Creamy Quinoa Primavera

I didn't do my usual meal preparation for the week this past weekend. Working the weekend really got in the way of my productivity. I managed to make a lot of one meal (baked pasta) so when mid-week came and I needed to make something, I turned to Pinterest.

This recipe is something I had pinned a while ago and, shock, never got around to making. I really need to create something where I list pins I want to actually recreate so I can cross them off one by one.

I really love quinoa but don't have many go-to quinoa recipes (besides quinoa bake - which I hope to share with you very soon). This recipe has a lot of what I love. quinoa. vegetables. cheese. For another yummy quinoa recipe, be sure to check out House of Hoff's recent post!

I didn't tweak this recipe too, too much as it was my first time actually making it. I rearranged the cooking order of some things and I think it turned out pretty well!
I am a huge fan of dirtying as few dishes as possible so I tried to just combine everything into one pot here instead of mixing stuff in a separate bowl before combining.
I'm not gonna lie with you guys, when I was mixing in the cream cheese, I was thinking to myself, "oh crap, what else can I whip up for dinner.."
but it tastes very, very good!! Don't let it scare you.





Creamy Quinoa Primavera
from Let's Dish
serves 6 dinner sized portions

1.5c uncooked quinoa
3c water + 1 bouillon cube
4oz cream cheese
1T fresh basil chopped or 1t dried
1T butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
5c thinly sliced vegetables (I used onions, peppers, carrots, broccoli)
3T grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

• Start by rinsing and cooking your quinoa. I make my quinoa in my rice cooker. It makes my life so much easier. Just pour ingredients, flip switch, walk away until the button pops and it's done. Water to quinoa ratio is 2:1 so in this case 3c water, 1.5c quinoa. I whisked in a bouillon cube before turning on the rice cooker.
• While the rice cooker does its job, start prepping your vegetables. I cut up some onion, peppers, and steamed some carrots and broccoli (leaving some bite to them), then cut into similar sized pieces. 
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Depending on the veggies used will depend on this part. I began by cooking the onions and peppers in the butter for a few minutes, until softened. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds more. Now add veggies. Cook for about 5 minutes until heated back through (make sure to leave them still crisp, you don't want a bowl full of mush).
• Toss in cooked quinoa. 
• Stir in cream cheese and basil.
• Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Nutritional Information (per serving): Calories 190, Fat 7.6g, Protein 6.4g, Fiber 3.3g, Carbs 25.7g




I was pleasantly surprised with this recipe. I was a bit iffy because of the cream cheese but it does NOT taste like cream cheese at all. I mixed in some Parmesan in the quinoa as well as a sprinkle on top before serving. 

What's a recipe you make where there's an "iffy" ingredient but it ends up working?

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