Friday, April 24, 2015

FF: Quinoa Surprise


This week's recipe is a Ben invention and family favorite - Quinoa Surprise! The "surprise" is that it never looks 100% the same. A couple of weeks ago, we were out of quinoa and the boys thought it was hysterical that we were just eating "Surprise!" for dinner.

This one is super easy. 30 minutes tops.


First, grab the cutest sous-chefs you can find. We're in jammies because our evenings are on a tight itinerary with a seven o'clock bedtime. Baths and jammies come before dinner in these parts!


The ingredients are simple. Mix together: 
1 lb cooked beef
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 drained can of black beans
1/2 bag of frozen corn
Taco Seasoning (we make our own with this recipe)
If I am feeling really ambitious, I'll cut up onion and peppers and throw them in, too.

Now. The most important part of Quinoa Surprise is the topping.

We add hand-shredded sharp cheddar, cilantro, and chipotle ranch (just mix a few good swigs of chipotle sauce with your favorite ranch dressing). Some of us eat our taco pile with corn chips, while others roll it up in a burrito.

It doesn't look like much...but man do we LOVE it! Each kid, including sister, eats 2-3 helpings. There are never any leftovers!


Stroke Ben's ego if you try it and love it as much as we do.

We like to serve it with a side of cornbread and refried beans.


7 comments:

  1. I love the pictures!

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  2. This sounds DELISH!!!!! I will definitely be making in the near future.

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  3. That sounds like our family favorite, taco rice. Good to find something everyone loves! And you do have some VERY handsome sous-chefs! Julie

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  4. This sounds awesome and is Gluten Free too....I'm sure my kids will love it. We are always trying to find fun/interactive food to make yet stick with our Gluten Free diet. Our son has Celiac Disease so we eat 100% GF at home to keep things safe for him. I will be trying this soon. I know of a couple really cute chefs who may want to help me!

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  5. He doesn't give his own invention a '10'?!
    Angela

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    1. This made me laugh out loud! Ben is an engineer and has a list of logic behind everything he does. In his mind only a very slight percentage of food can ever fill the "10" spot. To date, Jalepeno Popper Chicken is the only dinner I make that fills it! I've had to learn to settle for anything over a 7! :)

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