Quinoa Chicken Stir-Fry

I've been making a lot of great food lately but haven't found time to update this wonderful place known as my BLOG :) A fab co-worker of mine asked me the other day, is BLOG an acronym for something? BLOG is actually a shortened version of the phrase, "web log" and it was coined in 1997 by John Barger.

Last week, I made quinoa after having a cranberry quinoa at The Corn Maiden for our anniversary on July 21. What is quinoa you ask?

Quinoa ( /ˈkiːnwɑː/ or /kɨˈnoʊ.ə/, Spanish: quinua, from Quechua: kinwa), a species of goosefoot(Chenopodium), is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the grass family. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related to species such as beets, spinach, and tumbleweeds.

You will need:

• 2/3 cup quinoa - you can find this at your local grocer in the grains
• 1 diced chicken breast
• 1/2 lb cleaned sugar snap peas
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 yellow onion or substitute 2 green onions
• Handful cilantro
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• Salt & pepper

Quinoa Chicken Stir-Fry

So, how do you attempt to make this grain? Start off by boiling a cup of water, add a tablespoon of butter and then add 2/3 cup of quinoa. After the quinoa is boiling, cover the pot and lower the temperature to low and cook for 15 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking (you know it is done when all of the grains open) - sautee a diced chicken breast and season with salt and pepper. When the chicken is 1/2 cooked, add sugar snap peas, onions and red bell peppers.

Remove the quinoa and place into pan containing cooked chicken and vegetables. Turn off the heat and add a tablespoon of sesame oil and adjust salt to taste. Top with a handful a cilantro and enjoy! This may look like it will taste like healthy food but trust me, it is great and this little grain also packs a lot of energy.