broccoli to a boil over medium heat.  Once boiling, cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium low.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the broth has been absorbed and the quinoa is tender (about 15 minutes).  Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted.  Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Lemon Quinoa Avocado Chickpea Salad

I bake a lot.  I mean, I really like cake.  But my health is important to me, too.  So to keep everything nice & balanced, I have a few of these recipes up my sleeve. 

I found the original recipe over on The Diva Dish thanks to seeing a photo of it on Pinterest.  The colors drew me in and I knew by reading the ingredient list that it was going to be a winner.  One of those things where you obsess about the recipe for days and buy 20 avocados in preparation for it because they are ripe for exactly five minutes and you keep having to run to the grocery store to buy more.  Just me? Okay then.  The original recipe called for cilantro, but I am not a big fan so I simply omitted it.  I didn't miss it at all, but feel free to toss some in for an extra layer of flavor if that's more your style.