Kickin' Quinoa

So, Quinoa...what is it? When it's cooked, it kind of has the texture of couscous/rice but it's actually a seed, high in protein, gluten free, and pretty good for you. I guess people are kind of turned off by it because they're not quite sure what to do with it. Well, this is what I do with it....

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups of quinoa
- 1 or 2 jalapenos diced pretty small (depends on how spicy you like it)
- 1 medium sized onion diced
- 5 roma tomatoes (4-5 depends on size, seeded [take out the juicy insides] and diced)
- 3 cups of water or stock (if you make less quinoa, the rule is 2 to 1 water to quinoa)
- Seasonings: Bouillon powder, salt, pepper, chili powder, and garlic salt taste

You may consider:
- Broccoli florets or asparagus spears (cut into 1 inch pieces after roasting) drizzled with olive oil and salt, roasted in the oven at about 425 degrees until they start to caramelize (about 10-15 minutes). Add them to the finished quinoa....it's delicious!

Directions:
- In a medium sized sauce pan over medium/high heat, drizzle in about 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and then add diced onion. Cook onion until it starts to brown and caramelize (approximately five-six minutes) stirring often with a wooden spoon.

- Add in jalapenos, and cook for another 2-3 minutes stirring often.

- Add in 3 of the diced tomatoes and cook for yet another 2-3 minutes.

- Add in dry quinoa and stir ingredients together. Cook ingredients together for 2-3 minutes. Quinoa is going to stick to all the jalapenos, onion, and tomatoes....that's totally fine.

- Pour in water/stock and add seasoning and give a stir. Just so you know, you don't want to be frugal with the seasoning, quinoa doesn't have a whole lot of flavor on it's own.
- Bring the water to a boil and then cover and reduce heat for approximately 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on the quinoa!

- Once all of the water has been absorbed, add in the rest of the diced tomatoes and the roasted vegetables (I highly recommend the roasted veggies! They add a lot of good flavor.)

If you're not quite ready for quinoa, you can do the same recipe with Israeli couscous (the large couscous...the basically tiny balls of pasta). The only difference you'd make is that the water needs to be boiling before you add it to the couscous and it doesn't need to cook quite as long.