Mexican Quinoa

Quinoa is a yummy versatile food.  It had a lot of protein and fiber to keep you fuller longer.  It's a great addition to any diet, not just a vegetarian one.  I used to be hesitant to use it because I thought it was hard to cook.  Boy was I wrong!  This recipe would be a great side at a neighborhood picnic or even for lunch all by it's self. 

Ingredients:

2 Cups Uncooked Quinoa

4 Plum Tomatoes

1 Cup Black Beans

1 Jalapeno

8.5oz can Corn (no salt added)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Juice from 1/2 of a Lime

1 Tbsp Cilantro, Chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

I wanted to add an avocado to this but I totally forgot!  Now there's an unused avocado sitting on my window sill mocking me.  I'll just have to use it in a different recipe this week, maybe an Ahi Tuna Salad!

Back to the Quinoa... There are a few different ways to cook it, so try experimenting with toasting it first, using broth instead of water or measuring the water and cooking it more like rice instead of pasta.  I like this method because it doesn't require me to be exact with the water and it does get over cooked.  SO SIMPLE!

Start off by washing the quinoa a few times.  I just put it in my sauce pan, add water and switch it around a little.  I strain it and repeat one or two more times.  Next, put the quinoa in the sauce pan, add water and a pinch of salt. Bring the quinoa to a boil and let it cook for about 10 minutes.  

Then drain the quinoa in a sieve, add about an inch of water back to the pot and put the sieve with the quinoa in it, over the water.  Cover with a clean towel, place the lid over the top and let steam, simmer on low for about 10 minutes.  Make sure to fold the corners of the towel over if they get too close to your heating element or flame!!!

While that's cooking, chop your tomatoes, jalapeno and cilantro.  If you're adding avocado (which I HIGHLY recommend) chop that too!

Add all of the ingredients to a bowl, mix thoroughly and salt/pepper to taste.  Try not to devour the whole bowl while "tasting".  

I love the satisfying crunch of the fresh tomatoes and jalapenos combined with the tangy lime juice and texture of the quinoa.  Everything comes together nicely!  This is good room temperature or cold the next day.  DIG IN!

Cumin Tilapia over Guacamole Salad

The Husband and I went to my friends house for her birthday this weekend.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHANNON! I quickly whipped together a Tilapia salad to bring with us and it was delicious!  I knew I had the fixins for guacamole at home so I decided to make the salad with a little Mexican flavor to it.  I decided to use Tilapia because my friend has an allergy to iodine in seafood and can only eat fresh water fish but you could easily substitute shrimp for the fish here.  It would be equally amazing. 

Lets start with the Tilapia:

3 large Tilapia filets (about 1.5lbs)

1/2 cup Flour

2 tsp Cumin

Salt and Pepper

2 Tbsp Olive Oil for frying

Sprinkle the Tilapia with salt, pepper and 1 tsp cumin.  Add the other tsp of cumin to the flour and place in a shallow dish.  Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan over medium heat. 

Lightly coat the Tilapia with flour.  Shake off any exess.

Fry Tilapia in oil for a few minutes on each side until it flakes with a fork.  Try not to eat it all before you add it to the salad.  Just look at that yummy crispiness!  Once cooked through, remove fish from pan and place on a paper towel on a clean plate. 

Break the Tilapia into bite size pieces and set aside.  

Now onto the Guacamole topping:
3 Plum Tomatoes

2 Avocados

2 Jalapenos

Juice from 1/4 Lime

Dice the tomatoes, jalapenos and avocado.  You can keep the dice fairly large.   

 

Add everything to a bowl, squeeze lime juice over the top and mix.  You could mash the avocado and make this more of a guacamole, but I wanted to keep it chunky like a pico de gallo.

Cilantro Lime Dressing:

3-5 Cloves Garlic

1/2 tsp Salt

2 Tbsp Cilantro ruffly chopped
Juice from 1/2 a Lime

1/4 cup Vinegar

1/2 cup Oil 

Grind Garlic, Salt and Cilantro with a mortar and pestle into a paste. 

Since I was making more than I normally do, my oil and vinegar didn't exactly fit in my little mortar so I added the vinegar and lime juice to the garlic cilantro mixture and stirred it a bit, then I added everything to my tupperware container and shook it till it was all mixed together. 

I packaged everything up and headed to Shannons.  To assemble the salad, I added a large box of greens to a salad bowl and spooned half of the guacamole topping over it.  Then I sprinkled half of a bag of monteray jack cheese over the topping and half of the Tilapia over the cheese.  Lastly, I poured half of the dressing over everything and served. 

This was so easy to make and healthy too!