Quinoa, or "Keen-Wah" if you want to be specific

So I know I know I have promised I am posting on how to make quinoa. Now I will tell you it is pronounced "Keen-wah" or "qin-wah" but sometimes mispronunciations of words drive people nuts. I am usually not one of those people and there is a woman in my office who is one of those people, so I purposely do it to drive her nuts. I know it could be considered childish but until you have dealt with her yourself (which will make you go nuts), any little victory is nice especially to keep you sanity.

So back to quinoa. So what is the deal with this quinoa stuff? Well quinoa was domesticated about 3,000 years ago for human consumption. It was used first by the Inca's. It comes from a plant where the pods that stem are edible. But why all of the sudden in this health craze day of age are they are full of essential amino acids like lysine and good quantities of calcium, phosphorus, and iron. Why am I getting into it, well I wanted something that was a healthy rice supplement since Wee Baby is on his/her way. Not saying rice is bad, but I wanted to introduce more calcium and iron in my diet.

Quinoa is a lot like rice in it's preparation even though it can remind you a little of couscous in it's shape/texture. My hidden little trick to give it a little bit more flavor, prepare it in broth. I don't care what kind, I usually use what ever to compliment the protein I am using. Now here is a very easy recipe, one of my own pot recipes. Just because it has a weird name and is uber healthy, don't be afraid. Just become one with the quinoa.

So let's start with my version of Stir-fry Quinoa

First I cut up some cooked rib meat Hubby had made the other night and let it sautee a little in the pot with a little bit of olive oil. This would be good with any kind pork, beef, or chicken product.

Then I added all my lovely veggies (with me it was tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach.)Let those saute some until the veggies get soft.

 Next you need to add your broth/water and quinoa. Since I let the meat and veggies meld together I just added water. The quinoa cooks just like rice, so I knew those veggies and meat were going to become a broth of it's own since they will cook in the water for about 15 minutes. So add quinoa and then double the amount of water. For us, I used 1 cup of quinoa and three cups of water. Again treat it just like it's rice.

With quinoa you should stir a few times in the cooking process so nothing gets scorched. The top picture is about five to eight minutes in, the bottom is how it looks when you get close to done. You want most of the water to be gone.

What quinoa looks like up close when cooked. Yummy little balls of deliciousness.

And then once done, you serve! Enjoy a delicious and healthy bowl full or if you are like me then a bowl and a half, but I have a wee little baby inside.

Ollie loves quinoa and was sad he didn't get a bowl

So as always live, laugh, love! I will post pics soon of our growing little baby bump. Only three more weeks and I get to find out if it's a little girl or boy! What do you think it's going to be? Commence bets I mean comments below.