Quinoa and Black Beans

I've heard about quinoa for years, but never had the courage to try to cook it myself. And to my surprise it is super easy! Pretty much the same concept as cooking rice. Who knew?? I purchased my quinoa from Whole Foods in the bulk bins, $3.99/lb. The recipe I'm using came from www.allrecipes.com, and if you don't have an account with them (it's free!), then you should! (Seriously.)

Quinoa and Black Beans
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 (15oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro


Directions:

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 the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.
 4. Enjoy!

**We also topped ours with a chilled medium salsa.
Total time: about 50 minutes (15 minutes to prep, 35 minutes to cook)

This is definitely a recipe we'll be holding on to. Next time we're going to try it in burritos! Maybe with some grilled red peppers. Let me know if you make this, what variations you experiment with :)
Happy healthy cooking!