Monday, September 21, 2009

Sunday Night Dinners - Quinoa with Black Beans

So on New Years Eve last year, I did what many people do, and made some resolutions. I've done so-so on them. I've nailed 2 of 4 (quitting Mountain Dew and training for a 1/2), I pushed one out to next year or 2011 (selling my condo). But I have kind of failed on my goal to cook once a week. Cooking a meal once a week doesn't sound like much of a challenge to most people, but for me it is. Mostly because I live alone, so I am not letting anyone down if I opt to eat a baked potato for dinner!

But that kind of needs to change because my taste buds are probably dieing of boredom! So each week I'll be doing a "Sunday Night Dinner" post. It'll probably be on a one week lag as I want to test the initial taste of the food as well as its potential for being a good leftovers/take-to-work option. Hopefully these weekly posts will make me more accountable and more cooking will happen in my kitchen! And hopefully I'll find some recipes you might want to try!

Since I've been on a bit of a quinoa kick lately, I decided to try another quinoa recipe. This recipe arrived in my mailbox last week so I decided to give it a whirl!

Here is the recipe in pictures!

Saute the aromatics

Add the quinoa

and the vegetable broth and spices

Let it simmer until the liquid is absorbed and then add corn - cook for 5 more minutes


Add the black beans and cilantro

This recipe seemed like it had star potential and received a lot of great reviews on allrecipes.com. I love all the ingredients - especially cumin! Cumin is definitely my favorite spice! But this recipe fell a bit flat for me. It was ok, but not a recipe I'd recommend or make again. Unless I made some modifications - like maybe use chicken brothe instead of vegetable broth, and up the amount used from 1.5 cups to 2 cups. And maybe add some red bell pepper. And maybe sub crushed red pepper for cayenne pepper? That's a lot of modifications, though, so I am guessing I won't do this one again.

The leftovers have been decent but again - not superb.

So strike one for me! Not a stellar dish, but probably better than a baked potato!

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8 comments:

  1. AbbySeptember 21, 2009 at 9:54 AM

    There is jsut your proof that you are an awesome cook--and recipes can be worthless! :) It is very rare that I follow a recipe to the end, and I am usually quite satisfied.

    I was going to make the black-bean quinoa that was on All-Recipes.com, but now hearing your review..I may change it up a bit!

    Good luck with your cooking adventures during your time off :)

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  2. AnaisSeptember 21, 2009 at 10:05 AM

    What a great idea!! I'm going to enjoy reading your Sunday night dinner posts VERY much! :D

    It's too bad about the recipe though... From the pictures it really looks delicious :)

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  3. AmberSeptember 21, 2009 at 11:56 AM

    Oooh fun! I'm totally looking forward to your Sunday posts. Since Eric left I've been eating lean cuisines for supper A LOT more than I should! I just have no desire to cook!

    PS: Hope you're enjoying your first official day off :-)

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  4. ChelseaSeptember 21, 2009 at 1:13 PM

    I love to cook. But since I don't get home from work until about 6, I don't cook fancy stuff. My favorite easy dinner is lemon feta chicken. Go to my recipe blog (the link is on my blogroll) and search under "chicken". I don't have many recipes posted but that's a go-to meal for us so I thought others would like to know!

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  5. AnonymousSeptember 21, 2009 at 4:09 PM

    So dumb question, but what is quinoa? I've never even heard of it! The food looks good but taste is much more important =)

    Can't wait to see what else comes out of your kitchen!

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  6. Amber @ A Little Pink in the CornfieldsSeptember 21, 2009 at 8:21 PM

    Ooooh, I love this! I'm exactly like you, a baked potato is quite often what I choose for dinner... hehe! What a great idea!

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  7. Lauren @ Sassy MolassySeptember 23, 2009 at 6:05 PM

    Not sure what recipe you used, but this is one i love w/ black beans, tomatoes and a great sugary/lime juice to flavor!

    http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Black-Bean-and-Tomato-Quinoa-238939

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  8. Mama NastaseSeptember 25, 2009 at 8:32 PM

    Lisa, I made this tonight and I really liked it, although I changed up the recipe a bit.

    I used an entire bunch of cilantro instead of just half a cup, I used more cilantro than the recipe asked for. I also used "California Chili Pepper" instead of cayenne.

    I rolled mine in a whole wheat tortilla and ate it like a burrito. Green chili salsa added the perfect kick!

    Thanks so much for linking this on my facebook! I am certainly looking forward to your Sunday Night Dinners postings!

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