One Pan Mexican Quinoa

mexicanquinoa

We all struggle to diversify mealtime. I’m constantly wracking my brain to come up with dishes that will hold the interest of my kids, both of whom have very different palates. After becoming personally invested in what they eat, I’ve learned that sometimes, merely making tweaks to a base dish that’s already been kid-approved will be successful.

Last year was the year of Quinoa in my house.  I fell in love with it and prepared every dish I could to get my kids to fall in love with it too.  From quinoa salads to quinoa casseroles to quinoa bakes to even quinoa soup, there wasn’t a week that went by without this ingredient somewhere on the menu.  Then, when it become overkill, I gave this seed (often called the “ancient grain”) some much-needed shelf time.

This week, as the weather started turning cooler and I was searching for some heartier side dishes, I came across a wonderful recipe from one of my favorite online hubs, Tip Hero.  Most appealing was the recipe’s tag line, “when you need a healthy weeknight supper and you don’t want to dirty more than one pan.”

Wait.

One pan? Just a few ingredients? Minutes later a healthy dish of Mexican Quinoa?

I was sold.

Lucky for me, I had all of the ingredients in my stocked pantry.

I always find videos extremely helpful and working alongside Tip Hero.  I think I got so excited that I wasn’t focusing enough on the actual ingredient amounts.  I accidentally used a large 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes so I needed to drastically increase the amount of quinoa to offset the liquidity of the dish.  Next time around, I wouldn’t use any chili pepper.  The dish was rendered so spicy, my kids complained their mouths were on fire.

But, this dish will definitely join our vast quinoa recipe repertoire.

Hope you enjoy:

 

 

 

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