These days I cannot get enough of quinoa. Until a few months ago if I heard the word quinoa, I would have said, qui-what? But now I know better. Although quinoa looks like a type of rice or couscous, it is actually a form of protein. With its many health benefits, including a good source of iron, Quinoa is also gluten free. Who would have thought that one grain has all those benefits? Most importantly, quinoa is an extremely filling…watch out pasta.
One of my favorite Quinoa dishes is garlic and basil Quinoa with chicken. The garlic and basil provide the flavors that plain Quinoa is lacking (quinoa almost always needs to be flavored).
Ingredients:
1 cup of Quinoa
2 cups of chicken broth
2 pounds of chicken breasts
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
5 garlic cloves or 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of minced garlic
2 scallions, chopped finely
lots of fresh basil leaves
First cook the Quinoa in the chicken broth and set aside while cooking the chicken and vegetables. Cut the peppers, scallions and garlic into thin slices or bits and set aside. Then cut the chicken breasts into strips that are one inch wide and season with kosher salt and ground black pepper. In a sauté pan, turn the heat on to medium and combine the olive oil and garlic for 30 seconds or until the garlic becomes slightly softer. After, add the chicken strips and cook for 5-7 minutes until the chicken is lightly brown. Quickly add the peppers and scallions and cook for another 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the peppers have become limp, but make sure the chicken is not cooked for too long or it will dry out. Take the chicken and peppers off the heat and combine the Quinoa and fresh basil leaves and toss until the basil leaves become limp and then serve immediately!
Bossy in a Bowl 