Quinoa Mac and Cheese

Quinoa Mac and Cheese

This was my first time making and eating Quinoa. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it because smell is a big component to whether I will like a food or not. Quinoa is not the best smelling food, but I was relying on the cheese to do its thing in this recipe.

Honestly, if Quinoa wasn't a super food, I probably wouldn't eat it again. Maybe it was just this recipe, but I have a few more that I want to try before I truly say if I like Quinoa or not.

This recipe was so-so.....it was better once I added sour cream and Sriracha sauce on top to give it some flavour. If I made this recipe again, I would add more garlic, cheese and milk. This turned out a little dry and not very cheesy, which I was expecting since it was supposed to be Mac and cheese. I also added onions and peas to this recipe, but next time I would add more. Also, I will be adding BACON to this recipe next time....bacon makes everything better.

Serving Size: 8

Ingredients: (I might even cut the whole recipe in half next time, it made a lot)

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
• Veggies of your choice (optional) **I used peas and onions**
• good pinch of salt and pepper
• a few grinds of seasoning salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced **I will use 4 next time**
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup soy milk or non-fat milk ** I used 2%, but I will add some cream next time as well**
• 1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese, more for sprinkling **I will use 2 - 2 1/2 cups next time**
• 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese ** I added this to the recipe**
• Optional- Crushed Red Pepper, Panko Bread crumbs for topping
• Toppings (optional)- salsa, hot sauce, sour cream, scallions
• Bacon **I didn't add bacon this time, but I will next time for sure**

Directions:

·  Lightly saute any veggies you would like in this dish. ** the original recipe did not say where to add the garlic. I added it here. Next time I will use 4 garlic cloves and I would add some red pepper flakes too**

·  Cook quinoa to packaged instructions until fully cooked. (About 15 minutes)

·  Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 13x9 inch dish( or 8 individual ramekins) with cooking spray.

·  Whisk together eggs and milk in large bowl. Fold in quinoa mixture and cheese. Stir very well and let some of the cheese melt. Add some salt and pepper or some seasoning salt.

·  Transfer to prepared baking dish. Add some cheese on top and if using Panko Crumbs or Bread crumbs add now and bake 30-35 mins, until bread crumbs are browned. **I cooked mine for 30 minutes, I think it would have been even more dried out if I cooked it longer. I may cook it less next time**