Quinoa and Black Beans

From my awesome friend Lachelle


* 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
* 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed well
* 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 cup frozen corn kernels
* 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the
onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.

2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season
with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a
boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,

3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5
minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro


** When Lachelle gave me the recipe, she suggested adding chopped tomatoes and avocado to the final product, just before serving. I did and it was delicious, but I thought it needed just a little something more. I love to sprinkle a little cheese and a dollop of sour cream on top as well. So yummy and SO good for you. If you don't know much about quinoa, learn about it. It is a great source of complete protein and calcium. 

Roasted Sweet Pepper Sauce

5 cups chopped bell peppers.

2 cups chopped onion

garlic, to taste

1-14 ounce can diced tomatoes

2 cups chicken base

2 cups whipping cream

corn starch

Sautee the veggies in olive oil. When they are almost completely sauteed, add diced tomatoes. Finish sauteeing. Add chicken base (I just used water and 2 bouillon cubes) and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

After it's done simmering, pour it into a blender and blend until smooth. Return to pan and slowly add cream. Bring to a boil and thicken with cornstarch. Season to taste with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Voila! A delicious, extremely versatile meal.

I cubed chicken and cooked it with minced garlic, marjoram, rosemary, sage, parsley, basil and thyme. The first time I made this I served it over noodles. The next time however, I served the sauce and chicken over quinoa which we decided we liked a lot better! We also decided that this would make a really good soup! If we ate it as a soup we would possibly add corn, but this would be delectible with grilled cheese!