Cheesy Quinoa

I've wanted to try quinoa forever, but wasn't sure what would be a good "first impression" dish to make sure I'd try it in other stuff too.  But then I came across a recipe for Quinoa Mac N Cheese, and decided that was what I was going to make!  .....No surprise, it came from Pinterest ;-)  I decided to rename it Cheesy Quinoa because it tasted NOTHING like Mac N Cheese, but was still good and deserved a better name without giving you a false sense of hope for a healthy mac n cheese dish.  I also had to improvise the recipe because I got it off someone else's blog, but honestly, she sucked at directions.  She had ingredients listed but didn't say what to do with them!  It's fairly easy to figure out, but I like step by step directions when it comes to new things.  I also added about twice as much cheese, because I like cheesy dishes!!  So last night, I made rosemary and garlic pork chops, asparagus, (both on the George Foreman grill) and cheesy quinoa.  I topped the dish with panko bread crumbs and paprika, but there are other suggestions listed as well.  The panko definitely gives it a nice crunch!  And I topped my serving with diced green onions.  Enjoy! :-)

Ingredients:

·         1 ½ cups quinoa, rinsed and drained

·         Salt to taste

·         ½ medium onion, diced

·         2 cloves garlic, minced

·         2 large eggs

·         1 cup non-fat milk

·         3 cups grated Cheddar cheese

·         Optional – Crushed Red pepper, paprika, and/or Panko Bread crumbs for topping

·         Optional Toppings – salsa, hot sauce, sour cream, scallions

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350* F. 

2.      Cook quinoa to packaged instructions until fully cooked (about 15 minutes).  While quinoa is cooking, lightly sauté garlic and onion in olive oil until tender.  Add garlic and onion to cooked quinoa and mix together.

3.      Whisk together eggs and milk in large bowl.  Stir in cheese, then add in quinoa mixture.  Stir very well and let some of the cheese melt. 

4.      Coat 8 x 11 inch dish (or 8 individual ramekins) with cooking spray.  Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish.  If using Panko crumbs or bread crumbs, add now and bake 30-35 minutes, until bread crumbs are browned.