For the past couple years I have read in all of my foodie magazines about quinoa.  There were lots of quinoa salads that did not really appeal to me and the bag I bought sat for many lonely months in the cupboard.  As this super-grain became more popular, the recipes became what I would consider more mainstream.  My first experience was with quinoa turkey chili and I was hooked!

This is another recipe discovered on Pinterest.  It comes from a blog called Around the Table: Loving Food in RI and started with the name Quinoa Mac and Cheese.  Well, when you live with a child with Asperger’s, you do not call a dish missing the macaroni by the name macaroni and cheese .  This was a wonderful, one dish dinner. I added sliced pears and dinner – and a few days of lunches – was done.

This  is one of those dishes that can be prepared in stages.  I cooked the quinoa and roasted the broccoli and garlic when I got home.  I let those pieces sit while shuttling children around and then came home and mixed everything together.  I tweaked the original recipe a little to accommodate what I had in the kitchen and the results were wonderful!  Everyone was full and happy.

Cheese and Broccoli Quinoa Casserole

Rinse 1 and 1/2 cups of quinoa to remove the outer bitter coating.  Cook according to the package directions.  Set aside.

Chop 1 large head of broccoli and 2 – 3 cloves of garlic.  Put all of this on a baking sheet, toss with olive oil to barely coat and roast in a 425 degree oven until the broccoli tips are lightly browned, stirring every few minutes.

Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and coat a 13 by 9 dish with cooking spray.  Mix together one egg, one and one fourth cup of fat free milk, and 1 teaspoon of salt.  Fold in the quinoa, broccoli, and 1 and 1/2 cups of grated low fat cheddar cheese. Add a little hot sauce if you like!

Put the entire mixture in the casserole dish and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Enjoy!!

~ The Mildly Manic Mom