Baked Apple Cinnamon Quinoa

I have an obsession with quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WAH). I learned about it from a friend with some special dietary needs about four years ago, and have been hooked ever since. If you don't eat/use quinoa, I really recommend trying it. Quinoa is a super grain. It cooks quickly, similar to rice, and is gluten-free and PACKED with protein, rich in amino acid, and has great flavor and texture-check out the page at WHFoods for more information. I love to use quinoa in place of rice and pasta, and as a nutritious add-in for a variety of recipes. One of the advantages to using quinoa in your cooking, in addition to the obvious health and nutritive benefits, is that quinoa will take on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. Because of this, quinoa makes a great substitute for oatmeal and is an amazing breakfast food.

I can't sing the praises of quinoa highly enough. It is an amazing food-I call it the super grain. I really encourage you to try it and to make it a staple in your diet. I do have a few pieces of advice for using quinoa.



-Quinoa can be hard to find, especially the red and black varieties. You can always find it at places like Whole Foods, Sunflower Market, or other natural and health food stores, usually in the bulk bins, where it can be priced between $1.99/lb (on sale) and $3.99 a pound. It goes a long way, and you will get a lot of bang for your buck with this product. Some mass retail stores sell it near the pasta in boxed form. Make a trip to a health or natural foods store to make sure you can get some.
-Rinse your quinoa in a fine mesh strainer before you cook it. It can have a slightly bitter taste if you don't. A quick rinse is all you need.
-Cook your quinoa as you would cook rice, one part quinoa to two parts water, over medium heat, covered, until the quinoa is soft (usually about 10 minutes). Drain if there is excess water.

From there, you can really do whatever you want with it. I'll be sure to post up lots of my quinoa recipes over the next few weeks.

Today, I am sharing a recipe I concocted last night in my kitchen. I love using quinoa for breakfast as an oatmeal substitute with some honey and berries. I took some inspiration from its use as a breakfast food, and made an Apple Cinnamon Baked Quinoa dish. It turned out wonderfully, was super easy, and absolutely delicious. Even my husband, who is more of a "pizza and burgers" type of guy, liked it and took some to work today! The dish is sweet, filling, and totally nutritious! It's like cinnamon roll oatmeal, deep dish apple pie, and health food all in one.

So let's whip this up, shall we? Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Start with two cups of quinoa. It looks like this.

Rinse your quinoa in a fine mesh sieve to remove any bitter aftertaste. Put two cups of quinoa in a medium pan with four cups of water (a two to one ratio of water to quinoa).

Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook for approximately 10 minutes until the quinoa has absorbed the water and is soft. It will look fluffy like this. Set aside.

 Peel and chop up four apples. Any variety will do. I used Granny Smith.

Pull out some vanilla, cinnamon and brown sugar. You will use these ingredients to season your apples.

I added about two teaspoons of cinnamon, 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar, and one teaspoon of vanilla to my apples. Stir to combine.

Add your quinoa on top of the apples. Mix well to combine and taste it to see if you like the flavor.

Add more of your flavorings to adjust the taste. I wanted mine to taste like apple cinnamon oatmeal, so I added a little more brown sugar and vanilla.

I also drizzled in about a tablespoon of agave nectar. Agave is similar to honey (which would be a great choice as well), but is lower on the glycemic scale and has a more complex flavor. Stir to combine.

Put the mixture into a baking or casserole dish. My small Corningware dish was the perfect size.

Top the quinoa with a generous coating of rolled oats, and sprinkle with brown sugar. I went a little heavy with mine, but it was so good! I also drizzled a little more agave nectar on top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and warm. Serve in individual portions.

I froze my leftovers in individual portions to pull out for breakfast during the week. Delicious, nutritious and easy! Hooray for quinoa!

Baked Apple Cinnamon Quinoa

Ingredients
-2 cups dry quinoa
-4 cups water
-4 apples, peeled and diced
-2 teaspoons of cinnamon
-1 teaspoon of vanilla
-1/2 cup packed light brown sugar and 1/4 cup more for topping
-1/4-1/2 cup rolled oats
-1 teaspoon plus drizzle of agave nectar

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2.Rinse quinoa in a fine mesh sieve. Cook 2 cups of quinoa in 4 cups of water, in a covered pan over medium heat, until quinoa is soft and fluffy. Drain any remaining water. Set aside.
3. Peel and chop four apples. Mix apples with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/2 cup of packed light brown sugar. Mix to coat.
4. Add cooked quinoa to apples. Mix well.
5. Add 1 teaspoon of agave nectar to quinoa. Mix to incorporate.
6. Spread quinoa mixture into a medium sized baking dish. Top with rolled oats, 1/4 cup brown sugar and a drizzle of agave nectar.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until top is browned and crunchy.
8. Serve in individual bowls as a side dish or breakfast treat! Freezes well in individual portions.