Casserole!

I love the idea of one pot meals. They are easy to make, usually packed with vegetables, and keep cleaning up to a minimum. Since I don't have a slow-cooker (yet!) my only other options are stews in a dutch oven, or casseroles. While leafing through my newest issue of Women's Health, I found a great recipe for a quinoa casserole. I've never used quinoa in my own cooking before, but I really like the texture of it and, of course, all of its great mineral properties.

I made the casserole with butternut squash, onion, baby bellas, and ground white turkey meat.

The end result was really fantastic. The quinoa had a great soft almost risotto texture to it and all the vegetables softened well in the mixture (which simmers in chicken broth before it is placed in the oven for 35 minutes). It was filling and fibrous, and served with some spinach on the side added to this meals already high nutritional value. I would definitely make it again and mix it up by using different vegetables like eggplant and zucchini. I am going to try and find more ways to use quinoa in my cooking- my only gripe is the difficult process of rinsing the grain. It is very very tiny, and without the proper strainer, is a little bit of a mess. I put the quinoa in a pot of water, then slowly drained out the water by tipping the pot slightly and holding my hand near the top to act as a catcher. I lost some of the little grains this way, so if you think you are going to be using quinoa often- I suggest investing in an appropriate strainer!