Something Simple and A Challenge

Well, here I am again, doing my part to keep this little blog alive.

While savoring a delicious, healthy and quick-to-cook dinner just now, I just had to blog about it. Granted, this quinoa taco-type salad is not glamorous (certainly not when photographed mid-meal!), and won't earn me foodie points, but it's the perfect thing to make when you're (relatively) poor, hungry, and lazy like me!

I think I'm going to keep posting here this year with things I make for myself on a regular basis--foods that are easy and cheap to make but tasty and good for me too. I challenge the rest of you to post your go-to foods here, no matter how humble. I bet we all could use some everyday, real world food inspiration and I think it would be really interesting to see our collective staples.

Back to the recipe...I'm sure you already make something like this so may this simply be inspiration for you to pull out that jar of quinoa, can-o-beans, and whatever veggies are sadly mouldering in your fridge and get to cookin. This made enough for a generous dinner for two, plus a little extra quinoa. All measures and ingredients are totally variable so get creative and make this fit your personal tastes and needs.

A quinoa-esque version of Taco Salad

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water

about 1 tsp canola oil
half an onion, diced
one carrot, diced
about half a can of black beans, rinsed (you can freeze the rest for the next taco salad night)
maybe half a teaspoon ground cumin
two shakes of dried oregano
lettuce, shredded (I used two large romaine leaves)
one avocado, sliced
your favorite salta (I use Herdez salsa casera, my fave from a can)
cheddar cheese (or other cheese you like)
salt to taste

Rinse the quinoa in a strainer under running water until it's no longer foamy and place in a medium pot. Add the water to the pot and bring to a boil then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. When the oil is hot add the onion and saute for a few minutes until starting to soften. Add carrot as well as cumin and oregano. Saute until just soft and then add the beans, stirring until it's hot (I also added some salsa for flavor). When it's all heated and cooked thoroughly, remove from heat and cover until ready to eat.

To serve, top a serving of quinoa with spoonfuls of the beans and veggies and then grate cheese over it to taste. Top with shredded lettuce, avocado, and more salsa. Enjoy!