Quinoa and Black Beans

Recipe:

PREP TIME	15 Min
COOK TIME	35 Min
READY IN	50 Min

SERVINGS & SCALING

Original recipe yield: 10 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 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.

Review:
This recipe is really yummy! I like to prepare at least one meatless meal a week and this is one of my favorites so far. It is refreshing and quite healthy too. Quinoa is a grain that is a complete protein, so this meal offers quite a bit of nutrition without being as heavy or as expensive as a meat/poultry dish. This is the second time I have made it and I have made a few changes. The first time I just used one can of black beans, used chicken broth rather than vegetable and put a can of Rotel in. All those changes made it great except the Rotel made it too spicy for our liking. So, this past time I changed the same things, but rather than use Rotel I just put a can of drained, diced tomatoes in and it made it perfect for the spice flavor. I like to use this as a tortilla filling but it is hearty enough to be a main dish itself.

To learn more about quinoa visit here and here.