Lemon Veg Quinoa

Woah... it's been a while...

I've got a few new recipes that I've tried, which have been delicious! The first is a result of my new obsession with grated lemon peel. Similar to my obsession with cinnamon, I've begun putting lemon in everything - especially pasta and quinoa dishes.

• 1 c quinoa - rinsed
• 2c water
  
• 1 large tomato - diced
  
• 2 zucchini - cut in half lengthwise and then sliced into 1/2" slices
• 1 green pepper - diced
  
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
  
• 1/2 onion - diced
• 1-2 Tbs olive oil
• 1/2 Tbs black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 Tbs dried basil (I'd use fresh if I had it, but my basil plant shriveled and died a while back, 3-4 chopped basil leaves)
• 1/2 Tbs paprika
• 1 1/2 Tbs grated lemon peel
  

Boil 2c of water and add quinoa. Reduce to a simmer until all the water has evaporated. Fluff with a fork. When the quinoa is finished, gently stir in the lemon peel. While you're waiting for the quinoa to cook (about a half hour)...

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent. Add green peppers and zucchini and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add tomato, pepper, salt, basil, and paprika. Cook until the zucchini and peppers are soft. The tomato will reduce into a red, saucy mush. If you'd rather keep your tomotoes in-tact, add them later in the cooking process, about 5-6 minutes before the quinoa is done.

Scoop the vegetable mixture over the quinoa and NOM NOM NOM!

Taco Soup

I made tacos with friends and had a bunch of leftovers, as well as a bunch of veggies I needed to use. The original plan was to use a low-sodium vegetable broth as the base, but spicy black bean soup was on sale today (and you can't tell me spicy black bean doesn't sound more delicious!)

I used:
2 TBS olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion
1 green bell pepper
1 ear corn, boiled and cut off of cobb
1/2 packet (1 1/2 TBS) taco seasoning
2 c chopped red cabbage
1 zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces
1 box (~4 c) spicy black bean soup
2 c water
3/4 c quinoa

1. Heat olive oil in a large (!) pot. Saute' garlic and onion.
2. Add taco seasoning, green bell pepper and zucchini and cook, stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add cabbage, corn, black bean soup, water, and quinoa. Stir, bring to boil, and let simmer until quinoa is cooked (about 30 minutes).

Easy enough, right? This makes enough soup (or stew... the quinoa sucked up all the water and thickened it) for 5-6 people... which means a week of leftovers for me!! This would also be good over a baked potato or as taco filling.