Quinoa Bowl For the Win

I have a new obsession with quinoa. I vaguely remember the days when I referred it as kin-oh-ah, not knowing that the correct pronunciation was so much cooler than that (it's keen-wah for those who aren't sure). Not to mention, this incredible edible seed is so versatile you can't go wrong.

I've had a bag of uncooked quinoa sitting in the pantry for quite some time now. I made about 2 cups of it once, not realizing that much would yield enough quinoa to feed a small village. So the leftovers sat in the fridge until I decided no one was going to eat it and thew it away. And I HATE throwing away food, just ask Ev. I yell at him for leaving a few extra corn flakes in the cereal bowl or for not scraping his plate clean at dinner.

Another thing you'll learn about me... I don't cook. I mean, I do cook--not that I do it well--but it's a very rare occasion that I'll prepare a meal that has multiple steps to it besides remove from box, place in microwave, don't burn tongue. I've made up plenty of excuses over the years for why I don't cook more often, but I've come to realize that it's quite simple: I'm lazy. There are SO MANY easy recipes out there that even a caveman could do it, and this is one of them.

I present to you, the delicious and nutritious Quinoa Bowl!

Look how yummy and colorful it is! Here's how you make it:

Step 1: Gather ingredients

The package instructed me to use 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of quinoa. Based on my first quinoa-making attempt, 1 cup of the edible seed was PLENTY for two people. In fact, this actually made three meals. But the great thing about quinoa is even if you have leftovers, it stays good in the fridge for at least another week. All you need to do is splash some water on it and pop it in the microwave so it won't be so dry.

I found this guy sitting in the cupboard and decided it would be a good addition. Love me some Trader Joes.

Ev works at a vegetarian cafe called Sol Bean, which actually just added Quinoa Bowls to their menu, hence the inspiration to make this dish. You can pretty much mix in whatever you want... we just used what we had: chili, spinach, carrots (shredded), beets (shredded), onion (diced), and veggie cheese.

Step 2: Pour quinoa and water into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Once it boils reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Step 3: Pour chili into a smaller saucepan and heat to a simmer.

Step 4: Make self drink.

Step 5: Wash and prepare your veggies.

Step 6: When the quinoa is done (after ~15 minutes), it should look something like this:

Fluffy and moist. Yay! Next step is to prepare your bowls. We started with spinach:

Added a few scoops of quinoa:

Ladled on some chili:

Threw on the cheese and shredded carrots and beets:

Mix together and enjoy!