Sunday Rewind: Riding the Avalanche

– Originally posted July 6, 2012.As The Rantings of an Amateur Chef has been going since February of 2012, there are quite a few readers that have joined along the way. In an effort to bring back some great recipes that they may have missed, I will dedicate Sundays to re-posting a favorite that is at least two years old. I hope you enjoy! – The Ranting Chef

Quinoa….it is everywhere. I am willing to bet that you hadn’t heard of it until the last few years. While it has been around forever, (the Incas thought it was food from the gods) it has really not been popular until recently.  Now, of course, you cannot turn around without bumping into it on virtually every food blog (now this one included). In fact it is almost like an avalanche of quinoa recipes all at once.

Quinoa, while looking and for the most part acting like a grain, is not a grain at all. In fact it is closer to a beet (paging Dwight Schrute of Schrute farms) than it is rice. The versatility of the product is great, from replacing rice or couscous to forming patties and subbing for burgers for vegetarians.

I hadn’t cooked with it before and after seeing thousands of posts on food blogs about it, had to buy some. It was only then that I found this recipe.

The quinoa brings a heartiness to the dish when paired with the ground beef and Mexican spices.

Once I bought the quinoa, I had everything on hand.

Brown up the ground beef with the onions.

Throw in the rest of the ingredients and simmer.

A super simple recipe that works well with tortillas and some shredded cheese!

Mexican Ground Beef Quinoa Skillet

Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook Time: 25 mins | Servings: 4 |

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 (15 ounce) petite diced tomatoes
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• Taco seasonings to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Tortillas

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef and onion and drain excess fat.

2. Rinse quinoa.

3. Add tomatoes, chilies, quinoa, water and spices to ground beef and simmer, uncovered, for about 25 minutes.

4. If water evaporates, cover pan for remainder of cooking time.

Serve with tortillas and cheese.

Nutritional Info:

Calories 393.5 Calories from Fat 132 Total Fat 14.7 g Saturated Fat 5.0 g Cholesterol 73.7 mg Sodium 135.8 mg Total Carbohydrate 34.9 g Dietary Fiber 5.6 g Sugars 3.8 g Protein 30.3 g

Source: http://www.food.com/recipe/mexican-ground-beef-quinoa-skillet-419596