Tuesday 29 April 2014

One-dish Mexican Quinoa Scramble

   

  Hey, hey!! How is everyone tonight? Such a nice sunny day today, makes me happy!


   Something super exciting for me, I finally got a new camera! Target had all their camera's on sale this weekend and I snagged one up! Thank goodness I have a tech-dork husband because I had no idea what the guy was talking about, or what makes a camera a good one! I am learning how to use it properly and can't wait to load some pics. As soon as I figure out how. And how to plug it in. :)

   This past weekend Shane and I had a chance to go to Calgary for the whole weekend by ourselves! That's right! No ankle-biters allowed! It was so dreamy, we had the best time. We stayed at the Hotel Arts, downtown. On Friday night we ate at one of the restaurants in the hotel called Raw Bar. Have you ever been there? It was honestly one of the most delicious, fun meals we've ever had! The atmosphere is so nice, and the service was great. We had sweet potato spring rolls, a whole pineapple squid, pad Thai and lemongrass chicken curry. Seriously, unbutton your pants early. I was SO full! But fo' shizzle the best meal in recent times!

   I'd like to think that I burned a fair amount of dinner off in the 7+ hours we spent walking the mall the next day! But we may of had Caesar breaks and then hit another fab dinner that night! So, all in all I don't think I came out ahead! At Cilantro for dinner on Saturday, we had the single most delicious cheesecake I've ever tasted. Honestly, unreal. Upside down toffee cheesecake. Homemade (of course) whipped cheesecake with this crunchy toffee topping and crust. Droooooooooool just thinking about it. It was some of the best food and we never get that chance these days. Totally the right time to indulge, if you ask me! I totally recommend both restaurants if you ever get the chance! I'm burning a trail to the treadmill all week, and it was SO worth it. :)

   The Comic Con sci-fi festival happened to be in Calgary this weekend and this kind of thing is right up Shane's alley- for anyone that doesn't know I'm married to a geek, raising 2 little nerdlings in training. As we sat and looked at the menu, we realized that Bill Paxton was sitting up at the bar! He was in town with the Aliens cast, for the festival. This basically made Shane's life. I tried to force him to go up and talk to the guy, but he wouldn't do it! Not even a bottle of pricey wine and some sweet talkin' could get the job done! So, inevitably he left, and Shane didn't get to talk to him. If you listen very hard right now, you can probably still here Shane sobbing. 

   Ok, food. Food is good. There is nothing I love more than a one-bowl baking recipe. Throw it all in and and Hail Mary that bugger to the oven and you're done! When I saw this Mexican Scramble recipe, and that it was all one dish- sold. Two times a week my son is in swimming right at supper hour. So I made this all up before we left and it was ready to go as soon as we walked in! Perfect weekday meal. The original recipe doesn't add meat, but I'd have a tough time selling that to Shane after he had just swam 1km! I simply scrambled a small package of lean ground beef and added it in to the mix once everything in the main dish was done and let it simmer together. My mom ate here as well and it fed 3 adults with seconds for someone.....ahem...Shane. 

  My kids had already eaten because of swimming, so I made it quite spicy. Obviously dial it down a bit for sensitive mouths. Another thing is the quinoa. I don't usually ever cook with this, but have in the past. Quinoa is not considered Paleo and can be very hard for some people to digest. So if you're following this type of diet, you may consider leaving it out, depending on your allergy restrictions. I decided to try something new and give it a try. Also make sure to thoroughly rinse it if it does not come pre-washed. I buy organic bulk at Heritage Foods.



One-dish Mexican Scramble
You need:
1 smaller package ground beef

I Tbsp oil for frying
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and diced
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup chicken or veg broth
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can fire roasted tomatoes 
1 cup corn
1/2 cup black olives
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
sea salt and pepper to taste
plain greek yogurt to garnish (optional)
shredded cheese to sprinkle (optional)

Brown your beef in a smaller frying pan until cooked through, and set aside. 
In your large, deep frying pan add oil and heat over medium. Add jalapenos and garlic and stir until fragrant. A minute or so.





Next stir in everything else, except your garnishes. (yogurt and cheese) Mix well. Cover and let simmer about a half hour over medium to low, stirring occasionally. It will seem soupy, but once the quinoa cooks and fluffs up it will fill out.


Once quinoa is cooked through and dish has simmered nicely, stir in your beef you cooked earlier. For the love of Baby Jesus, don't stir in raw meat and say I told you too! Cooked is how we roll 'round here, mmmmmmkay?



Cook a few more minutes until all heated through and everybody is mingling nicely at the pool party.
Use a slotted spoon and transfer to plates. Spoon a little scoop of plain yogurt into the centre with a brief toss of shredded cheese if you like it risky!! haha. 


Enjoy! I am looking forward to giving you better quality pictures so you can see more details in the food and have much better lighting etc. I've been reading about better ways to showcase and some tricks of the trade. Hope you like it! :)

original recipe pingback to "damndeliscious.net"

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