Meatless Monday - Quinoa and Spinach

Meatless Monday Week two brings with it more protein than week one. I realized that while yummy and delicious if not photogenic Mushroom Stroganoff was severely lacking in protein. Lean protein is what keeps you full, fuels your muscles and is good for your heart.  

Good sources of protein include seafood, white meat poultry, and lean beef. For the purpose of meatless monday, beans, soy, milk, cheese, yogurt and certain grains are all excellent sources of protein. 

Tonight's recipe was built around Quinoa (keen-wah). Quinoa is a great source of protein. 1/3 of a cup is 160 calories and has 6 grams of protein. Quinoa is easy to cook. It follows along the same principle of cooking rice. 1 cup of grain to 2 cups water, boil then turn down to a simmer and cook until all the liquid is gone.  (20 min) 

Quinoa Spinach One Pot

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups chicken stock

1 can mushrooms (drained) 

1 can great northern beans (drained and rinsed)

1 package frozen creamed spinach (cooked)

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

salt 

In a large pot bring 2 cups chicken stock to a boil.  (water can be used but make sure once the water comes to a boil you salt it before adding the Quinoa) Once boiling, add 1 cup quinoa. Bring back up to a boil and then cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook until all the liquid has been absorbed. 

Remove from heat and add mushrooms, beans, creamed spinach, onion powder, garlic powder and cheese.  Stir to incorporate and serve. Salt to taste. 

This was a hit with 2 out of 3 of the people in the Milligan household.  Surprisingly, it was not the youngest Milligan that turned their nose up at our second meatless Monday dinner.