Basic Confetti Quinoa - Delicious Side!

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  I did!  My husband and I got to spend it with our families, and we had a blast hanging out with everyone.  Good times, good food.  We wish we could see them more often, but enjoy the time we get.  What did you all get to do?  We got to go boating one of the days with them, and I tried wake surfing, it was so cool!  I got up after only a couple tries, Wahoo!  That was a new one for me, have you tried it?  I have a video, maybe another day I will share!  Here is a picture of me in the water, ready to go.

Today’s recipe is a simple side dish you can throw together and have with anything!  I perfected it a couple weeks ago, and our company loved it!  The base for the recipe is Quinoa, which is a great alternative to rice or pasta.  It has more protein and fiber, and because of this keeps your blood sugar more controlled.  Have you tried Quinoa before?  Try it this way for a flavor packed, delicious side dish!

Confetti Quinoa

Dice 1/2 red bell pepper

Chop up either 1 Mexican bulb onion (pictured below, looks like a giant green onion, can usually find at the grocery store), or 4-5 green onions including the white and green

Chop 4-5 button mushrooms about 1/2 cup worth
(You can chop all this before so it comes together even faster!)

Mexican Onions

1/2 bell pepper plus 1 Mexican onion (I pre-chopped them to save prep time when actually putting it together, and saved them in a plastic bag)

Mushrooms

Spray a large fry pan with cooking spray, and heat up 1 tsp olive oil over medium high heat.

Start a saucepan with 2 cups low sodium chicken broth, bring to a boil.  When boiling, add in 1 cup quinoa, cover, and let cook for 15 minutes.  

Add 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional), and chopped vegetables to the pan with the olive oil.  Stir, and cook 7-8 min or until vegetables are tender.

Vegetables in the fry pan

Tender vegetables, ready for quinoa

Once vegetables are tender and quinoa is cooked, add quinoa to pan with the vegetables.

Quinoa in with vegetables

Let quinoa and vegetables cook together over low heat for 2-3 minutes, serve right away.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/2 red bell pepper diced

1 Mexican bulb onion or 4-5 green onions chopped

4-5 button mushrooms chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 cup quinoa

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

Have you tried quinoa before?  This is a quick easy way to try it out if you haven't before.

Hope you got your daily dose of nutrition today, and thanks for reading!  If you enjoy the blog, please share using the buttons below, or in the box to the right.  Also, we would love to have you join us!  Join this site in the "followers" box to the right.  "Like" the blog on facebook, and follow me on twitter (@jennasteprd) and pinterest using the the boxes on the right.  Thanks, and have a great day! ~jenna