Friday, May 9, 2014

Slow Cooker Mexican Quinoa

I made this recipe yesterday and loved that it was so easy and not time consuming. I threw the ingredients in the crockpot before I left for work, set the timer, came home added the quinoa and an hour later I had dinner. It's also a super versatile recipe and I've seen similar things out there just with little additions or changes to ingredients so feel free to have fun with it. If you don't want this to be vegetarian/vegan you could definitely add some chicken or ground beef to it. I plan on trying that next time as well. I just put my entire crock pot in the fridge and will have leftovers for days.

Ingredients
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (undrained)
  • 14.5 oz can black beans (drain and rinse)
  • 1 cup broth (chicken or veggie depending on your diet)
  • 2 cups of water
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • *1 chopped jalapeno (omit if you don't want it spicy)
  • 1 cup of quinoa (rinsed)
  1. Add all ingredients except for quinoa to the crockpot. Cook on low for  anywhere between 5-10 hours.
  2.  Turn crockpot to high and add in quinoa and stir. Cook for an additional hour on high. 
  3. When you see white rings around the quinoa you know it's ready. Add any extra spices or salt and pepper and stir in before serving (I added in a couple tablespoons of smoky chipotle sauce). 
  4. Enjoy!