Summer Veggie Quinoa.

Hello, all!

I want to share a quick and easy recipe with you. I made this the other night in order to use up some cooked quinoa and fresh veggies we had in our fridge. It was a hit at our house, so maybe it will be at yours, as well.

For those of you that are new to quinoa, I would describe it as a "light" rice. Somewhat similar to brown rice, but not quite as "chunky". Does that make sense? It is great served warm, like rice, or cold in a salad, like pasta. It also has some great health benefits as well.

So for this recipe, let's call it...

 "Summer Veggie Quinoa"

1 cup of dry, uncooked quinoa
2 zucchini squashes (green or yellow), cut into crescent moons
1 medium onion, cut into small slices
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Begin cooking your quinoa according to package instructions. Much like rice, you cook 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until quinoa is fluffy and translucent.

While the quinoa is cooking, heat up a large skillet (I prefer cast iron for this) with your tablespoon of butter. You can use all olive oil for this, but we liked how the butter added a little "naughty" to this healthy dish. Plus, I tend to like butter/find it necessary when caramelizing onions, which is what you will do next.

Sautee the onions and garlic on medium heat for around 15 minutes until they are getting clear but also a little bit brown. Think low and slow with this, especially because you don't want your garlic to burn. Then add your sliced zucchini and half the olive oil. Let this cook, stirring around with wooden spoon, until the zucchini look soft.

Once this is done, pour your cooked quinoa into the skillet and stir, adding the rest of the olive oil and removing the garlic cloves (or you can add to your plate and eat like a crazy lady, like me). Add a dash or two of parmesan cheese on top when serving.

{Click here for the PDF printable recipe!}

Yum! Do y'all have any fresh summer recipes to share? I am loving these days of  lighter cooking!



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