Veggies, Chicken and Quinoa
(c) 1/17/12, Kathy Fannon
(Click to enlarge)
I'm so glad I've posted my favorite recipes to this blog, and the ones I've made by accident! There are times when I don't know what to make for dinner so I peruse my blog to see what sounds good, or check a few other blogs I like for something new and different to try.
Yesterday morning while looking for dinner ideas, I came across my Chicken with Quinoa Dinner from October. (One of the accidents I had forgotten about!)
Perfect! The roads were starting to get bad from the icy rain and snow and I didn't really feel like going to the grocery store. I always have chicken and quinoa in the house which has come in handy more than once, so I pulled a one-pound package of chicken out of the freezer to thaw.
I also pulled out a variety of veggies I have in the freezer from the farmers market: one snack baggie of onions (one-half of a small), one snack baggie of purple peppers (one small pepper), a couple of handfuls of Brussels sprouts and a few handfuls of green beans. I put them in a mesh strainer over a bowl with a little salt so they could thaw too.
These pictures are untouched. Look at how amazing green that is!
I started making dinner at 5:30 and it took about 50 minutes.
I got one cup of dry quinoa going in two cups of water with a little salt. (Cooks in 10 - 15 minutes.)
I sliced the chicken about 1/4" thick and put it in a frying pan with enough water to cover it. I sprinkled in some salt and simmered (covered) for about 5 minutes.
I put the chicken on a plate, dumped the water out of the pan then added the veggies to the pan.
I cooked the veggies with some olive oil for about 4 minutes, stirring a few times. I added thyme, basil, oregano, sage, salt, pepper, garlic and fresh rosemary since I had some. Fresh rosemary definitely made a difference!
I cut the chicken into smaller pieces and added them to the veggies and cooked for another 5 minutes or so to brown the chicken.
I added about half of the quinoa to the chicken and veggie mixture, but it could also be served on the side.
(I had hoped to have enough quinoa leftover to make muffins, but I misjudged my measurement. So you could have extra quinoa with this or start with only one-half cup dry.)
A drizzle of balsamic vinegar would be good too. I didn't think of it until I was almost done eating and did add a little. Yum!
My son thought this tasted like egg rolls, so maybe some soy sauce would be good too. Along with Sriracha sauce? Hey!
Since the veggies had been frozen and thawed, they were a bit on the mushy side, but still tasted fabulous! (And I love they are from local farmers!)
This made enough for my husband, 18-year-old son and me and none of us were hungry when we were done. If you wanted to add more to the meal, a salad would be perfect! (Apparently I have a green theme this week!)
Vegetarian? Leave out the chicken and it would be just as good. Actually, if I made this just for me I would've made it vegetarian, but my men love meat.
Tonight's dinner: Burrito in the Buff
Read my previous post: Review: The Green Well
Read my next post: Black Bean and Corn Salad
