VEGAN RECIPE REVIEW: Mexican Quinoa

It's been a while since I made this recipe, so hopefully I can remember my thoughts about it! Last weekend was a nightmare with the floor issue, so I didn't have time to write up the post. And just now, I had to search through my two week history to find the recipe--I couldn't find it anywhere. Thankfully, I'd pinned it on Pinterest and was able to find it that way. There are several recipes for something similar to this, but this one sounded the best to me.

The recipe I chose to review is One Pan Mexican Quinoa, which you can find on Damn Delicious. (I'll link to it again at the end of the post.) I love anything that I can cook in one pan! 

Like all of the recipes I cook and review, I made it exactly as written--except I forgot the cilantro. I'm not a big fan of cilantro, so that was fine with me. The ingredients were all pretty simple (another reason I chose this recipe): olive oil, garlic, jalapeño, quinoa, vegetable broth, black beans, fire roasted tomatoes, corn, chili powder, cumin, lime juice, avocado, and cilantro.

You can tell, based on the ingredients, that it's probably going to taste like typical Tex-Mex food (which I love!). 

This recipe is pretty much TOO easy, and I almost feel guilty for posting it instead of something else I've made! I do cook a lot of new recipes (probably four a week?) because I love trying new vegan recipes--and it's especially fun to see if my family likes them. If they enjoy it, then it's probably something that anyone would enjoy!

I only took one picture as I was cooking this because it's so simple that there is really not much to share. First, you just heat the oil and cook the garlic and jalapeño for a minute. Then you add everything else to the pan, except for the lime juice and avocado (and cilantro, if I'd remembered to buy it).

Then you just bring it to a boil, throw on a lid, and let it simmer until the quinoa is cooked through. Then you add the lime juice and avocado, stir it together and serve! I love recipes that let you walk away from it until it's done cooking.

It looked really good when it was done...

I wished the avocado had been a little more ripe, but I couldn't find any riper ones at the store.

Overall, I thought it was really good! Like I said, it had the typical Tex Mex flavors. It reminded me a lot of my Beans & Rice recipe, which is a long-time favorite of my family. Since this recipe uses quinoa, it's definitely more nutritious; and I happen to love quinoa.

I wanted Jerry to try it because I knew he'd like it a lot (he loves my Beans & Rice), but he ended up eating leftovers instead. I couldn't understand it! The next day, I heated up leftovers of this quinoa and asked him to at least taste it. He'd never really eaten quinoa before, even though I've been cooking it on and off for at least 10 years.

Just as I thought, he loved it! He was very surprised to like it as much as he did and he said he thinks he actually prefers the quinoa over rice. So, Jerry has recently turned into a quinoa lover in addition to being obsessed with tofu. I still can't get over how much he loves tofu--haha! I know someone asked me for the recipe I used for the tofu that Jerry likes so much--it's the lemon pepper tofu from this website. I think the reason it's so good is because I use oil-based marinade (which is better explained in the recipe post). It's a VERY mild lemon flavor, so it's really versatile. I bake it a little longer so that it's very firm (not mushy at all). Jerry likes to eat it plain as a snack; I like to add it to bowls with grains and veggies and sauce or dressing. Anyway, this post isn't about tofu! Moving on...

(Okay, before moving on... I just realized that the lemon pepper tofu recipe I just linked to is actually from Plant Powered People--that's the podcast I just wrote about on Thursday!)

The kids are so busy these days and they weren't home to taste the Mexican Quinoa. I'm going to make it again and see how they like it--they really like the Beans & Rice and since this is so similar in flavor, I think they'd like it. The quinoa might make them decide that they don't like it even before they taste it, though ;)

This recipe was definitely a winner (at least for Jerry and me). I'm going to add it to my "favorites" book--yes, I print recipes and put them in a three-ring binder. I don't know why it bothers me to bring my computer in the kitchen and just use the website while I cook. I always scribble notes about our thoughts on it so that I know what we liked or didn't like and what I might change if making it again.

Now, I've got to go make dinner--it's been another long day! Both of my brothers came over and along with Jerry, they made some good progress in the bathroom (mainly rerouting the plumbing). If Brian is able to come over again tomorrow, we may have our bathtub/shower installed. Once that is done, we can work on building the new closet and then my least favorite task in the entire world: drywall. Every time I tape and mud drywall, I swear it will be the last time I ever do it. Once that is done, though, we'll just have the fun cosmetic stuff left (painting, installing the vinyl planks, and stuff like that).

Okay, I need to eat! Here is a link to the Mexican Quinoa recipe on Damn Delicious. It's not anything super special, but I didn't expect it to be--like I said, it's very simple and it tastes good. A perfect weeknight dinner when you don't want to stand at the stove and cook!