Quinoa

Quinoa is my new craze! I love it! One of the main reasons that I like it is because it gives me another option in place of rice or potatoes.

Quinoa is a species of goosefoot!? I don't know what that is either. What I do know is that it is grain-like and a good replacement for rice in any dish!

So, I decided to try replacing the rice in one of our favorite dishes with quinoa.

Uncle Ben published this recipe on the back of its parboiled rice. The recipe is called California Beef Rice Skillet. Here is the recipe:

1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2-1/2 cups water
1 cup rice
3 beef bouillon cubes, crushed
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

Brown beef with onion in 10″ skillet; drain off fat. Stir in water, rice, crushed bouillon cubes, and dry mustard. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Stir in green pepper and tomato. Sprinkle cheese over top. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand 2-3 minutes to melt cheese. Serves 4-6.

A lot of times we double everything but the meat, cheese and bouillon. We are more rice/potato/veggie-eaters than meat-eaters.

So, instead of the rice, I used quinoa. We all loved it! Even my husband who is a if-it-is-good-don't-mess-with-it kind of guy!

There is one slight problem!  When eating on a budget, there is a reason why they do not say eat quinoa and beans!  I am still shopping around, but it seems like quinoa is about double the price of rice.