Flavorful Quinoa – Bean – Tomato Bake

I recently discovered that the internet is littered with "quinoa bake" recipes.  I guess a quinoa bake makes sense, just as other casseroles make a lot of sense.  Why not bake an otherwise bland grain with herbs, spices and vegetables to give it more pizzaz?  

Once I fully understood this seemingly amazing, yet not actually innovative concept, I set up to make my own quinoa bake.  Modeled after some other recipes on the internet, I decided to incorporate beans and a few other items in my pantry.  This was definitely a bit of a made-up effort conducted as I was sorting through items in my fridge and cupboard, but somehow resulted in a great output.   

My first quinoa bake was slightly spicy from a random can of hot Rotel tomatoes / chiles in the cupboard; nicely flavored from sauteed onions and garlic; and featured some lightness from some fresh lemon juice.  This can definitely be a weeknight exercise, as it took relatively short time to prepare and bake this casserole, which ultimately lasted for days!

Quinoa – Red Bean Bake

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry quinoa, cooked
• 1.5 cups of cooked red kidney beans
• 1 white onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can of Rotel, hot version (tomatoes and habaneros)
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. dried red chile powder
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1.5 cups of shredded sharp cheddar
• salt to taste (approx. 1.5 tsp.)

Directions

• Heat over to 350 degrees
• If not cooked, boil the quinoa with 2 cups of water until slightly al dente

• Saute onion in a medium skillet on medium-high heat until translucent, and stir in garlic until fragrant (approx. 1 minute)

• Add tomatoes and cook for an additional 5 minutes
• Remove tomato mixture from heat, and in a casserole dish, stir approx. 3/4 of the tomato mix with quinoa, beans, cumin, chile powder, cilantro, lemon juice, and salt to taste (approx. 1.5 tsp.)
• Spread remaining tomato mixture on top of quinoa mixture and then sprinkle shredded cheese evenly on top
• Cover the casserole dish with foil, and bake for approx. 20 minutes or until bake is hot and the cheese is melted
• Let sit for approx. 5 minutes before serving