Cheesy Quinoa and Garlic Lemon Chicken

Hey guys, sorry I haven't been around much lately, the start of the school year was absolutely crazy!! I spent a lot of time decorating my apartment, there are pictures to come soon! My first post of the school year is what I made for dinner last night, it was super easy and DELICIOUS. At the beginning of the school year I accidentally bought a giant bag of quinoa instead of couscous and have been trying recipes with it ever since. So far my meals had been pretty good, but not necessarily something I would make over and over again, until last night. I made cheesy broccoli quinoa and garlic lemon chicken with caramelized onions and peppers. Here is the recipe:

Cheesy broccoli Quinoa:

-1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
-Veggies of your choice (optional), I used broccoli
-good pinch of salt
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-2 large eggs
-1 cup soy milk
-1 1/2 cups grated cheese, I used a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar (more for sprinkling)
-2 white onions, chopped
-panko bread crumbs (about 1 cup)

1) prepare the quinoa according to the directions on the package. I used 1 1/2 cups of quinoa and 3 cups of water. brought it to a rapid boil and let simmer for 15 minutes, until al the liquid was gone and the quinoa was done. Be warned, the quinoa expands, ALOT.
2) While the quinoa is cooking start cooking any veggies you want to add to your dish. I steamed broccoli and sautéed some chopped onions.
3)Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 9x13 inch dish with cooking spray.4) Whisk together eggs and milk in large bowl. Fold in quinoa mixture and cheese. Transfer to 9x13.5) sprinkle with extra cheese and panko. bake for 30 minutes (I covered mine in foil for 15 minutes and then uncovered it for the last 25 so the cheese could get bubbly), or until the bread crumbs are browned and the cheese is bubbly.

Garlic Lemon Chicken with caramelized peppers and onions

-this was super easy, and I didn't use any recipe. I just cooked my chicken in a pan and covered it in 5-6 cloves of minced garlic. While it was cooking, I squeezed a lemons worth or juice over the top. -I started my caramelized peppers and onions when I started sautéing the onions for the cheesy quinoa. The longer you let the peppers and onions caramelize the better, mine were cooking on low heat for about an hour. I cooked them with a little bit of olive oil and some garlic over LOW heat.

Sadly, I forgot to take pictures, but we demolished EVERYTHING. It was seriously so good. The cheesy quinoa kind of tasted like broccoli cheddar soup from Panera. This recipe is also great because you could add any vegetable to it, you could even add some cubed chicken! Happy cooking!!!


ps. I love fall because there is pumpkin EVERYTHING. I have been drinking Iced pumpkin Chai from Caribou like it is my job!