Black Bean and Corn Quinoa

I came across this recipe while cruising the Allrecipes website. As you already know, I LOVE quinoa. It took a while for me to get my hands on it. Actually, it took more like a move across the country to get my hands on it but now, it is a full on love affair. I wouldn't be surprised if the Mr. is jealous over how much I love quinoa. I very well might just name our first born after it... kidding... kidding... if you know me, you know I am not a kid person. So I will settle for naming my next goldfish after quinoa.
Sir Quinoa Bubbles... it has a nice ring to it doesn't it? Okay okay, back to the food! I am apparently easily sidetracked today.


This was a very easy recipe to make. I already had everything on hand so all I really needed to do was throw it together. It had a sort of Mexican flair to it with the beans, corn and cilantro. I really did enjoy not only making this, since it was super simple and didn't make a mess in the kitchen but also devouring it as well. It is definitely a dish that I will keep in my back pocket. Now of course, I didn't use canned beans I soaked and cooked dried beans. I actually have been cooking beans in big batches lately and I will store them in my refrigerator in their liquids for up to two weeks. I don't know how much I can stress this but if you haven't cooked with dried beans yet, you need to get up off of that computer chair and go to the store and buy a bag. They are so cheap, easy to make (as long as you follow the directions on the bag) and you can monitor the sodium and flavorings that go into the beans. The reason why I mention following the directions on the bag is because a friend of mine called me up and asked why her beans were so hard after cooking them. I asked "did you soak them for at least 8 hours or overnight?" NOPE, she just threw them in the pot and boiled them for an hour. If you do that, you will have pelting beans, not eating beans. (~_^)

• 1 tsp. vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3/4 c. quinoa
• 1 1/2 c. vegetable broth
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 c. frozen corn
• 2 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tsp. dried cilantro
• salt & pepper
  

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and cilantro. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Stir frozen corn into saucepan and continue to simmer for 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the beans and serve.

This post is submitted in
Just Another Meatless Monday
Cooking Thursday