Latin Quinoa Dinner

My poor erin is now officially a grad student. I say "poor" because her lack of a social life is now in full bloom! I decided to take this opportunity to make myself useful by resorting to a 50's housewife and promptly return from work with groceries and dinner fixins.

The star ingredient on tonight's menu: Quinoa!

I have been waiting to try this "grain" for quite sometime and I had an inkling that erin would be a fan as well. Quinoa looks almost like couscous and seemed to be utilized in recipes quite similarly. It is also a great source of protein for vegetarian diets, which I happen to sorta follow. I did some research and found a recipe on Eatingwell that look simple and scrumptious!

I give you: Quinoa with Latin Flavors

Of course changes were made, all in effort to enhance the dish. I decided to add shrimp to make this more of a "main dish" and left out the peptias because I just didn't have any on hand. I also cut the recipe in half because we didn't need portions for 6! No oil, as normal...and I cooked the quinoa in fat free chicken broth. Other than that it was pretty straightforward...unfortunately my camera did not corporate! The pictures were pretty and colorful, but lost :(.

The flavor of the cilantro and lime really came through in this dish and the quinoa has such an amazing texture, much more interesting than rice or pasta! I can't wait to use this grain in so much more.
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